Iron Hill

As the course pro here I'm a little biased, but I will try to give a true review of the course.

Iron Hill was designed to be a pro par 72, with tournaments in mind. Right now Gold to long comes in around par 70. The lengthening of two holes is in the works to complete the goal by the end of the year.

All Gold tees are 6X12 concrete pads that have the best grip I've played in 12 years. New tee signs with footage to both pins as well as elevation changes were installed earlier this year. The next tee is a good distance from the pin, no waiting for the next group to tee. Running water and numerous pot-a-pots are available. Parking in two separate parking lots is always open, with a third open for tournaments.

The course is long and tight with a lot of elevation changes. Too score well you'll need a lot of different shots and skill. This is the beauty of the course. Every hole you must decide to go for it or play safe. Do you play for par or for birdie? Play safe and shooting in the 70's will win you many matches with your friends and probably cash in a tournament. Go for it and you could shoot in the 60's or get close to that 80 mark. This is the most mentally challenging course I've ever played. Every round ends in, I could have.

The first PDGA tournament was just played there with some of the best players in the Mid-Atlantic region attending. 1000 rated player shot from 63 to 79 on the Gold Par 70 layout. Watching 400’+ drives down a 20’ fairway was a thing of beauty.

This course can eat an Am player alive. Everything that makes this a good course for pro level players can become a draw back for Ams. Notice I did say can be a draw back. I’ve played with a lot of Ams that love the challenge.

The back 9 can be extremely tight. This can leave you feeling as though you just played this before. Holes 15, 16 and 17 were thinned out a little to alleviate this.

The course is only one year old and the rough can be extremely rough. Don’t get off the fairway. You may have to throw backwards to get out.

In order to get the full scope of this course you need to play from the correct tees. The course was designed with the idea of playing par 72 for everyone. If you are not a Gold player you could easily get frustrated playing the gold tees. The course was put in Gold tees first with the idea of utilizing the land provided. The Blue and White tees are in the process of being finalized and will make the course play more Am friendly.

A lot of upgrades have been made over the last year and many more are in the works. The stone steps on 17 are a thing of beauty. If you haven’t played it recently check it out.