I have some time on my hands, so it’s time to dip into my back catalogue of courses that I’ve photographed, but never written about. I’m not going to do all of them—there are at least half-a-dozen courses in the UK and just as many in Michigan for which I have pictures but have never done a write-up. I probably won’t do any of those because I’m just not that enthusiastic about them. Some of them, like Hindhead and Hankley Common in England are considered by many to be in or at least near the top tier of London heathland courses. I wouldn’t agree with that and since it’s been 7 or 8 years since I’ve seen them (and Hankley Common has undergone significant changes since then), I won’t bother, even though they are very worthwhile and certainly the equal of several courses that I have written about.
But I also have pictures of several courses in the DC area and a few from further south in Virginia. I wouldn’t say that any of them is truly outstanding, but a few are noteworthy and have gotten a lot of attention either from the rankings or architecture enthusiasts, so they’re probably worth writing about.
One of these is Bulle Rock, Pete Dye’s upscale public course on the far northeastern outskirts of Baltimore. I’ve played this course twice, once in 2021 and a second time in 2023. It has always been rated as Maryland’s top public course and used to be pretty highly ranked on both Golf Digest and Golf Magazine’s top 100 public courses lists. It hosted the LPGA Championship several times in the 00s. With so many good new courses opening and so many good older ones getting restorations in recent years, I don’t think it has been on either list in a few years. But it’s still the top ranked public course in Maryland and, having played several of its competitors, I doubt that there’s one better. It’s also very likely the best public course within 100 miles of Washington DC.
Probably a more interesting discussion however is where Bulle Rock ranks among Pete Dye courses. Now I haven’t played a lot of his best, like TPC Sawgrass or Harbor Town, but I’m probably up to around 10 total and can definitely comment on Bulle Rock’s positives and negatives compared to other Dye courses. And I think it has several of both.
First, this is a much better piece of land than most of the other Dye courses that I’ve seen; nice, rolling farmland, mostly open but with forests at the edge. It’s never too hilly for golf, but always provides enough terrain for holes to be interesting without the architect having to do too much. And there lies one of Bulle Rock’s strengths—while this is clearly a Pete Dye course, he didn’t impose his style too much on the land. Most of the bunkers, while in his style, aren’t too deep. There aren’t a lot of superfluous mounds (and no volcano bunkers) scattered about the course. Aesthetically, the course blends in well with its surroundings.
But in turning down the style, Dye might have also turned down the interest. There aren’t a lot of standout holes here, which is unusual for him. I get the impression that the developer didn’t want him to build something too difficult because most of the playing corridors are fairly generous. There’s a general lack of crossing hazards and several holes lack tee-to-green interest. The greens are nice, but not too difficult. And as is often the case for Dye, there are a few clunker pond holes. Probably one of the reasons that I haven’t written about Bulle Rock until now is that there aren’t a lot of holes that excite me and make me enthusiastic about writing. But there are several good ones and the whole of the course is quite pleasant and interesting. It’s also an almost-ideal walk, challenging but not too difficult, with short distances from green-to-tee.
The short par 4 first sets the tone for the course well. There’s enough room off the tee, but you can run out of it if you get aggressive and wayward, with the bunker on the right only 230 out from the 6900 yard gold tees. The green angles toward the right side of the fairway and has soft, but interesting interior contours.
But I also have pictures of several courses in the DC area and a few from further south in Virginia. I wouldn’t say that any of them is truly outstanding, but a few are noteworthy and have gotten a lot of attention either from the rankings or architecture enthusiasts, so they’re probably worth writing about.
One of these is Bulle Rock, Pete Dye’s upscale public course on the far northeastern outskirts of Baltimore. I’ve played this course twice, once in 2021 and a second time in 2023. It has always been rated as Maryland’s top public course and used to be pretty highly ranked on both Golf Digest and Golf Magazine’s top 100 public courses lists. It hosted the LPGA Championship several times in the 00s. With so many good new courses opening and so many good older ones getting restorations in recent years, I don’t think it has been on either list in a few years. But it’s still the top ranked public course in Maryland and, having played several of its competitors, I doubt that there’s one better. It’s also very likely the best public course within 100 miles of Washington DC.
Probably a more interesting discussion however is where Bulle Rock ranks among Pete Dye courses. Now I haven’t played a lot of his best, like TPC Sawgrass or Harbor Town, but I’m probably up to around 10 total and can definitely comment on Bulle Rock’s positives and negatives compared to other Dye courses. And I think it has several of both.
First, this is a much better piece of land than most of the other Dye courses that I’ve seen; nice, rolling farmland, mostly open but with forests at the edge. It’s never too hilly for golf, but always provides enough terrain for holes to be interesting without the architect having to do too much. And there lies one of Bulle Rock’s strengths—while this is clearly a Pete Dye course, he didn’t impose his style too much on the land. Most of the bunkers, while in his style, aren’t too deep. There aren’t a lot of superfluous mounds (and no volcano bunkers) scattered about the course. Aesthetically, the course blends in well with its surroundings.
But in turning down the style, Dye might have also turned down the interest. There aren’t a lot of standout holes here, which is unusual for him. I get the impression that the developer didn’t want him to build something too difficult because most of the playing corridors are fairly generous. There’s a general lack of crossing hazards and several holes lack tee-to-green interest. The greens are nice, but not too difficult. And as is often the case for Dye, there are a few clunker pond holes. Probably one of the reasons that I haven’t written about Bulle Rock until now is that there aren’t a lot of holes that excite me and make me enthusiastic about writing. But there are several good ones and the whole of the course is quite pleasant and interesting. It’s also an almost-ideal walk, challenging but not too difficult, with short distances from green-to-tee.
The short par 4 first sets the tone for the course well. There’s enough room off the tee, but you can run out of it if you get aggressive and wayward, with the bunker on the right only 230 out from the 6900 yard gold tees. The green angles toward the right side of the fairway and has soft, but interesting interior contours.
This opening drive shouldn't be too hard as long as you don't get too aggressive. But since most people like to hit driver off the first tee, probably more balls end up in trouble than should.
The green is well done, nicely blending into the surroundings and with good interior contour.
The 550 yard par 5 second is not only one of the toughest holes at Bulle Rock, it’s one of the toughest par 5s that I’ve ever played. It’s a very unnerving drive, with woods starting on the left at about 230 and at most 50 yards between here and the drop off on the right.
This is one of the most uncomfortable drives on the course, downhill to a narrowing fairway. It might be prudent to lay back a bit here for accuracy.
The rest of the hole is kind of puzzling. A creek crosses the fairway about 100 yards short of the green and while you can go a bit further if you play out to the left, the lay up zone narrows between the creek and woods here. It’s probably best to play well back. And the green is also a bit of a puzzle, fairly shallow and running from short-left to long-right. It’s probably best to approach this green from the left side of the fairway because it was difficult to get the distance on the uphill shot correct from the right side.
Overall, I’d say that this is a good hole and pretty original among the Dye holes that I’ve played, which is refreshing (he does a lot of his own templates and we'll see some here later on). But it’s not one that I really like. Both times I played it, I was pretty uncomfortable the whole way.
Overall, I’d say that this is a good hole and pretty original among the Dye holes that I’ve played, which is refreshing (he does a lot of his own templates and we'll see some here later on). But it’s not one that I really like. Both times I played it, I was pretty uncomfortable the whole way.
This is pretty far down the fairway and you won't have this good a view from the drive landing area. But you can see from here that the left side of the fairway is probably the best angle into the green.
It's pretty tough to get at this back-right pin. Best to hedge left and short.
The mid-length par 3 third is very Pete Dye and in a good way. The green is built up heavily on the left side, with cascading tiers of bunkers. The long grass and the tree right are good framing. Accuracy is paramount.
I feel like the shelved green and the cascading, flat-bottomed bunkers are a Dye trademark, although I wouldn't say that this hole reminds me of any kind of Dye template.
The 380 yard par 4 fourth brings us out into the open middle of the property, where we’ll spend much of the next nine holes. The drive is testing, but not too demanding, with about 40 yards between the fairway bunkers that start about 240 out. This is another deep but narrow green and the angle opens to the left side of the fairway.
This drive felt fairly comfortable to me, but it does narrow in the driver landing zone.
The green is narrow and angled toward the left side of the fairway.
I think the shaping here is well done. The green is built up, but in a simple way.
Five is a very tough long par 4, almost 50 feet uphill and about 450 yards. It’s also a very good driving hole, with ample safe space to the right, but a lot of challenge up the left in the form of trees and a bunker that you’ll need almost 250 to carry. If you want to have a reasonable shot at the green in two, it’s imperative that you either carry or stay close to it. It’s a bit tough to tell what’s going on with the approach but the main there is just not to spray. It’s a fairly simple pitch from short of the green.
This is a very good driving hole; plenty of room to play safe but you'll need to challenge the trouble up the left to have a decent shot at the green.
The visibility isn't too good on the approach, even if you've hit a good drive.
No trouble short, but a miss wide either direction is.
Six is about 385, but plays the same 50 feet back down the hill, so it plays quite short. Nevertheless, it’s a tricky drive; the fairway is at most 30 yards wide and jogs left, making it easy to run out of room on the right. It’s best to lay back a bit here. The approach is to an ample green that angles to the back-right. It’s also got good back-to-front pitch, so it’s best to hedge short and left.
The further you go, the less room you have on the right.
The approach isn't too difficult, but you really don't want to go long.
The next two holes are a decent uphill par 3 and an uninteresting par 5. The latter is wide-open and could use some kind of angling or crossing hazard, although I guess it’s also ok to have an easy hole once in awhile.
The par 3 seventh.
The par 5 eighth. This is quite a pretty hole, but it isn't very interesting.
Nine is a very different story. Back when people paid more attention to this course, I think this is the hole that got a lot of it. At about 420 from the gold tees, only the right most bunker is a challenge to carry (about 240). But you’ll either want to take on some of the carry or hit a fade because the fairway turns right and you can both run through it and leave a very long approach if you don’t try to cut something off.
The attention-grabbing element of this hole is the narrow slice of fairway over the right corner of the pond. It’s about a 260 carry and significantly shortens the hole. Unless you can make that carry easily (but then you should be playing the tips), I don’t see the point; if you can maybe make that carry, you can definitely go right of the main fairway bunkers and leave a short enough approach. I see a lot of risk and not much reward in this play, although I guess it’s fun to try.
The attention-grabbing element of this hole is the narrow slice of fairway over the right corner of the pond. It’s about a 260 carry and significantly shortens the hole. Unless you can make that carry easily (but then you should be playing the tips), I don’t see the point; if you can maybe make that carry, you can definitely go right of the main fairway bunkers and leave a short enough approach. I see a lot of risk and not much reward in this play, although I guess it’s fun to try.
The safe play is over the three fairway bunkers and maybe slightly right of that if you're a long hitter. You can see the shortcut fairway over the rock wall at the right side of the pond. I'm not sure I'd recommend this route for anyone buy Bryson.
From above, we can see that the main landing zone is ample. But playing left will make the hole much longer.
There's quite a bit of trouble at the side of this green, so it's best to hedge short and a bit left.
Ten is a shorter par 4 that is, I think, one of the Dye templates—fairway runs to the right and turns left near the green with a waste bunker or cluster of bunkers up the left. You can challenge the left side for a shot at the green or at least a shorter approach shorter approach, or play out to the right for safety, but a worse angle the further you go. In this case, you’d better not play too far right because the fairway runs off into the junk. But there’s plenty enough room. I like the template and I like this hole.
This fairway is wide open, but you don't want to go further than about 260 if you're up the right side.
Anything hugging the left side like this will leave a straight-forward approach.
At 625 yards even from the golds, eleven is one of the longest par 5s you’ll ever see. And it’s very Pete Dye, with bunkers and mounds everywhere.
Still, I liked this hole. There’s a lot of room between the two bunkers on the right and it takes a 300+ yard poke to reach the second one, so you should feel free to swing away. The approach is a tougher call because there are bunkers everywhere up the right side and the visibility is not great. In reality, the bunkers right are pretty deceptive; they end probably 170 yards short of the green so unless you’ve hit a weak drive, you should be able to get past them.
Still, I liked this hole. There’s a lot of room between the two bunkers on the right and it takes a 300+ yard poke to reach the second one, so you should feel free to swing away. The approach is a tougher call because there are bunkers everywhere up the right side and the visibility is not great. In reality, the bunkers right are pretty deceptive; they end probably 170 yards short of the green so unless you’ve hit a weak drive, you should be able to get past them.
The fairway appears to narrow, but it doesn't really until you get to the bunker in the distance at 310.
This looks like a very difficult approach and it is if you've hit a poor drive and can't get past the bunkers on the right. But there's a lot of room if you can.
After that, the fairway widens again and the green is open from the front left. I could do without the mounds/bunkers short-left of the green but otherwise, this hole looks good and plays well. If you hit the ball solidly, you should be fine.
The approach into the green is open and pleasant, just slightly marred by the two pimply bunker/mounds on the left.
Twelve is the pond par 3 that is obligatory on seemingly every Dye course.
Another very tough Dye pond par 3.
Thirteen, another very long (460 yards) par 4, is very much not a standard Pete Dye hole. The drive is blind over a ridge and the bunker on the right that you can see is not an issue. It is a cue for trouble though; carry it and you’ll go down in a ditch that contains the foundation for an old building!
The trouble with this hole is that in addition to being long, the fairway tilts pretty good in the landing area and the approach is uphill, meaning that you’ll likely have a hybrid or fairway wood off an awkward lie for your approach. And this green is narrow and well-defended on the low, right side.
But you can also look it as an opportunity. On my first visit, I had about 220 off a downhill/sidehill lie and hit what was probably the shot of the year (in a year in which I broke 70 for the first time) with my 2-hybrid—a low slinging fade that landed about 20 yards short of the green and rolled up to within 20 feet. It may be the best shot I ever hit with that club in over 15 years of using it!
The trouble with this hole is that in addition to being long, the fairway tilts pretty good in the landing area and the approach is uphill, meaning that you’ll likely have a hybrid or fairway wood off an awkward lie for your approach. And this green is narrow and well-defended on the low, right side.
But you can also look it as an opportunity. On my first visit, I had about 220 off a downhill/sidehill lie and hit what was probably the shot of the year (in a year in which I broke 70 for the first time) with my 2-hybrid—a low slinging fade that landed about 20 yards short of the green and rolled up to within 20 feet. It may be the best shot I ever hit with that club in over 15 years of using it!
Although you can't see the landing zone, the shot is simple: anything between the bunker and the left edge of the fairway.
Then the hole turns right over an old building foundation and plays uphill to a well-guarded green.
The short par 4 fourteenth is another awkward drive, but one that I like. You can tell that the green is down the hill to the right but there are bunkers up this entire side. The question is: how close to skirt them? I’d recommend clubbing down and playing out to the left because you’ll still probably have some kind of wedge into the green.
A second consecutive blind drive, but there are good visual cues. You can tell the right side is danger but the hole turns that way. So somewhere up the right is probably good. And it is.
If you can't tell where a green is, just look for one of the big fans, necessary to improve circulation around the bentgrass in the warm, humid Chesapeake Bay region.
Fifteen is another Dye template, the par 5 where you drive up a right fairway then either have to lay up well back on the right or cross a hazard to get to a left fairway that leads into the green. Actually, this one doesn’t have the layup fairway to the right; all approaches either have to go for the green over the hazard or pick a line to the left where they can reach the fairway. This hole is only about 480 from the golds, so it’s feasible to reach the green in two. But it’s also uphill, so you’ll need two solid shots.
This is a very nice looking drive; a very natural setting with minimal shaping on or around the fairway.
Another kind of blurry photo, but you can see that the further right you go on the second, the longer the carry. The green is just right of the small tree near the center of the shot.
Here's what's in your way if you take the direct line at the green.
Sixteen is a very nice mid-length par 4, a bit more low key than several of the recent holes, with more minimalist shaping to the bunkering and a beautiful and simple green that runs away gently into the long grass and forest at the back. Dye’s crew could do some wonderfully subtle, naturalistic shaping when they tried and I think it’s too bad that they didn’t take this approach more often. Apparently The Golf Club in Columbus is full of this kind of shaping, but I’m not optimistic that I’ll ever get a chance to see it.
A bit hard to tell with the shadows, but there are two bunkers right that are about 225 to carry and 270 to reach respectively.
I love the look of this green, which--atypically for Dye--blends right into its surroundings.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the par 3 seventeenth from the tee. Too bad—it was probably my favorite par 3 of the bunch, swinging gently around a large bunker and forest on the right. This stretch 13-17 was the best on the course and one of the better stretches of holes that I’ve seen on a Dye course.
I didn't get a view from the tee but we can see from the back that the seventeenth green angles off to the back right. A bunker runs along the front right.
More unfortunate is the eighteenth hole, which is a clunker of a finishing hole (but a difficult clunker) if there ever was one. This is another Dye template, the water-down-the-left long par 4 that provides a famous finish to the TPC at Sawgrass.
But it’s just so out-of-place in this landscape. Next to the landing area, the pond is probably raised 15 feet above the forest to its left, making it look completely artificial. To be fair, the pond is fine next to the green, where it blends nicely into the meadow at the left. But I cannot understand why they would extend it back down the fairway. Let the land keep its natural tilt toward the woods and maybe put a few bunkers there. It’d still be plenty enough of a challenge and would look a hell of a lot better.
But it’s just so out-of-place in this landscape. Next to the landing area, the pond is probably raised 15 feet above the forest to its left, making it look completely artificial. To be fair, the pond is fine next to the green, where it blends nicely into the meadow at the left. But I cannot understand why they would extend it back down the fairway. Let the land keep its natural tilt toward the woods and maybe put a few bunkers there. It’d still be plenty enough of a challenge and would look a hell of a lot better.
While challenging, the drive on eighteen is creatively and aesthetically bankrupt, with the pond on the left floating ridiculously, halfway up the tree line.
The approach is better from a landscape architecture perspective, but I think Dye had regurgitated this eighteenth hole concept enough by the late 1990s when Bulle Rock was built.
So as you can see, Bulle Rock is a bit of a mixed bag. Actually, it’s mostly pretty good. The back nine is quite good apart from the two pond holes and the front nine has a few nice holes (3, 5, 6) as well, although several are pretty dull. Thirteen and fourteen are probably the standout holes, although I wouldn’t put either on any greatest holes list.
Still, I think this course to be roughly on par with, if not better than some of Dye’s other highly ranked public courses, like the Irish at Whistling Straits or Meadow Valleys at Blackwolf Run. The Irish is maximal Dye and is really just too much, an issue which Bulle Rock almost completely avoids, save for the eighteenth hole. A lot of the shaping here blends well into the surrounding landscape which I appreciated because the land is quite good and lends itself well to a more minimalist course. Both Meadow Valleys and Bulle Rock suffer from dull holes on their front nine, but Meadow Valleys also has several very awkward holes around the turn that really detract. It does have a better back nine, with several original holes around the river, but I think Bulle Rock’s back nine hangs in well. I prefer Bulle Rock to the Irish, although I’d probably take Meadow Valleys over Bulle Rock by a small margin.
People always complain about the rankings, but I think this is one course that they’ve probably gotten right over the years. I wouldn’t be surprised if, 25 years ago, this was the 50th or 60th best public course in the country. But so many great courses have been built since then and others, like Mid Pines and Pinehurst no. 4 have gotten top shelf makeovers. I can tell you first hand about Pinehurst no. 4 because I played the 90s Fazio version and the new Gil Hanse version. The Fazio version was at best on par with Bulle Rock. The Hanse version is much better. So I think its time on the lists has passed.
Still, while this course no longer belongs on a top 100 public courses list, if you’re in the DC—Baltimore area, can’t play Congressional or Baltimore Country Club, and don’t mind a bit of a drive out into the hinterlands, Bulle Rock is the best course you’ll find and still one very much worth playing.
Still, I think this course to be roughly on par with, if not better than some of Dye’s other highly ranked public courses, like the Irish at Whistling Straits or Meadow Valleys at Blackwolf Run. The Irish is maximal Dye and is really just too much, an issue which Bulle Rock almost completely avoids, save for the eighteenth hole. A lot of the shaping here blends well into the surrounding landscape which I appreciated because the land is quite good and lends itself well to a more minimalist course. Both Meadow Valleys and Bulle Rock suffer from dull holes on their front nine, but Meadow Valleys also has several very awkward holes around the turn that really detract. It does have a better back nine, with several original holes around the river, but I think Bulle Rock’s back nine hangs in well. I prefer Bulle Rock to the Irish, although I’d probably take Meadow Valleys over Bulle Rock by a small margin.
People always complain about the rankings, but I think this is one course that they’ve probably gotten right over the years. I wouldn’t be surprised if, 25 years ago, this was the 50th or 60th best public course in the country. But so many great courses have been built since then and others, like Mid Pines and Pinehurst no. 4 have gotten top shelf makeovers. I can tell you first hand about Pinehurst no. 4 because I played the 90s Fazio version and the new Gil Hanse version. The Fazio version was at best on par with Bulle Rock. The Hanse version is much better. So I think its time on the lists has passed.
Still, while this course no longer belongs on a top 100 public courses list, if you’re in the DC—Baltimore area, can’t play Congressional or Baltimore Country Club, and don’t mind a bit of a drive out into the hinterlands, Bulle Rock is the best course you’ll find and still one very much worth playing.
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