A Return to The Rookery

The Rookery
Milton, Del
Yards: 2886/3253 – 6139
Par: 35/36 = 71
Rating: 68.8, Slope: 123
Score: 46/51 = 97
Date: July 15, 2012

A family tradition returned last Sunday when I teed it up with my cousins for a round of golf at the Delaware Shore. It had been a Labor Day weekend tradition in the past, but because of family and moving the few  years, the traditional family round at the shore had been missing. My two cousins and my cousin's husband joined me for a round at The Rookery in Milton, Del., just north of Lewes. It is a fairly wide open course that was co-built by Pete Oakley, the 2004 Senior British Open champion.

 The Rookery Scorecard

The front nine is the easier of the two at The Rookery, playing at 2886 yards. There are two bizarre holes that come back-to-back--the Fourth and Fifth Holes. The Fourth is a 290-yard Par 4 that has a large pond in the middle of the fairway. It is the ultimate risk/reward hole, requiring a drive of about 270 yards to clear the water. You lay up off the tee with a 7- or 8-iron, then have an 8- or 9-iron into the green. The Fifth is a 385-yard Par 4 that doglegs left. You tee shot must reach the end of the dogleg to have a clear shot at the green because a line of line trees stands across the front left portion of the green. I started well, with bogeys at the First and Third Holes, and a par at the 168-yard Par 3 Second Hole. But I doubled the Forth when I hit my approach fat and into the water. I also doubled the 491-yard Par 5 Sixth Hole and the 390-yard Par 4 Seventh Hole, but I had a nice par at the short 115-yard Ninth Hole. This gave me a 46 for the front nine. I wasn't hitting it great off the tee and my chipping and pitching was suspect, but I grinded out a decent score.

 The Fourth Hole

The back nine at The Rookery is a great deal tougher, with three Par 5s that measure 575-, 466- and 566-yards. The first of those comes at the Tenth Hole, where a row of bunkers crosses the fairway about 200 yards from the green. The Tenth is followed by the 425-yard Par 4 Eleventh Hole. I made double bogey at both. I managed a bogey and then a par at the second Par 5--the Thirteenth Hole. But then I failed to take advantage of the next four holes, which feature three Par 3s. I made a triple bogey at the Par 3 Fourteenth, double bogey at the Par 3 Fifteenth and bogey at the Par 3 Seventeenth. I did have a par putt at the Par 5 Eighteenth, but missed for a closing bogey. As has been the case throughout this season, I was five strokes higher on the back nine that the front, shooting a 51 for a total of 97. I just didn't take advantage of those holes where I could score on the back.

 The cross bunkers at the Tenth Hole

The Rookery is really a course you must play if you get to the Delaware Shore. It is always in great shape and the constant breezes and course length make it a challenge. We paid $54 with cart for our round at 11:15 a.m. on a Sunday morning in July, which is a bargain compared to the more celebrated Baywood Greens in nearby Long Neck, Del.

Cooked at The Rookery

The Rookery
Milton, Del
Yards: 2886/3253 - 6139
Par: 35/36 - 71
Rating: 68.8, Slope: 116
Score: 44/52 = 96
Date: September 2, 2008

My Delaware adventures continued on the day after Labor Day with a round at The Rookery, a beautiful course located just off Route 1 eight miles north of Rehoboth Beach. The course, which is pretty open, was designed and is co-owned by Pete Oakley, the 2004 British Senior Open Champion. I had the good fortune of watching Oakley at the 2000 U.S. Senior Open at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. The course is named for a Blue Heron nesting area -- a rookery -- located in a grove of trees located in the southeast portion of the course (see course layout photo below). Conditions are always very good at The Rookery, and this visit was no exception. The fairways were lush, the greens smooth and the tee boxes in excellent shape. There were, however, some dry patches in the rough off the fairways, the result of the lack of rainfall. The Rookery also features a very nice practice area, although I have never taken advantage of it during the many times I've played at the course.

The Rookery Scorecard

The front nine at The Rookery is the shorter and easier of the two, with only one Par 5 and two Par 4s playing 300 yards or less. The oddest holes on the course can be found on the front nine: the 4th and 5th. The 4th is a 290-yard Par 4 which features a large pond in the middle of the fairway and requires a drive of about 265 yards off the tee to carry the water. From a slightly elevated tee, to a fairway that slopes toward the water, and 8- or 9-iron is all that is usually required for average hitters. The 5th is a 385-yard dogleg right which has a row of tall pine trees across the fairway from the left blocking approach shots that don't get far enough into the dogleg.

The opening Par 4 at The Rookery

The back nine features three Par 5s of 575, 566 and 466 yards: the 10th, 14th and 18th Holes, respectively. The 10th has a row of four bunkers running across the fairway about 160 yards from the green, just ready and waiting to snare any poorly placed lay-up shot. The 12th and 13th have water running all the way down the right and left sides of the fairways, respectively. The 14th is a 200-yard Par 3 that runs along Route 1, and is followed by the 15th, a 140-yard Par 3 that features an island green. The long closing hole features numerous strategically placed bunkers along the edges of the fairway and one in front of and behind the the left side of the green.

The 8th Green looking back towards the tee

I teed off at The Rookery in the early afternoon, my third round in five days. Temperatures were in the mid-80s, but the humidity was high and there is virtually no respite from the sun on this course. I played very steady golf, with pars at the 3rd, 7th and 9th Holes. My putting was still a bit shaky, but the only real slip-up came at the 6th, a 491-yard Par 5 that doglegs right and has water in front of the green. After hitting my drive to the left side of the dogleg, I laid up to about 150 yards. With the trouble in front of the green, I should have taken the extra club (6-iron), but I tried hitting a 7-iron which landed just short in water, leading to a double-bogey 7. But I regrouped and parred two of the next three holes to go out in 44 and visions of a very good round danced prematurely in my head.

The tee shot on the 575-Yard 10th Hole

The back nine started with an acceptable bogey on the longest hole on the course, but after hitting the green in regulation at the 11th, a 425-yard Par 4, I four-putted and began to feel the energy gauge dropping to zero, a 6, 7 and 8 at the next three holes followed quickly, and I'm not sure how I even finished the 14th Hole. My legs were gone and my energy was zapped. I found a small patch of shade under a little tree between the 14th green and 15th tee and sat down in the grass for about 15-20 minutes, drinking all the water that was in my bottle. Somehow, I manged to play in the last four holes, gutting out a 4-4-4-7: a par, two bogeys and a double at the last when I shanked a bad lie in the rough into a pond over by the 10th tee. Even though I stumbled home in 52, I managed to grind out a round of 96, which made me feel good that I never quit on the round.

The bunkers across the 10th fairway

The Rookery is another Rehoboth Beach-area course that I would recommend be put on your itinerary if your are going to Ocean City, Maryland for a golf getaway. It is easily accessible either traveling to or from Ocean City from the Delaware Valley.

More photos of The Rookery:

The course layout

The 3rd Hole, a 300-yard Par 4

The view from the tee at the 4th Hole

The 9th Hole, a short Par 3 over wetlands

The approach to the 10th Green from the fairway bunkers

The 13th, the second of three Par 5s on the back nine

The practice range at The Rookery

Photos by The Muni Golfer

The Highs and Lows of Delaware Golf

Well, I have concluded my yearly Labor Day week-long trip to the Delaware Shore. While my wife was hitting the beaches of Lewes, I was hitting the local links, with rounds at Baywood Greens, Marsh Island and The Rookery. My game experienced some highs--long accurate tee shots with my new TaylorMade Burner Driver and a couple of birdies at Baywood--and some lows--a 10 on a Par 4 at both Baywood and Marsh Island and eight lost balls at Marsh Island. I also hit the local golf shops, but didn't find anything to buy. I did, however, pick up three pairs of Under Armour sports briefs at the Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth Beach. I was hoping to get in a fourth round at either Jonathan's Landing in Magnolia, Del., or a second round at Marsh Island, but a family emergency prevented it from happening.

Here are my rounds and reviews of the courses I played:

Baywood Greens
Long Neck, Del
Yards: 6088, Par: 72
Score: 55/48 = 103
Date: August 31, 2007

Baywood Greens bills itself as "the Augusta of the Northeast" and it is easy to see why. The course is beautifully landscaped everywhere you look. The fairways are green and lush and the greens are fast and true. Our golfing experience started off when we were greeted at the bag drop. Our clubs were placed on the carts while my cousins and I went into a beautiful Pro Shop to pay our greens fees. Baywood isn't cheap. We paid $75 after 1 p.m. (we had a 1:18 tee time). Upon exiting the Pro Shop and showing our receipts, we were directed to our carts and told to go to the practice range to hit "as many balls as we wanted" and we would be called when our tee time approached. They also had a putting green, as well as a green with practice bunkers, something I wish now I had taken advantage of because I think I spent more time in the sand that day than my wife. Once we were directed to the First Tee, the starter gave us the rules of the day: which fairways prohibited carts, which areas and flower beds we could take relief from, etc. He also gave each of us a Baywood Greens bag tag. The carts at Baywood are equipped with the GPS system that shows you the hole, the distances to hazards, the green, etc., and even tells you when another cart is in the fairway up ahead in case you can't visually see it.

I drove the ball beautifully most of the day and was often the longest off the tee. However, my short game was non-existent. And I think I found half of the sand traps on the course. I managed to play out of them, but just barely as most had a very, very shallow level of sand. I made a very disappointing 10 at the Par 4 4th Hole after I played ping-pong by chipping back and forth over the green a few times. The most interesting hole at Baywood is the 385-yard Par 4 14th Hole. Standing on the tee, you play over water with two options to the green. You can play the longer route around the large lake as a long dog-leg left, or you can take take the shorter direct route by hitting to a small, narrow island fairway. I was hitting the ball really well with my driver and easily hit the island, leaving me just a pitching wedge to the green. However I three-putted for a 5. I followed that with a disastrous 8 at the 145-yard uphill Par 3 15th Hole by topping TWO tee shots into water in front of the tee. I did redeem myself on the next two holes, the 452-yard Par 5 16th and the 346-yard Par 4 17th Hole by making back-to-back birdies! On 16, I laid up on my second shot, then dropped a wedge about 18 inches from the cup. At 17, I canned a 70-foot putt from the front right fringe to a back left hole location.

While I doubt if I will be playing Baywood Greens on a regular yearly basis, it is a course I will look forward to returning to sometime in the future.

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Marsh Island
Angola, Del
Yards: 4738, Par: 65
Score: Practice Round
Date: September 2, 2007

Marsh Island is a short little course that runs along Love Creek just west of the Lewes-Rehoboth Beach area. But don't let its length lull you into a fall sense of security, especially if the wind is blowing. While largely open in the front area of the course, the back features numerous protected wetlands that can reach out and easily snare a wayward shot. The course features some long, moderate and short Par 3s, short Par 4s, and two Par 5s. There are, however, a couple of holes that just don't quite feel like they belong on this course. One is the 271-yard Par 4 7th Hole. Even from the very back tees, all that is required is a 9-iron at most. But you must place the ball strategically because wetlands stand between the end of the fairway and green, with about a 10-yard opening to hit over the wetlands to a raised green. I made a 10 on this hole. Lucky Hole #13 is a 129-yard Par 3 from a slightly elevated tee to a very narrow green with water in front and wetlands to the right and behind the green. Choose your club wisely on this hole. Hole #15 is a 301-yard Par 4 which requires a tee shot of about 175 yards over wetlands to a fairway that doglegs sharply to the right. Go too far and you are in a narrow bunker to the left and short of the green, which again, has wetlands and Love Creek behind. Hole #16 is a 225-yard Par 3 in which the green sits about behind 30-yards behind a very narrow opening in the trees that stand about 185 yards off the tee. I often feel like a field goal kicker looking at a 55-yarder with 3 seconds left to win the game as I stand on the tee. Marsh Island is a great little course that will test your patience, as well as your short- and long-iron game. I should know, I lost 8 golf balls during my practice round!

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The Rookery
Milton, Del
Yards: 6139, Par: 71
Score: 45/46 = 91
Date: September 4, 2007

The Rookery is a challenging golf course that was conceived and is owned by Pete Oakley, the 2004 Senior British Open Champion. It is a long, very-wide open course that features plenty of hazards, including water, wetlands and sand traps. It can be especially difficult if the wind is blowing, but I was lucky and played it on a calm, but humid day. I walked, as I usually do, and The Rookery is favorable to those who lug theirs bags rather than riding in a cart.

I continued to hit my driver extremely well at The Rookery, which was probably one of the keys to my round. I managed to have short irons into a lot of the greens, but I couldn't make a putt to save my life. The front nine at The Rookery features two very quirky holes back-to-back. The Par 4 4th Hole is 290 yards from a raised tee, bit a large pond sits in the middle of fairway. It takes a tee shot of about 260 yards to clear the water, so I usually lay up with nothing more than an 8-iron off the tee, then another 8-iron to the large green. The 385-yard Par 4 5th Hole is a sharp dog-leg left that requires a lengthy tee shot to clear the woods on the left side of the fairway. If you do manage to get out to the dog-leg, you want to be on the right side of the fairway or else you have to hit over four or five pines that guard the green from the left. The back nine features three Par 5s, #s 10, 13 and 18, with 10 and 18 being 575-yards and 566-yards respectively. Holes #14 and 15 are both Par 3s, with 14 being 200 yards and 15 being a short 140 yards to an island green.

I have been playing The Rookery since it opened in 2001. It is a well maintained course and, although long, always a joy to play. It has been on my Delaware Labor Day week play list every year and I don't see that changing any time soon.