White Clay Creek Country Club Humbles Me (Again)

There are golf courses that offer the whole package to a golfer: challenging course, great amenities, and no mercy.  White Clay Creek Country Club is that kind of course.  I played this course many many times over the years and donated countless golf balls.  Despite the frustration, I keep coming back.

White Clay Creek Overview:

White Clay Creek is a challenge course that is unforgiving to those who cannot keep their tee shots in the fairway. Players cannot recover errant tee shots from adjacent fairways.  The courses architecture weaves it through the Delaware Park property which puts the course’s creek along many fairways and thick foliage on the others. This course may cost you more balls than you are used to. This is not a hackers’ course. White Clay Creek demands shot selection versus the ole grip it and rip it.  The elevated greens make reaching the greens with a trickling on approach shot impossible.

Tee markers are painted jockey helmets.

Tee signage with distance for each tee box.

Practice putting green located outside clubhouse.

In cart GPS allows for players to ask how far from a spot on the hole.

Driving range area with unlimited golf balls.

Clubhouse with pro shop, full showers in locker room and bar & grill.

One of many creeks winding their way through the course.

Course runs near training area of Delaware Park’s racing horses.

Best chipping practice range anywhere.

Front nine of scorecard with poker chip.

Back of scorecard with local rules and course information.

The facilities are top notch. The clubhouse has full service bathroom with showers. The practice area is excellent. Unlimited balls are included in the greens free. I will tell you, the pro shop will tell you and the starter will tell you get there early.  The practice areas bunker and chipping area allow you to warm up all aspects of your game.

The golf carts are all equipped with GPS, which helps in shot selection and play selection.  Players can touch points on the hole depiction to determine distance to lay up point.  This is a very common use of the GPS for me.

For strategic tips on playing the course, check out the Pro Tips section of White Clay Creek’s website.

Condition of White Clay Creek:

Spring teased a beautiful day when I played.  I was happy to see that the course trimmed back a lot of brush areas along side of several fairways.  The grounds crew recently aerated the greens which is the sign of a well maintained golf course.

The day I played the random threesome I was partnered with was a no show so I played two balls to worked on my shot selection.

Par 3 7th hole reverse view.

Par 5 8th hole has a carry off the tee box.

11th tee calls for a 200 yard tee shot. Don’t slice.

Tee box view from 5th hole.

Back tees on 6th hole add distance to carry.

Sand trap guarding 16th hole green.

Second shot toward 15th hole a par 5. Creek minimizing landing area in front of green.

Looking back on 12th hole over creek in front of green.

If I ran White Clay Creek:

I would up the salesmanship of the practice area.  The starter and I shake our heads at ground running to the first tee after hitting a handful of balls.

I would also look into allowing players to place bets on horse races by swiping their credit card through the cart GPS unit.

Favorite White Clay Creek Hole: #3

This par five is a nice planned shot play with a devious green at the end. Your tee shot has a wide area to land. The best option is down the middle as usual but an errant shots left or right can recover for the important third shot.

Your second shot is made to a zone about 100 yards from the green.   This landing area is slightly hidden by a sand trap on the left side of the fairway while water marks the right side. The third shot should be a simple 100 yard wedge shot except the green sitting fifty feet above you and an environmental area blocking your view. This makes precision tricky since you want to hit your shot on the same tier of the green as the pin.

Tee box view of hole #3

Second shot to go over sand trap and stay away from water on the right.

100 yard shot to green over environmental area.

Green of Hole #3 with view of gradients that roll toward the front of the green.

View from green looking back on hole #3.

The green makes this hole a challenge to par. The green has two main shelves that both slops aggressively toward the environmental area you just flew over. If you land on the top tier and the pin in on the tier below, enjoy your three putt if you make it.

My final say:

The course is a challenge. Though my ego gets bruised, I always want to come back for revenge. That and the facilities make this course worth the drive and the price.  Do yourself a favor and get there 45 minutes before tee time to enjoy the facilities.

White Clay Creek Scorecard:

White Clay Creek contact information:

• Website: http://www.whiteclaycreekgolfcourse.com
• Facebook: WhiteClayCCC