Pilgrim's Oak Golf Course

Played on a beautiful day, with a GolfNow app tee time deal. First time on this course. I had always heard good things about it.

Pros and Cons:

Pros: Really nice course layout, with a mix of challenging holes. Good elevation changes and holes facing different wind conditions. Generous fairways on many of the holes. I played from the blue tees, which was a good challenging distance for me. Greens rolled true. Fairways were a little soft, but to be fair, we had gotten a bit of rain for a couple days prior. They probably needed another day to drain fully.

Staff was very friendly. Pro shop was outfitted nicely.

Cons:

Layout, while challenging, was really confusing for a first time visitor like me. On some tee boxes I had a difficult time actually figuring out which direction I was supposed to be hitting. You really should never have to stand on a tee box and go 360º looking around for the correct direction to hit. They need better signage, or some aiming stakes on the fairways.

Locker room and bathroom amenities were not as good as I expected for a course with a high reputation.

No marshals on the course to help with pace of play. Even with the course not very crowded there were foursomes and threesome playing VERY slow and not to good about letting faster groups through.

For some reason, the driving range was closed at 9am that day, so I had no chance to hit balls before the round. That just shouldn't happen. Not at 9am.

Overall, the pros outweigh the cons at Pilgrims Oak. I'll definitely be coming back. I hope the management addresses the pace of play (with marshals) and the confusing tee boxes.

Course is in Great shape. Very little brown spots and no crabgrass

Pilgrim Oak was worth the 1 1/2 hour trip. It's layout and course maintenance was superb. The staff was friendly and provided helpful advice. This is a " must play " course.

Course is in great shape, greens are very challenging. Would have been a great round if a Marshall was out to speed up the 4-some in front of us. Since they were so slow we got caught in the rain, but we should have been done already.

Of all the many courses I’ve Hot Dealed in the Philly tri-state area, I think this one is now at the top. A beautiful, interesting, tough track. I remember the par-4 #11 and the par-3 #12 being particularly spectacular.

Approach shots call for precision, because the poa annua greens are on the small side with lots of humps, swales, slopes, and many have significant drop-offs on one or more sides.

Fairly generous width to the fairways. However, the rough, while well-manicured, is pretty thick and often required longer than expected to find my ball in it.

I thought the blue tee’s 70.4 rating and 131 slope are understated. (I would have guessed something like 71.5/136.)

This course was worth the 1.25 hour drive, especially with the $20 Hot Deal.

Was able to get out earlier in the season and the course was in great shape. The greens were just aerated so they were a little bumpy. Played OK for the 2nd time out. Hole #12 is still in my head. :)

I just made my annual pilgrimage to this course and for the life of me I don't know why I don't make the trip more often..Last year I promised myself I would play here more but then the thieves in Trenton increased the gasoline tax by 165% and that took care of that. But back to the course, it is just a pleasure to play. tees are level, fairways are plush, the rough is well...rough and the greens are true and sometimes pretty difficult. There are a couple holes that I'm not a big fan of but that is true of all courses.Lastly, and this is not a knock but a observation, If you are planning to take an elderly Dad or your Uncle Louie with the bad knees you may want to pick another course as a lot of the greens are in a bowl or semi bowl with the cart paths on the top rim which means you are walking down to them and then walking up from them, Also the cart paths are a ways from most greens so plan on walking a fair bit even when having a cart..

Course was in excellent condition for early in the season. Places too wet for carts were clearly marked. Beautiful course!

The staff was super friendly and accommodating, one of the best. Course conditions were beyond what one could expect mid season, let alone February. It was one of the more enjoyable times on a golf course I've had. The course is a challenge with its undulating fairways, elevated greens, blind landing zones. If you haven't played here before, don't get frustrated. The first time out you're better served playing conservatively, than attacking. OK, here's the real rub, the greens. They're in amazing condition, but are VERY difficult. I've played golf only a year, and my strength is putting. This place turned a strength into a weakness. It' safe to say it cost me 9-10 strokes, when I normally gain 4-6 strokes. Hole 11 green is flat out unfair.....!!!!

Remember, bring you A game putting, and be patient.

Overall course layout is great, very scenic location and course conditions were excellent, especially for late December. Other than the 11th hole & green being almost impossible/unfair (especially depending on pin placement), good experience and enjoyable round. Openness of course doesn't overly penalize, but must be fairly long and accurate with middle and long irons to shoot low score. Clubhouse desk manager could be bit friendlier.

Fast undulating greens and lots of hills on the course.

Pilgrim oak is wide open with great views. Course has many challenges.

The course is always in great shape. Best value for your money. Just a snack bar with little room for hole 19. No cart girl. Staff is friendly.

This course is great. The greens are tough, many two tiered greens with slopes that take the ball off the greens. This is a dry course, no alcohol is served.

The price was well worth the trip. The tee boxes were in poor shape and the pin placements were set up by Marque De Sade but the fairways and greens were beautiful. I would definitely return.

Course conditions are excellent. Great fairways and awesome greens..... Surprisingly greens a little slow.... But so undulating that you don't mind them being slow... Tee boxes were a little beat up and most were aerated. Never the less this course is beautiful. Do not just pull driver out and go... Think about each shot first or you will not like your results. Smart golf. Only downfall is no Ranger so pace gets a lil wacky and literally people jumping around to different holes.... Ranger needs to get a handle on this.

This course is always in great shape. The price is fair and better than most for a weekend rate. The junk courses in northern md are 10 to 15 more and they don't compare to this course. It's worth the extra 25min ride for me. Most of my friends call this course the best kept secret. It's never too busy and you can get a round in usually under 4hrs.