Cacapon Resort State Park

I will not be back. Have played here numerous times but it was cart path only (yes we have had a lot of rain but you could have done 90 degrees; especially with all the marshals). Greens were horrificly slow - like putting on velcro. Almost like they are scared they might lose the greens due to the heat/humidity. Fairways were in horrible shape. You can go 10 minutes farther and play Whitetail for $36 - faster greens & in much better condition. This is an excellent layout but to not cut the greens to a decent speed is not acceptable.

This review is in 2 parts... the first was that overall, it is a good course, lots of fun hole, elevation changes, etc... the bad thing is that it was cart path only due to all of the recent rains and with all of the hills, the body really ached after this round... it was about 60% dry, but there was some spots that were really wet. On quite a few drives, the ball stuck in the fairway.

So, beware and might call ahead if there has been recent rains within the last week at this course.

Played this course on Labor Day Weekend. Conditions were not as good as I have seen in the past, but this summer has been rough on courses in the Mid Atlantic. I will attribute the course conditions to that. Greens looked good though. Fairways took the worst of it. Pace of play was OK for a Holiday weekend. Course has a good layout. Fun and challenging, but did not have any tricked up holes. Overall a course that I would not mind playing on a regular basis.

We stayed in the Cacapon Resort State Park over easter weekend. Having come down from Canada Friday morning, we wanted to come far enough south that we were to be sure of no snow. If you go, stay in one of the cabins - same price as the lodge, but you get a kitchen and fireplace which is great for evenings of drinking local moonshine.

I was the only golfer in the group, so planned on going out as a single and possibly getting paired up.

The prices are unreal - afternoon 9 holes for $13, $35 for 18 on a weekend morning, range balls for $3.

The course was still recovering from a tough winter - they actually had snow. Despite that, the tees, fairways, rough, and bunkers all looked in great condition given that it was very early season. The greens were long as they didn't want to hurt the grass; however, they still rolled true.

The layout is great - it has a wide variety of holes; dog legs, straight away holes, all of varying distance. The front 9 starts fairly wide open, and then wanders back into the trees. At no point does it feel too tight; there are the woods framing some holes, but it's forgiving enough to leave some room for error. There's very little water on the course, only in play on 4 holes. The back nine is entirely set the woods, except for the 10th tee and 18th green. While a few holes run parallel in a back and forth fashion, they're all different as they go gently up and down lower edge of the mountain ridge.

There weren't any leaves on the trees when I was there, but I can imagine just how beautiful it can be. On the 11th hole of my first round, a deer was standing 2 yards off the green grazing and watching me as I quietly putted out. Getting a birdie was nice, having that audience was even better.

I easily walked the course all three times I played. There are no big hills or long gaps green to tee. Even on the busy Easter Saturday, my slowest round was just under 4 hours walking in a foursome. In a two some, we got around in just over three hours.

The clubhouse and grill are pretty basic no-frills setups. The breakfast sandwich was great and I'd go back just to have another Reuben and fries after my round.

If you want a low cost get away weekend with golf and other activities, Cacapon is a great option.

It's not a 5 star course or experience; you don't get the over-the-top service, the perfectly groomed course with tour speed greens. If you want a serene weekend away from everything this is for you. It's a great easy escape - it's simple, it's inexpensive, it's relaxing.