The St. Anne's Club

Last year I played this course three times when only 11 and 15 holes were open. The course had a lot of bare spots but it was good to finally get to play a course that’s was 10 yrs in the making. A new season has arrived and all 18 are now open. The course that was open last year has really started to come in and is looking great. There still are some bad areas but tee boxes are getting new sod, fairways are looking great and greens are smooth with good speed. I finally got to play the holes that were not open last year which are 9-11. Those holes are beautifully designed and will make the average golfer nervous for almost every shot. There is a giant valley the runs long the holes which should name that stretch of holes The Pit. The course was already challenging enough and then you add those holes in. For almost the rest of the course there is water on every hole and the opposite side has tall fescue. This course should definitely be a stop for most golfers and by next year this will probably be a five star course.

Over the last year I have now played this course four times and it just keeps getting better. Last year I played it when it only had 11 and 15 holes open. It had a lot of patchy areas but was good that it was finally open. Today I finally got to play all 18 holes which made it a whole new beast. The opening of holes 9-11 are just insane holes to be added to what was already a hard layout. Those three holes should be called the Pit for the giant valley that plays around them. The design of this course is absolutely fantastic and it will definitely become an area favorite. The course still needs a little more time to grow in but is very playable with some newly sodded tee boxes, nice fairways and smooth greens. Like my title said, bring extra balls. There is water on almost every hole and the fairways are also lined with tall fescue. Make sure you bring you’re clubs for accuracy over distance. I expect in a year that all the bare spots will be grown in and this will be a 5 star course.

I collect golf courses the way I once collected baseball cards! Today was course number 823 at Links at St. Anne's in Middletown, Delaware. That's about an hour south of Philadelphia. Development of this course was apparently begun "back in the days of Tiger-related golf expansion" but the project went dormant... apparently until last year. L@SA is part of a fairly large, upscale development. The clubhouse is structurally complete though much of it wasn't open today (early in the season). Though the shop isn't fully stocked, my greeting in the shop could not have been more cordial or helpful. The course has 15 holes complete with the three additional holes to come on line this spring. The new holes can be seen behind the current #2 though the routing is temporary. We played the white tees at something like 6000. The back tees weren't open yet but they'll probably go another 600 yards longer. The course is fairly flat with an abundance of water and it's mostly devoid of trees. The bunkering is strategic. The greens putt nicely but there are rough spots occasionally in some parts of the fairway... and more than just occasionally in the rough. There will be high grasses as another defense, come summertime. I got paired with a good player and a nice guy, Matt. His guidance on the lines to be taken off some tees and how to avoid some lurking water that couldn't be seen off the tee. This is Allen Liddicoat's (Wilmington based real estate developer and golf course designer) 3rd project (Frog Hollow and Back Creek) design. He has a sense of what should happen on a links style design. I see a bright future for this course. The course should be judged for what it is (very young and early in the season). I'll be back!

Definitely the worst golf course I have ever played. They should be ashamed that they have opened this course for play and are charging money to play it. Please do not waste your time and money. On the bright side we were the only group on the course so we zipped through.

My girls and I were in the area and decided to stop in a grab a bite to eat. We had Mahi Mahi sandwich, Chicken wrap and tortilla chicken salad.

It was excellent. I was told that they got a new cook and he does specials.

I recommend that anyone, that is in the area, should definitely stop in and grab something to eat. They are open to the public.