Clustered Spires Golf Course

This course has a great layout and is a great "walking" course when the weather is nice. After a heavy rain several holes can experience a wash out, and the driving range leaves something to be desired. Nonetheless, the layout and grounds keeping for the 18 would be pleasing to most golfers. I am a local and the only thing that keeps me from playing this course more than 1-2 times per year is the staff. Over the years I have experienced the same "holier-than-thou" attitude from pro shop, concessions and even the grounds staff to a point that it it takes a perfect scenario for me return. This course is not GolfNow friendly, and they let you know that. Also, if you are a single, they will not work to help you solidify a tee time. I tried my last round and was told to just show up and see what they could do. I ended up having to wait an hour and twenty minutes to tee off. Once off, pace of play was not monitored, outside of one "marshal' who accused my group of playing with a fivesome when we simply let a single play through.

Despite it being Fathers Day, pace of play was very good. Course was in excellent shape. Didn’t see the beverage cart until the 15th hole!! If you’re walking better bring your own water/Gatorade

We are decent players but lost several balls within 10 feet of the fairway due to rough that was so deep. It had not rained within a few days if our round so these conditions just seemed like poor maintenance to us. A muni course on a Saturday morning needs to be in shape to keep up the pace of play. Greens were ok and staff was pretty friendly.

Second time I have been to this course this year and they had a cart path only restriction. Both times there was not a wet blade of grass nor any soft spots anywhere on the course. Management would not change their mind even after nine holes asking if they had changed. We asked for a red flag exception for a player with a handicap and they would not give it to us. Poor management governed by an incredably incompetent grounds superentendent. If your drive got two feet of fairway good luck finding your ball. No such thing as a first cut. It’s a shame because in past years this is been one of the best values and cared for courses in the area. Also very friendly and accommodating staff in the past. Not so anymore . Very inflexible and cold!

Enjoy playing this course I played it many times would recommend to a friend I will play it again

I really used to love this course but some recent changes have made it almost unplayable for me. I have a disability that includes a fused spine and neck as well as a limited range of motion in my left leg. On the day of our outing the weather was perfect but for some reason carts were restricted to 90 deg. for balls in the fairway, not scramble, which would seem to make more sense. Also carts were restricted to having all four tires on the cart path at tee boxes and greens. On many courses this isn't a big deal, but at Clustered Spires the cart path is quite a long way from either tee or green and many tees and greens require trekking up and down some pretty steep hills. Not the easiest thing to do when you have a bad hip! Previous reviews have cited the ongoing work on 16 and 17, but none have mentioned that the only way to get to the fairway is a boarded path near the green. If you happen to doink a tee shot it's a long walk back to your ball! How about a crossing farther back? Also, how about mowing the rough BEFORE the golfers start playing. It will improve the pace of play and we won't lose so many balls! We didn't see a mower till the 14th hole.

Finally, how about showing the disabled golfer some love with more liberal cart policies! At other similar courses the instruction for handicapped golfers ranged from keeping 30 feet from greens and bunkers (very reasonable) to just stay off the greens and out of the bunkers. Also, how about shortening up some of the forced carries to the fairway off the tee. We're not all Dustin Johnson, ya know! Well that's my view. If you are a golfer with limited mobility, this is probably not a great place to play. Perhaps they will make some reasonable accommodations in the future.

My buddy and I played with another twosome on Saturday. We played in under four hours. The course was in fantastic condition save #16 and #17 which are altered due to a water line construction project. The rough was thick and hideous. Do not get in it! The course is really fun, with some really good holes. All the par 5s are good. #9 is a great hole. We really like Clustered Spires.

This is my first time playing this course this year, but this is one of my go-to courses in the Frederick area.

Greens are a little behind other courses in the area and seem to have been aerated quite recently, from which they have not recovered yet. Fairways in good condition.

My biggest issue this round was that there is some major work ongoing on the 16th hole. They've put in a temporary 16th hole, which is a joke, and as a result they've also ruined hole 17 with a temporary tee box. I didn't see anything about this on their website when booking. They would have been much better of just skipping the 16th and play the 17th as it should be played. And most importantly, they should let people know about this on their website! As this came as a surprise, it kind of ruined the day.

Was a beautiful day and the course was in real nice shape. Besides a funny hole on the back 9 where they have been forced to make some course changes as a new road comes in, but it is a fun 120 yard par 3 onto the grass with BIG hole!

I have played Cluster of Spires multiple times and it is always in good condition. Currently and for several months, the 16th green and fairway have been under re-construction with a temporary green on the 17th fairway. We found it difficult to find the temporary tees for the 17th hole as they were 50 yards closer than normal. Better signage to the 17th tee boxes are needed. Won't stop me from coming back but it would make life easier to play these 2 holes while working on the new green and fairway.

Considering the weather (on the cold side) it was a good day. I enjoy playing here and playing at the Golf Now Hot Deal rate was a bonus.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. The course was in pretty good shape considering we haven't had any Spring weather yet. The tee boxes on Holes 16 and 17 are still temporarily re-located but it wasn't a big deal.

I will be going back.

I've always enjoyed playing at Clustered Spires. It's a good layout, and in season, they really go the extra steps to make it an upscale experience. Obviously, they aren't going to be as fully staffed in February... The course was in good condition given the recent weather, but there is construction that has one hole closed and the following hole is split into two. Not ideal, but ok. Wish they would have mentioned something on the website. On a related note, Monocacy Blvd is closed to traffic, so you may need to plan an extra 5-10 minutes travel time.

My "staff friendliness" score dropped on this particular round due to having to wait until my official tee time even though I arrived ~90 minutes prior to my time and there were plenty of open spots (even open tee times). I kind of get that, but by the time I was finally at the first tee, the course was now crowded and the pace of play was much slower than had I been allowed to start when I was ready. Oh well... At least the pace wasn't so slow that I had to end my round early (which at times I was concerned about).

To start, as other reviewers have mentioned, if you book through GolfNow expect to be treated like a second class citizen. I was initially pleased when booking became available through GolfNow as I could get a tee time as a single. Prior to that, they would not schedule singles and when asked about available times/slots the standard answer was always after 2PM (not true). Now you can get a single time BUT they will not allow you to go out until that time even if the tee is wide open. Also the course is under construction. #16 - a signature long par 3 is completely closed and replaced with a dinky 110 yard temporary hole with no real green. 17 is no longer played from its correct tees but instead from a temporary tee in the driving range which is little more than a muddy patch of grass. With this in mind, you still get to pay full price on green fees (???) and nowhere on the website is this mentioned. I won't be going back until the course is in its original layout and I can stomach feeling like they are doing me a favor.

The greens are always in great shape. Their landscape crew is always dialed in, especially during tournament weeks.