Review Date
April 23, 2010

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by: Rise42, Scratch Golfer

Summary:
If you cant hit it far, go play the inside nine. This is a bombers golf course.

I've been playing at Northwest Golf Course (formerly Northwest Park)since the mid nineties and it's never been in this good condition. The arrival of the new superintendent in 2007 was the major contributor to this. The course doesn't have a difficult layout, classic layout with wide fairways and large greens. Depending on the height of the rough, it can almost be like playing a US Open style course in the sense of being 7400 yards from the tips and only being able to advance your ball 130 yards out of the rough when its long. The fairways offer little roll most of the time so the longest course in the county usually plays longer than the scorecard indicates. Most players should play the white tees...usually 6300 yards. To play the blue tees I'd recommend 12 or lower handicap. And the tips should only be played by 4s or lower and be able to hit their drives 280 and STRAIGHT. This is where the issue of pace of play comes in. Since Northwest is the longest in the county, many want to play outside their normal tee box. I cant tell you how many times I've seen people shooting in the 100's from the back tees...why put yourself through the misery? And slow down the whole course at the same time.

Once known for slow, bumpy greens, Northwest now has some of the best greens in the county (both public and private). They're rolled several times weekly and kept between a 10 and 12 usually during peak season. Get above a many of the holes and you're almost guaranteed a three putt. Gentle sloping greens have turned into eye opening breaking putts that you have to respect now. Tee boxes are maintained well although a few of them are misaligned with the fairway causing the player to really mind their alignment when teeing off. Fairways are beautifully cut as well. The rough has slowly been creeping in over the past few years making the course a bit tighter, but in the grand scheme of things its still a wide open course. All grass from tee to green is full, very few patchy areas.

The front nine has a good mix of holes with a fair amount of slope on most of the fairways. Many holes have a good bit of elevation change as well keeping the player mindful of their lies. The front is about as wide open as you can get this side of the pond. The back nine is a bit different. Most of the holes are lined with tall, mature trees that give the back good character. Several dog-legs on the back (11 and 13) give you a chance to carry trees and cut corners for risk-reward opportunities. The fairways have less slope on the back but the greens make up for that. Many of which can be diabolical, depending on pin placement...and it's all about the speed of the greens. Few holes on the back have water on them, but you need to be quite errant to make it in play, except 16, where the creek actually can come into play. All holes on the back offer their own bit of challenge, even the 348 yard finishing holes that doesn't fit in to the rest of the course.

One thing you cant overlook are the bunkers. They need major work, so be careful. Many of which have packed clay with a half inch of sand or dirt in them...good for fairway bunkers, not so good for green-side, you'll catch one on the blade if you're not careful.

Overall, the course is a great deal. Not as challenging as PB Dye or Blue Mash, but usually its in just as good or better condition than those two courses...and you're not paying $100 on the weekend to play either.

Customer Service:
The staff at Northwest are very helpful and accommodating most of the time. The pro shop is well equipped with everything from balls to visors to shoes. The only thing they don't have is a wide variety of clubs. Daily operations run smoothly most of the time. Busy days can be difficult for any course in Montgomery county due to budget cut backs, occasionally Northwest can be undermanned. Snack bar is average, but has knowledgeable staff working which makes things go smoothly. Frequent player program out there is good too.

The biggest problem with customer service at Northwest is the pace of play. The marshals are quite ineffective at moving groups along that are falling behind. Occasionally they will tell the group to play faster, but RARELY will they move a group into proper position. That's the doing of the owners of the course, the Montgomery County Revenue Authority. They don't want any complaints so the marshals basically have their hands tied and are told not to move groups. Pace of play is the biggest drawback to playing out there and needs immediate improvement.

Similar Courses Played:
Its very difficult to name any local courses that are similar to Northwest. Poolesville's layout is similar, but NW is much longer. It's wide open like Congressional's Blue, but not as much slope, and surprisingly it was in better shape than Congressional last year before renovations. If I were to compare it to any course I'd say Torrey Pines South without the views and not as many bunkers.

Review Date
August 24, 2008

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Reviewed by: 1fairway, Shoots in the 80s

Summary:
Northwest is long, 7400 yards from the tips. The length is the challenge. It is lined by very tall, mature trees throughout, though the trees only come into play on a handful of holes. Some of the holes are extremely pretty. My favorite is the 14th, a 500 yard par 5 (shortest par 5 on the course)which is gorgeous from tee to green.

The fairways are a little narrower than they used to be but still generous (I was told this is to save on maintenance costs) . The rough is perhaps an inch higher than in previous years, so it is a little harder to hit out of and also a little harder to find your ball that now sits below the grass line.

Greens are very large. Most are guarded by 3 bunkers though a few are guarded by 2 large bunkers. Greens are cut a little longer and are on the slow side, noticeably slower than other area munis. The greens are in very good condition, (thanks to the staff, not the players).

For such a heavily played track, the course is in excellent condition. A new head groundskeeper was brought in spring 2007, and the results are evident. The maintenance crew does a superb job of keeping the course up, but they do so with little regard for the golfers on the course.

Sprinklers are activated by a staff member in a cart with a (LOUD) dialing device. Sprinklers will start on the tee as you are finishing up on the green. Same thing on the fairways and greens. On several occasions, after waiting patiently for a few minutes, someone has had to drive to the person with the dialer to get them turned off. Golfers frequently resort to parking carts over the sprinklers just to hit. Workers also slowly punch weeds from the greens while groups are waiting in the fairway to hit wedge shots. They slowly look at the golfers waiting, and just continue to slowly punch the weeds. There is no doubt the crew is deliberate in their actions.

Marshalls are ineffective and only intervene if things get way, way, way out of hand. If play is very slow and you ask a marshall, they will say something like "I think there is a very slow group on #8". Players really don't need to know where the problem is, they need marshalls to identify and remediate them.

I played a round with one of the marshalls . He told me that they have been instructed to leave golfers alone and only intervene in extreme cases. Short sighted management. Instead of making their courses attractive to golfers who know golf etiquette and play 50+ times a year, they kowtow (Just learned it kowtow not cowtow while writing this) to those who play a few times a year and are wildly inconsiderate of others. The county will generate a lot more revenue if they turn this around. Baltimore County has a slow play policy in place that they enforce, Montgomery should too.

Northwest is probably the most heavily played municipal in Montgomery County and pace of play can be very slow. The combination of a ton of golfers, 7400 yards of course and an intrusive maintenance crew results in a lot of waiting. All it takes is one group of 25 handicappers playing from the tips and everybody behind them is looking at 5.5 hours+. This is guaranteed on weekends, and can also be the case on weekdays.

Customer Service:
Weak. GM was brought from the lowest volume course in the county, seems lost and is way to lax.

Staff in the snack bar, pro shop and starter shed do as they please and abandon their posts.

I have waited 5-10 minutes in the pro shop for staff, who reappears with a club that they have been swinging outside. The starter jumps in a cart and drives off for no apparent reason. I understand taking a tardy golfer to his group, but the starters will sometimes simply vanish.

I've waited 15 minutes then just teed off, others do the same. I played with a guy who told me he walks up, loads his clubs on a cart and plays without paying. He told me that in the late afternoon there is a large group of folks who do the same, since the starter is gone.

Northwest needs to bring in a competent GM and have the head groundskeeper train his staff to be less intrusive.

I like the course and the condition in which it is kept. However, very poor management, intrusive grounds crews, very slow play and ineffective marshalls prevent me from recommending Northwest. It could and should be a great place to play. It isn't. Even at $42 it is too much.

Similar Courses Played:
Pretty much every Muni in the counties of Montgomery, Fairfax, PG and Baltimore (Baltimore has some great courses and has a slow play policy that they enforce).

Review Date
January 9, 2008

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Reviewed by: JordanM, Shoots in the 80s

Summary:
I have played NWP several times a year since 1987 and enjoy it. NWP has a traditional course layout which is long and mostly open. There aren't any blind shots or forced-carry shots except for the occasional bunker in front of the green which comes into play on holes like #4 and #5 depending on the pin placement. The greens are large with gentle contours and typically play slow. There also aren't a lot of elevation changes on the course (it has a modest slope rating of 119 from the middle tees). Players with good distance off the tee and good long iron or hybrid play can score well here, but it is also a good course for beginner's because you won't lose too many balls. The course conditions tend to vary considerably from year to year and even week to week, but are typical of a muni course. During periods of excessive rain, the back nine can suffer from flooding and poor drainage..........but it doesn't rain so much in MD anymore. NWP is a solid, muni course that offers a traditional golf experience.

Customer Service:
The quality of service seems to vary considerably and be entirely up to the individual and I would rate it average.

Similar Courses Played:
Long muni's.

Review Date
August 31, 2003

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Reviewed by: corgio, Shoots in the 80s, from Silver Spring, Md

Summary:
I have played this course for the last five years. I have to say the condition of this course has greatly improved compared to when I first played here. This course has 27 holes. It has a well managed driving range. A good practice green.The snack bar is ok. The main course is wide open. It is one of the longest courses in Maryland. You would definitely be using alot of woods and long irons. The fairways and greens are in good shape. The pace of play on the weekends can be slow. It averages around 5 1/2 hours on weekends. My advice is to make an early tee time. The hackers usually come out around 12pm.

Customer Service:
Ok

Similar Courses Played:
The driving range and practice greens are great.

Review Date
June 22, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: Matthew Burke, Shoots in the 90s, from Savage, Md

Summary:
This course is great for any type of golfer out there. This course is extremly long and chalenging. This course is in excellent condition compared to that of 5 years ago. They must of had a lot of changes in their maintenance staff to get the course looking how it looks right now. I want to congradulate the maintenace staff in turning this course around and making it enjoyable for the gofers to play golf. I love the naturalized areas they have been putting up all over the place. I think it really speeds the play up. And it really defines the hole and doesn't seem so wide open anymore.