Urban Discoveries Baltimore

One of my first jobs was as a range attendant at a public golf course near my house.  It was easy enough; I handed out buckets of balls, parked golf carts, and drove the ball picker on the driving range. It was a good summer job for a teenage kid: I got tan, I got to be outside, I had fun with the golf pros. And golf, I learned, can be a pretty good time.

The Baltimore Municipal Golf Corporation, as fuddy-duddy as it sounds, is probably the best place to start when you’re looking for a tee time.  A nonprofit corporation in charge of the city’s public golf courses, BMGC oversees operations at courses in Mount Pleasant, Clifton Park, Forest Park, Carroll Park, and Pine Ridge (in Lutherville). Green fees aren’t too bad, ranging from a top rate of $55.00 for a weekend morning tee time at Pine Ridge to a $17 weekday fee at Carroll Park. If you need a little convincing that these are high-quality courses, know that the Golfweek 2008 ranking of municipal golf courses had Mount Pleasant coming in at number twelve.  And these ratings are nothing to sneeze at—Bethpage Black, host of the 2009 U.S. Open, came in at number one.

If you haven’t played a round yet this year you may want to hit a few balls before you go.  Head to the Northwest Baltimore Park Driving Range to buy a bucket of balls and get warmed back up.  A bucket of 120 balls costs only nine dollars. But watch out for that guy in the ball picker, okay?

Maybe though you can get to the green in one long drive…and then miss a series of two-foot putts that leave you a cursing, club-chucking mess. Try Churchville Golf. They’ve got two miniature golf courses, an original and a challenge course, to go along with their driving range and pro shop. And remember, it’s just golf, not rocket science.

Posted in: Baltimore User's GuideNo Comments