Bay Creek

I played the Nicklaus course yesterday, and wow, what an experience. The fairways are wide and long, the greens are well protected, and the views are amazing.

The opening hole is a straight shot, but hooking is penalized by a stand of trees. Once you reach the green, you head to hole #2 with water on the left. A slight fade works best on this hole. Hole 3 is a long par 5 with an elevated green. Play what you want, just hit it straight! Hole 4, a par 3, plays directly to the Chesapeake Bay. On #5, you tee off with water on each side. Aim for the trees and fade it onto the fairway. #6 is a short par 3 protected by a natural area on both sides. #7 plays true to length, but with water on the right it presents a challenge to a golfer who hits a fade (or a slice...). #8 is a nice par 4 with water on the right, a green protected by deep bunkers on each side, and water behind the green. A fade OR Draw work well here, although I'd aim to the water's edge and draw it back to the fairway.

The final hole, #9, is a par 5 with a wide fairway. There is water to the right off the tee, but beyond the water the fairway is as wide as you'd need. Place your second shot carefully, as there are bunkers protecting the landing area and green.

Bay Creek recently converted to a member-only course, but if you'd like to play it, book the Bay Creek Discovery Tour. It's a 3 day 2 night package that includes lodging, golf, spa services, a meal voucher, and a few other amenities.

We had an amazing time on our golf trip at Bay Creek. Fairways were perfect. Greens had just been aerated the week before. We weren’t aware of this when we booked earlier in the year but the resort took care of us for that mistake. The only thing I would have changed is doing the trip a week or two later in September. The fairways are open but the placement of sand traps makes it very challenging.

Love the option to play either an Nicklaus of Palmer signature course here. We played Jack's course and it was quite difficult (as most of his are) with plenty of waste-bunkers that at times would span the length of the fairway, small tricky greens, pot bunkers, and many more obstacles. It is set in a great location right on the Bay, and the practice facility is great with an awesome restaurant inside the clubhouse too.

We played both courses and we enjoyed them both tremendously!! What a treat and the staff were do helpful and friendly. Truly a great experience from start to finish!!

Two very uniquely design golf courses by 2 of golfs best. The Palmer course is the easier of the two with huge greens. The Nicklas is tighter has more scenic hole with water and smaller greens. It has very difficult breaking greens.