GlenRiddle Golf Club - War Admiral Course

Greeted by very welcoming staff. Carts had insulated covers, nice. Cart path only because of wet conditions.
Holes are at times far apart, so not conducive to walking.
Beautiful layout, meandering through mature pines with scattered holes in open marshland. There are homes lining some of the holes but it was not too intrusive.

Course was in pretty good condition considering it was winter. Greens a bit slow but in nice shape. Greens are well protected with sharp drop offs and bunkers.

Enjoyed it very much and would definitely recommend it.
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I have played this course for than 10 years and always considered it one of my favorites in the OC area. Over that last few I have noticed conditions degrade. One consequence has been easier tee time access and lower course fees.

Last year I came with a group and War Admiral was closed for some reason and we played Man-o-War which is the second course at Glen Riddle. It is also a terrific layout, but conditions were as bad as I have ever played. and I was told that War Admiral was in worse shape.

With little play due to the pandemic, I decided to give WA a try and what a pleasant surprise. It was in great shape. Not tournament conditions but shade of its former self.

I will come back

Thursday am round, second groups off played in 3.5 hours, was CPO , explained to us that they water extra due to recent heat wave , greens were awful compared to past times I played, Sandy , each one had a different speed , some held shots some didn’t, target golf , will not hurry back

War Admiral is a challenging parkland, target style layout. It has a lot of character in the form or forced carries, water, and contours around the greens. It is not a bombs away with the driver course; you have to hit the right spots in the fairway or you'll be chipping back to the fairway. Greens were not too fast but challenging enough to produce several lip outs on solid putts. Some greens you cannot aim at the flag, but at the right spot to catch the slope.

The course does have its share of water damage from the recent deluge of rain that the area has experienced, especially right around the greens in the fringes and run-up from the fairway. Because of that I wouldn't recommend it at full freight, but if you can find a deal (check their webpage tee sheet) it's worth a go.

I decided to play a last minute round before leaving ocean city and this is the only course out of probably five that accomadated my last minute request. First of all the nice man in the pro shop gave me the after 1 price at noon. Everyone I came in contact with where extremely helpful and very nice. This is definetly a target golf course and with the sandy soil its built on their will be dry spots. I come to expect this at most beach area courses. Other than those spots the course was very well manicured. It is very well designed. If you hit the ball where u are supposed to you will be rewarded. If you do not it will take skill to make a par. I hear people on here complaining that their are too many hazards which is certainly not the case. Their are just as many as most other high end well designed courses. Check course ratings and be honest about your own game before writing reviews. Its no cake walk but not unfair in any sense. I highly recommend it if u want a great test. And it is now semiprivate I was on vacation and had no problem at all getting a tee time. Last second at that.

After playing the sister course (Man O' War) in the morning, this course seemed more challenging and less interesting, but it's possible I was just tired. It's a more traditional parkland course, similar to some of the better public courses I've played near DC. The layout has some interesting holes but a few too many forced carries for my taste. It's definitely in great shape, just don't expect anything too distinctive.

We played this course this weekend as part of our annual golf getaway. We picked to play this course because we had played it as part of our golf trip two years ago and it was a great experience back then. We were shocked to see how badly this course had deteriorated. And the overall attitude of the staff about the reason the course was in bad shape left a lot to be desired.

First the good stuff - the course layout is interesting and not like most courses. This is not a grip and rip course. One must play the course and pick shots properly. There are lots of hazards and risk-reward decisions to be made. It is very pretty and the pace of play was quite good.

The course was in terrible shape. We had the starter tell us that this was because they had two days in a week where it rained 4 to 5 inches and these two days were interspersed with very hot days. And as a result the "grass was cooked". And that is why the course was the way it was. We reached there and the front office staff were forthright and told us that the course was in bad shape. But, then they told us as if they were doing us a huge favor that they will give us a credit for next year. We will not be coming back next year, and we were more focused on the course condition this year.

The fairways were either wet or there were huge bald patches all over. The rough was non existent in places with hard pans all around the greens. These hard pan areas also extended near hazards making it virtually certain that an errant shot would not be held up in the rough. The greens were beaten up with scuff marks and spike indentations making it clear that it had never been rolled in days. The bunkers were hard and not raked.

They will tell you that the summer was very harsh. However, we played their other course Man O'War the same day, and it was in much better shape. We also played a couple of other courses a few miles away, and they were in fantastic shape. They all experience the same weather. It was sad to see such a nice course deteriorating the way it has.

We are definitely not coming back here...We don't want credits and free rounds. We want a good experience on our golf outings.

Played both GlenRiddle courses in a weekend event, and probably won't ever play here again. The trend with many golf courses in recent years is to let them decline year after year, and either pretend it's intentional or blame it on the weather. I prefer this course to War Admiral, but it's still overrated. Some of the staff members are very good and seem to understand why they're there. Others have no clue at all, and don't realize that they are in a service industry. In fact, the gentleman who seemed to be in charge of the event seemed to be a genuine jerk. As with most "beach" courses, they go out of there way to offer services that require a tip from the golfer. But by the time you've paid the outrageous greens fees, bought a few drinks or sandwiches, tipped at the bag drop, tipped at the snack stand, tipped at the beverage carts/stations, tipped the kids to clean the clubs, tipped to store the clubs (this event happened to be a 2-day event), it becomes a very expensive outing. Not that I mind splurging occasionally, but for this amount of money, I expect the course to be in pristine condition. It wasn't. I expect the staff members to be nice and courteous. They weren't, with a few exceptions. I expect the food to be very good. It wasn't. I expect the distance markers to be accurate. They weren't. I expect some well-designed holes (versus awkwardly quirky ones). They weren't. As I said, it's better (and more playable) than War Admiral, but I won't be back.

Can't talk about greens cause recently airation however otherwise great course. Staff friendly and helpful. Staff reduced cost because of condition. Overall nice round with challanging course.

Fun to play not in great shape some fairways patchy. Greens slow. Maintenence going so that's a good sign

Be a long hitter or play th forward tees. Certainly fair, but some challenging holes; 18th did me in. Very fast and true greens. And plenty of water on a hot day; more than most courses. Will definitely play there again.

worth to play will come back, excellent condition on fairway and green was so good

I played this course in a half drizzle 7-11-15. The course is beautifully laid out and challenging. I'm a 5 handicap and shot 81 from the blue tees.Tees fairways and greens all in good shape.Electric carts with excellent GPS to all hazards and pins. As a single they sent me off # 1 alone because the member I was paired with cancelled due to rain. Finishing up # 9, I had caught up with 3 4somes. Amazingly,a ranger took me around them to where it was all clear sailing, and I played the skipped holes after # 18. I cannot say enough about this unprecedented level of customer concern, put into action. Baywood Greens comes very close though. Every July or August for many years, our extended family takes a Bethany Beach vacation, but I'm the only golfer so far, and so have played every worthwhile course within 35 miles, usually very early in am, preferably joining in with a member(s) for local knowledge when new to the course or when too long ago. I would very highly recommend this course to players who can hit it straight and of average length.

The course can be overly challenging with unplayable areas short, long, left and right on a number of holes. Very much a shot makers course and most off target shots are unplayable. Yardages to numerous hazards on a single shot are complicated to digest. Probably a much better experience if you play in a group with someone who plays the course on a regular basis.

Tough course, rewards great shots and penalizes the bad ones!

Course layout was fine on the front until you get to #9. Second shot requires at least 150 yard shot to green. Played with wife and she could not carry the over the junk to get to the green. This also happened 2 other times on the back 9. Too difficult for most women. Staff was nice and stayed at facility for dinner.

Great course! Stay in the fairway and don't go beyond fairway distance

Doesn't get any better than War Admiral. You hit every club in the bag. The park-like setting belies the fact that you're playing golf at the beach. Greens are in excellent condition...no unfixed ball marks. They are fast and hard. You'll have a great time playing this course.

This is a very nice place to play. Greens and the fairways are great everyone was very friendly and nice to talk to and very helpful. Great place to play golf.