Mountain Branch Golf Course
Bel Air South, Maryland · 18 holes · par 72 · Semi-Private. Designed by Jeff Matthai.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 240 ft the ball carries about 0% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 150. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 18, where the green sits 69 ft above the tee and plays about 23 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 10, where the green sits 96 ft below the tee and plays about 32 yards shorter.
- 16 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Gold | Black | White | Blue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 15 | 439 | 381 | 363 | 288 |
| 2 | 5 | 11 | 533 | 509 | 482 | 439 |
| 3 | 4 | 13 | 351 | 321 | 301 | 264 |
| 4 | 4 | 5 | 448 | 418 | 402 | 351 |
| 5 | 5 | 3 | 573 | 557 | 529 | 485 |
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 409 | 394 | 378 | 305 |
| 7 | 3 | 9 | 220 | 190 | 159 | 134 |
| 8 | 4 | 7 | 396 | 378 | 362 | 322 |
| 9 | 3 | 17 | 173 | 152 | 132 | 97 |
| 10 | 4 | 12 | 434 | 414 | 401 | 343 |
| 11 | 3 | 18 | 162 | 137 | 126 | 101 |
| 12 | 5 | 8 | 528 | 498 | 457 | 410 |
| 13 | 4 | 4 | 421 | 404 | 371 | 301 |
| 14 | 3 | 16 | 195 | 155 | 128 | 108 |
| 15 | 4 | 10 | 404 | 384 | 362 | 302 |
| 16 | 4 | 14 | 374 | 348 | 312 | 281 |
| 17 | 4 | 2 | 459 | 438 | 416 | 343 |
| 18 | 5 | 6 | 519 | 492 | 465 | 405 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Male | 7038 | 74.4 | 137 |
| Black | Male | 6570 | 72.3 | 133 |
| White | Male | 6146 | 70.5 | 127 |
| White | Female | 6146 | 75.6 | 133 |
| Blue | Male | 5279 | 66.4 | 121 |
| Blue | Female | 5279 | 70.8 | 114 |
Hole 1 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 408-94 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 423 · 439 · 455front · middle · back
- Green size
- 32 × 30yards deep × wide
- Green slope
- 4.5%falls to the right
In play
- Water across the hole: 39 to reach, 96 to carry
- 2 bunkers front-left of the green
- Bunker left of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 31 yards shorter: the green sits 94 ft below the tee.
- Water crosses the hole: 39 to reach, 96 to carry.
- Water crosses the hole: 43 to reach, 95 to carry.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The green is guarded on the left by bunkers; miss right.
- The green falls from left to right, about 4.5%. Finish on the right side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 5
- Plays like
- 525-25 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 516 · 533 · 550front · middle · back
- Green size
- 36 × 24yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 37 ydswide at 255
- Green slope
- 2%falls to the left
In play
- Water left: 203 to reach, 318 to carry
- Bunker left: 441 to reach, 455 to carry
- Bunker front of the green
- Bunker front-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 8 yards shorter: the green sits 25 ft below the tee.
- Dogleg left at about 257 yards.
- Fairway water on the left: 203 to reach, 318 to carry. Drives that finish short of 203 stay clear; otherwise the right side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 37 yards wide at 255 and narrows to 27 at 225.
- Best lay-up: 100 to 170 yards from the green, where the fairway is about 31 yards wide with no bunkers or water within 16 yards.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
- Bunkers short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from right to left, about 2%. Finish on the left side of the hole for an uphill putt.
- The green is 36 yards deep: a back pin can play about 3 clubs more than a front pin.
Hole 3 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 339-37 ft
- Green · Gold tee
- 344 · 351 · 363front · middle · back
- Green size
- 23 × 32yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 33 ydswide at 221
In play
- Bunker left: 181 to reach, 185 to carry
- Bunker across the hole: 248 to reach, 256 to carry
- 2 bunkers front-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 12 yards shorter: the green sits 37 ft below the tee.
- Fairway bunkers on the left: 181 to reach, 185 to carry. Drives that finish short of 181 stay clear; otherwise the right side is the safer line off the tee.
- The fairway is about 33 yards wide at 221 and narrows to 18 at 248.
- The green is guarded on the right by bunkers; miss left.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 45 · Par 56 · Par 47 · Par 38 · Par 49 · Par 310 · Par 411 · Par 312 · Par 513 · Par 414 · Par 315 · Par 416 · Par 417 · Par 418 · Par 5
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 35 hazards with reach and carry
- 15 green slope reads
- 2 par-5 lay-up zones
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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].