Pin Hunting: Kings Creek Golf Course

Tucked away in southern Rehoboth Beach, beyond the hustle and bustle of summer traffic, Kings Creek Country Club offers its members a serene 18-hole championship golf course amid a quiet community and the seclusion of the backwaters of the Rehoboth Bay.

Coastal Point • Ryan Saxton
Kings Creek’s Hole 2 overlooks the marshlands of the Rehoboth Bay, but it’s not the course’s signature hole for its beauty alone. The tricky par-5 forces golfers to adjust their approach to avoid the bunkers and hole boundaries.

Kevin Wiest, Kings Creek’s PGA golf pro, takes pride in the course’s splendor, but noted its testing character, as well.

“It’s not a very long course,” he said, pointing out the distance of 6,480 yards from the farthest tees, “but that’s not to say it isn’t challenging. When golfers play here for the first time, they see the yardage and don’t realize what they’re in for. The holes here are very demanding. You have to be very careful and accurate with your shots. There are plenty of bunkers and water hazards, and some of the holes play very narrow.”

A few recent adjustments to the course have helped to make the day on the links a more enjoyable and attractive one. A new irrigation system has helped breathe life back into the fairways and greens, and course superintendent Mark Haschemeyer — who was brought onto the staff last October — ensures the course maintains its pristine appearance.

Earlier this year, Kings Creek did something else rather innovative. The color-coded tee boxes were replaced with a number system.

“We came up with the new tee program,” said Wiest, “because we wanted to take the stigmas out of the game. We didn’t want the red tees to just refer to the ladies’ tees, or the yellow ones to be the handicapped tees. We want our golfers to feel comfortable and play from where they want to play.”

Now, Kings Creek’s farthest tees are known as the “crown tees,” with roman numerals, VI, III, II and I marking the tee boxes on each hole as the distance gets shorter and shorter. “We’ve had members who refused to play from the red tees because they were called ‘ladies’ tees,’” Wiest said. “The new system is now user-friendly to everybody.”

The course serves as the home course for Cape Henlopen High School’s varsity golf team and hosts a number of member tournaments throughout the year, and everyone seems to recognize the beauty throughout. Hole 12 sparks the most conversation, being the longest one on the course, at 581 yards from the crown tees, and requiring a careful and straight approach.

But, as Wiest observed, Hole 12 is not Kings Creek’s signature hole. That would be Hole 2, a par-5 that opens up to a prominent tree in the center of the fairway before bending into a right dogleg that sits up against the backdrop of the marshlands and the Rehoboth Bay.

Several bunkers along the fairway and just shy of the fringe look to scoop up a miscued iron from the fairway, while a row of trees — one that even serves as a home to a family of ospreys — circle the green, testing the accuracy of those trying to lay up on the green in two strokes.

“Over the years,” said Wiest, “it has become one of the most scenic greens here on the course. People really enjoy playing that one, too.”

For more information about Kings Creek Country Club, visit their Web site at www.kingscreekcountryclub.com, or call the clubhouse at (302) 227-7172. Kings Creek Country Club is located at 1 Kings Creek Circle in Rehoboth Beach.