Perry Maxwell took advantage of the hills to create a brilliant set of undulating greens with steep swales and strong contours at the Old Town Club.
Perry Maxwell took advantage of the hills to create a brilliant set of undulating greens with steep swales and strong contours at the Old Town Club.
5.5
Designed in 1939 by Perry Maxwell and restored in 2013 by Coore and Crenshaw, Old Town is an example of peak golf course architecture. The course has a timeless feel from the moment you arrive on property.
The clubhouse is proper, with a good locker room and classic facilities that are over-the-top or overly modern. The pro shop is quaint with a fair amount of merchandise from reputable brands. Throughout the day, every staff member was an absolute pleasure to meet.
The practice facilities are well organized and located close to the first tee, making it an easy and enjoyable walk to start the day.
The routing has a distinctly old-school feel with a returning nines layout. The course is very walkable, although several sloping fairways require some level of fitness. Each hole takes advantage of the natural movement of the property rather than forcing golf holes across the land. The layout requires multiple shot shapes, precise approach play, and strong putting. As a single-digit handicap, I found the course demanding without ever feeling unfair. Higher handicaps may find the course quite challenging.
The conditioning of the course was exceptional. The quality of the club quickly became apparent based on the presentation and maintenance of the property. The rough was maintained properly and allowed to grow in the appropriate areas without becoming overly penal. The bunkers were consistent throughout the course, with sand that was neither too firm nor too soft.
The green complexes are the toughest aspect of Old Town. Miss in the wrong spot and the ball can quickly funnel away from the hole, leaving difficult recoveries. The greens highlight the amount of strategy involved in playing the course well. They were firm and fast but still fair, and most putts broke naturally according to the contours.
The front nine opens with an excellent downhill par 4 where distance control off the tee is critical, as tee shots that travel too far can run into trouble. Most of the par 4s were appropriate in length, driver-friendly, and rewarded positioning and strategy off the tee.
For me, the 5th hole was one of the best examples of the strategy involved at Old Town. What initially appears to be a relatively simple dogleg-left par 4 can quickly become difficult due to severe runoffs both short and long of the green.
The back nine maintained the same level of interest and challenge. Holes 14 and 16 were both par 4s where positioning off the tee was essential to creating better angles into the greens.
The par 3s were very enjoyable while still requiring precision. Hole 6 stood out in particular, as tee shots that carried long were punished by the runoff areas surrounding the green. As a par 70, Old Town features two par 5s, but both provide scoring opportunities if players can place the ball on the correct level of the greens. The 17th is a long, sloping par 5 where the second shot requires precision due to fairways that feed toward hazards.
Overall, Old Town Club is a wonderful historic golf course that blends strategy, challenge, and classic architecture. This is a course that requires multiple rounds to score well. Old Town avoids relying on only a handful of standout holes and instead maintains consistent interest throughout the round. Throughout the round, It became quickly apparent why the course continues to rise in world rankings. Everything at Old Town Club has the feel of a prestigious yet down-to-earth club.
Tyler Janz
Round Information
Date Played
May 9, 2026
Standout Holes
#14, #5, #17
Rating Breakdown
Strategy
Green Complexes
Variety
Facilities & Amenities
The latest ranking of the Top 100 Golf Courses in the World serves as the ultimate global golf bucket list. Most members of our World Top 100 Panel are seasoned golfers, each playing 20-30 of these courses annually while travelling extensively over decades to form their opinions on others. We recognise that opinions vary—even among our panel members. Rankings are subjective, and there are undoubtedly 50 or more courses in the UK and USA alone that could easily fit onto this list. Links Golf Pilgrimages The rankings
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Overall rating
5.5
Overall rating
5.5
