Getting To Know: The Links at Lighthouse Sound

An Insightful Interview With John Ruddo, Head Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with John Ruddo who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
The Links at Lighthouse Sound is an Arthur Hills design in Bishopville, MD, just one mile west of Ocean City. Open since 2000, this exquisite championship course offers a unique blend of modern, classical, and links style golf. The layout features marsh, river, and bay on 15 of 18 holes throughout a 1000 acre site. One item that sets our course apart is our 1500 foot cart bridge between our eighth and ninth holes, the longest cart bridge in the United States.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
In addition to a diverse, thoughtful layout along with impeccable course conditioning, Lighthouse Sound provides scenic views with plenty of variety. The course is nestled between the Assawoman Bay and the St. Martin's River, with some holes bordered by pristine tidal marsh and others framed by mature hardwoods. Many holes feature expansive views of the Ocean City skyline.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
This course will test your decision-making and your ability to play in the wind. The course is known for its risk/reward layout, and the ever-present windy conditions. Remember to "swing easy when it's breezy."

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Golf Magazine has named The Links at Lighthouse Sound #80 on their most recent edition of the "Top 100 Courses You Can Play" in the United States. On their most recent best in state list, we were named #2.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Our beautiful signature hole is our fifth, "Hills Passage." A challenging par 3 with a peninsula green, this hole borders the Assawoman Bay and the stunning Ocean City skyline. The wind is a prominent factor on this hole, and on a given day it has the potential to require you to hit any club in your bag off the tee depending on the conditions.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole here is the sixth. This unique par 4 begins on an island tee box that reaches out into the bay, accessible by an oyster shell walkway. You want to be sure to favor the left side of the fairway due to water on the right. All around, it is a fun and striking golf hole.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
We have plenty of great options in the clubhouse. Our most popular lunch option is the Tuscan Chicken sandwich, and there are many fine dining options are available in the evening. You also can't go wrong with the classic Ocean City cocktail, the Orange Crush. Our dining room features a panoramic view that is unmatched in Ocean City, and there is a fantastic stone patio for anyone who wants to eat outside. Our patio also features a newly built fire pit for those cool spring and fall days.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The course record is 62, held by Ryan MacDonald. On June 28, 2007, he shot a 30 on the front nine and a 32 on the back nine without a score on any hole higher than a 4.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7051
Slope: 138
Rating: 74.6

More Information
The Links at Lighthouse Sound
12723 St. Martin's Neck Road
Bishopville, Maryland, 21813
410-641-1189
www.lighthousesound.com

Revised: 01/14/2016 - Article Viewed 37,609 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.