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(Enlarge) With views like this, it’s a wonder anyone gets any golf in at Greystone Golf Course. But obviously, people do play golf at the White Hall course. The Baltimore County-run club was ranked 26th in Golfweek magazine’s top 50 municipal golf courses in the United States. The course also earned a four-star rating from Golf Digest magazine. (Staff photo by Matt Roth)

As brothers Jon and Jason Simon teed off at Greystone Golf Course in White Hall, recently, they were unaware that Golfweek magazine had just ranked it 26th in its list of the 50 top municipal golf courses in the United States. It is the only Maryland public course to make the list.

They also didn't know the same magazine put Greystone at No. 6 in the top 10 public courses in Maryland this year, or that it received a four-star rating from Golf Digest magazine.

What they did know is that they enjoyed their Greystone experience of spending four hours chasing golf balls among its rolling hills and along broad expanses of bright green fairways. The course covers 217 acres, has seven ponds and more than 80 sand traps to challenge even the best golfers.

With a 6:33 a.m. tee time, the Simons were among the first on the course, so there was no waiting. Their golf cart had a high-tech GPS system that showed them the layout of each hole and the exact distance from cart to flag.

Jon Simon, of Baldwin, and Jason, who lives in Forest Hill, took the morning off from work on this sunny June day filled with the scent of freshly mowed grass.

"I only golf a few times a year and we don't even keep score," said Jon Simon, a physician whose practice is in Cockeysville. "This is really, really nice for a public course."

Jason Simon, who owns a veterinary X-ray company, said Greystone joins Wetlands, in Aberdeen, and Bulle Rock, in Havre de Grace, as his top three golf courses in Maryland.

"It's got a great layout and it's not too busy, especially at 6:33," he said. "Greystone is, by far, the best value."

At $56 during the week and $76 for weekend golf, Greystone is the most expensive of five courses managed by Baltimore County Revenue Authority. But it is a bargain compared to Bulle Rock, ranked the No. 1 public golf course in Maryland by Golfweek. Weekend golf there costs $150.

"We purposely kept our prices the same as last year," Greystone's head golf professional Tim Butler said. "This is a public course, but we make sure golfers feel this is their country club for a day. We offer outstanding service and a great course that's challenging."

Butler said the course attracts many golfers from out of state, including Yankee fans who play a round while they're in town to see an Orioles game.

It also is home to local golfers, like Richard Roeder, of Monkton. He's a self-employed jazz musician who took up golf 11 years ago. He plays at Greystone at least three or four times a week, frequently in the late afternoons.

"I sort of grew up with Greystone and it's like my second home," said Roeder, who now shoots par or better. "The course has a feeling of greatness about it."

Roeder said he enjoys the challenge of a surprisingly difficult par 3 third hole, but loves the visual splendor from the 14th hole.

"Standing on the tee at the 14th (hole) and looking at the clubhouse at sunset is almost religious," he said.

Greystone averages between 28,000 and 30,000 rounds of golf a year, said William "Lynnie" Cook, executive director of Baltimore County Golf.

The course was designed by Joe Lee, who created about 250 golf courses, including ones at Walt Disney World resort, in Florida.

In 1989, Blackstrap Development Corp. hired Lee to build a private golf course in White Hall. Membership was going to start at $25,000. The course was never completed and Blackstrap eventually sold it to Baltimore County's Revenue Authority in 1995.

Greystone Golf Course opened to the public in May 1997. There was no clubhouse, just a trailer where golfers checked in before heading out to play.

The next year, a clubhouse was built that now includes a pro shop, banquet room and the Overlook Grill. The facilities can be rented for events like weddings or parties, and the course hosts plenty of corporate or charity golf outings each year.

Greystone employs 30 to 35 people part-time and has three full-time golf professionals.

Bill Litsinger, of Jacksonville, started working a few months after it opened and is still there. He is either a starter who makes sure golfers tee-off at the correct time, or a ranger who rides a cart along the course to assist players and monitor the pace of play.

"I'm an avid golfer, so this job is perfect for me," said Litsinger, who golfs for free several days as a perk of the job. "The camaraderie is great, and Greystone attracts some really good golfers because it is such a difficult course. It may cost a little more than the county's other courses, but it's definitely worth it."

For more information on Greystone Golf Course, 2115 White Hall Road, call 410-887-1945 or go to www.baltimoregolfing.com.

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