In an ordinary game of golf, the sound of a ball hitting the water usually results in a penalty shot—and a groan from the swinger. But when players tee off at a Splash City Golf driving range, that sound signals dinnertime for schools of fish in the Inner Harbor.

Since 2016, friends and co-founders Daniel Bucci, Shawn Flaherty, and Jamie Hodges have been bringing pop-up driving ranges to waterfront establishments across Baltimore (think Sandlot, Barcocina, and Rye Street Tavern), where both veteran linksmen and first-time putters attempt to score a hole in one on floating targets using golf balls made of fish food.

As a golf enthusiast, Flaherty was inspired by his waterfront job at the Living Classrooms Foundation to create an urban driving range that was both environmentally friendly and fun for city residents. He brought the idea to Bucci and, shortly thereafter, the duo launched the company with a target prototype: a rowboat outfitted with a cinder-block-weighted flag.

With help from Hodges, a mechanical engineer and patented inventor, the team has upgraded to a GPS-positioned inflatable target that is kept steady by an app. “[The concept] fits in Baltimore particularly well because it’s outside of the box,” says Flaherty, “and this town is very much that.”

The golf balls—which are manufactured in Barcelona, Spain, and sold in baskets of five, 15, or 30—biodegrade within 72 hours of hitting the water. Last year, Baltimoreans hit more than 10,000 balls into the harbor, and this summer, Splash City Golf will expand to new locations across Charm City, Washington, D.C., and the Eastern Shore, setting up courses at restaurants, bars, and private events such as weddings (including Flaherty’s this month).

The self-funded startup hopes to grow by making the balls locally and securing partnership locations across the county, while sticking to their Baltimore roots. “There’s a body of water in every city,” says Bucci. “Eventually, we want to be in all of them.”

Canners Row offers a dining room with a view. Housed in a glass-enclosed former marina office on Canton’s waterfront, the majority of its tables—both indoor and out—provide gorgeous vistas of moored yachts and the glistening harbor beyond. In too many instances around our town and others, great food almost seems like an afterthought at restaurants that offer breathtaking views. The jury’s still out on Canners Row. 

A restaurant is an amalgam of lots of little touches, and, in this respect, Canners Row sometimes misses the boat. Each time we entered, taking note of a cracked pane of glass that went unrepaired between our trips, we strolled past the unattended host stand before being greeted. When we took a seat at a six-top near the back, we brushed crumbs off the chairs. 

While our servers were attentive and friendly enough, they didn’t seem particularly familiar with some of the finer points of the menu. (About those menus: They’re printed on flimsy paper so rumpled you’d think the place has been open for six years, not six months.) Our waiter failed to mention that the Blue Crab Louie sandwich is served cold, or that pickles no longer come with the burgers. 

Still, the kitchen nails a few signature items, notably the delectable pizzas. A built-in oven looms to the side of the bar, and from it emerge some of the best pies we’ve tried in town. The shrimp chai diablo arrived piping hot, its crust the perfect combination of charred and chewy. Topped with shrimp seared with masala chai spice, red peppers, and lemon-basil tahini sauce, the pie made it tough to decide whether it tasted better that night or the next day when we reheated it for breakfast. Next time, we’ll get two.

Among the 10 large dinner plates, the wood-fired sea scallops and shrimp, served atop a butternut squash purée with tasty charred cauliflower and carrots, stood out. The three split scallops and six shrimp were plump and fresh and, at $18, the dish is an excellent value. Similarly, the grilled calamari, one of a dozen small plates, included a generous portion of seafood that was treated with proper deference by the kitchen. 

Misses included crab mac and cheese, which consisted of elbow noodles and a dollop of crabmeat. It appeared and tasted hastily assembled. The Maryland crab soup needed more pepper, the Dock of the Bay burger—with bacon, a fried egg, spinach, and tomatoes—was overly dry, and the crab cake sandwich was decidedly average. 

Owner Robert Alipanah found success at his former eatery, Robert Oliver Seafood in Mt. Vernon, and he’s striving for that at Canners Row. He’s found a beautiful setting in which success is possible. Now, it’s just a matter of executing the little details. 

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CANNERS ROW 2723 Lighthouse Point East, Baltimore, 667-239-3466 HOURS Sun.-Thu. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. CUISINE pizzas, burgers, and seafood PRICES Small plates $9-16; dinner plates, $16-24; burgers $14-16; sandwiches, $11-16; pizza $13-18. AMBIANCE Casual waterfront dining.

Bars come in every flavor from dive-y to classy with brewpubs in between. But when we’re craving a very specific type of summertime spot with creaky wooden decks, bright nautical signs, and a bit of salt in the air, we point our tillers due east and head to the bountiful dock bars of Baltimore County.

There are so many of these gems scattered along the waterfront that it would be impossible to hit them all in one afternoon, but we set sail nonetheless.

On our jaunt, we headed first to Row Boat Willie’s (9033 Cuckold Point Road, Sparrows Point, 410-477-5137), a dock bar adjacent to the family boat-rental marina on Millers Island. After Hurricane Isabel got the best of the bar in 2003, its owners rebuilt stronger than ever with an outdoor area that features live music on the weekends. The focus here is on the simpler pleasures of life, so a can of Natty Boh and nachos did us just fine. (Word to the wise: Willie’s is only open Thursday-Sunday.)

Next up was the tried-and-true favorite Hard Yacht Cafe (8500 Cove Road, Dundalk, 443-407-0038), located on Anchor Bay East Marina overlooking Bear Creek. Prime seats are on the outdoor deck where reggae music plays and happy hour starts at 2 p.m., which leaves plenty of time to get a head start on those $6 crushes, $5 appetizers, $4 rail drinks, and $3 domestic beers.

Go with a tart and refreshing lemon crush or the potent Bear Creek Smash with coconut rum, banana liqueur, orange juice, pineapple, and a dark rum floater. To balance out the booze, try the addictive egg rolls stuffed with crab dip and shrimp, served with a sweet red chili sauce.

The Seahorse Inn (710 Wise Ave., Dundalk, 410-388-1150), a dive on Oakleigh Cove where frequent kayakers, boaters, and Jet Skiers whizz by. There’s a colorful deck to take in the view or a beach to play horseshoes below, where we enjoyed an amusingly named Creek Wooder (pronounced in your best Bawlmerese)—the Dundalk version of a John Daly.

Our crawl concluded at Island View Waterfront Café (2542 Island View Road, Essex, 410-687-9799), near Rocky Point Park with a view of the boat-accessible Hart-Miller Island. In true creek-front style, there are even kayak rentals available right at the restaurant. Menu highlights included the half-and-half crab soup (half cream-based and half tomato-based) and the grilled shrimp tacos.

We also appreciated the local selection of beer—a dock-bar rarity—and the Baltimore Storm, a mix of Old Line Spirits rum and ginger beer. It was a perfect sipper for watching the sunset.