A golf course with a long and rich tradition that belies it’s mere 50 years of existence.  Most of us remember this as the place Dave Marr won the PGA and associate it with Arnold Palmer as his adopted summer home course when back in Pennsylvania.  The members will tell you that it is Palmer’s aura that is most responsible for the reputation of this place-after it was built in 1959 under the watchful eye of Dick Wilson it was Arnold who went to the PGA and told them this would be an appropriate place to host their championship.  It has built on that reputation hosting the National Four Ball championship in the 1970, the National Team Championship in 1971 and 1972, the Ryder Cup in 1975,  significant events from the Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia region, the U.S. Senior Open in 1989, and the Senior PGA in 2005.

When you walk the hallways of this demure clubhouse, the pictures and memorabilia make you fully aware how seriously the members take the rich history and tradition of this place.  There are paintings and photos everywhere full of bouquets of pink sport jackets-an unusual touch for a macho corporate hangout.  Don’t miss the photo library on the walls around the informal bar-there is a classic shot of an intense Arnie and Jack as playing partners in the National Four Ball back around 1970. The locker room is very classy-old wood lockers bearing name plates of PGA and Champion’s Tour players.  This place just has a very traditional good old boy feel to it.

(Click here to see a few of the gems from the Laurel Valley photo gallery).

View across the first tee (pga.com)

The club was originally built as a business man’s club for corporate parties and events during a face-lifting renaissance in Pittsburgh in the late 1950’s.  The club is only open from May through October-it completely shuts the doors for the late fall and winter-a business model that seems hard to sustain without considerable annual member backing.  It is a golf facility only-food service to support the golf and events and some cottages to house out of town guests.  The lay of the buildings to the rest of the property was very well thought out-there are sitting areas providing views of the property and surroundings that are truly spectacular.

The course is built on a 260 acre tract of land in the foothills of the Laurel Ridge and Chestnut Ridge mountains. It does not have much topographical feature in it’s tactical play, though the visual back drops can be dramatic.  The design has a Florida feel to it with abundant sand and water, Dick Wilson wended the course through the low grounds deploying massive fairway bunkering and adjacent water hazards to keep the player’s attention.  Fifty years of tree growth have cloistered the holes considerably, but recent renovation has brought back the more open playability as it was originally intended.

Tough tee shot on #10 (golfcoursegurus.com)

One thing that can certainly be said about this is that the course can play very long from the two back tee markers.  At the 6600 yardage of the white tees it is an ample test for most mortals-the additional yardage can make for some excruciatingly long par fours.  Like most courses of this style driving accuracy is key to decent scoring opportunities.  Playing from the fairway bunkers or tough angles in the rough is a sure prescription for bogies and worse.  For the most part the water is manageable but there will be times during the day when your judgment for carry will be called into play and more often than not bravery is not the sensible route.

Full majesty coming down #18 (pga.com)

There are many interesting individual holes on the course-the par threes in particular have lots of nuance and subtlety to them.  Not too many “wow” holes but some of the scenic backdrops will catch your attention.  What really elevates this to championship caliber are the greens-they are very swift with ample undulation that seems to shrink the accessible opening on most of the cups.  Very few putts go directly up the walkway and into the front door-you will be using diversionary tactics all day to find the bottom of these cups.  The caddies are excellent here and you need one if only to tell you where you can leave the approaches into these greens.  The pitching and chipping are particularly difficult because some of the swiftest approaches are not obvious to an inexperienced eye.

Ligonier, Pennsylvania

Architect: Dick Wilson (1959)

Tees             Par       Rating    Slope    Yardage
Blue             72          75.7       148        7327
Black           72          74.1       138        6982
White           72          72.8       135        6606
Green          72          70.1       130        5899
Red             72          73.5       127        5548

(Click to see complete Laurel Valley hole-by-hole descriptions)

Saucon Valley was created as a playground for the wealthy steel guys in the Lehigh Valley section of northeast Pennsylvania.  The Old Course is an elegant simple layout designed by British Architect Herbert Strong known for designing courses with little disruption to the land.   As a result the course meanders across rolling hills framed by vintage old trees and it looks like it just belongs in the natural surroundings.  This course has held six USGA national championships  a U.S. Amateur, Senior Amateur, two Senior Opens, and two Women’s Opens as well as innumerable regional and local events of importance.

Sahara #6 Par Five

This facility has 54 holes of championship golf, as well as short course for developing players and seniors.  A primo golf facility with a long and storied tradition you cannot help but be overwhelmed by the golf pedigree of this place.  Walking the locker room or the halls of the clubhouse there are lists and lists of the rosters of championships contested here and plenty of other memorabilia that makes this feel like an ad hoc golf museum.  They even have a luxurious 13 room guest house which accommodates guests at the club in a comfortable informal way.

This course is not a beast but it is a stiff challenge that will test all of your skills. To me the bunkering is the most obvious distinguishing characteristic.  It is free form-no real patterns to the bunker placements but they are placed in places in the driving areas and the green constellations that make successful play a matter of good strategy and precise execution.  The bunkers are very deep-even in the fairways-so there are times you must relent and play a shot that will not get you to the green or at the flagstick.

Turtle #11 Par 3

The greens are very unusual-wide variety of shapes and sizes with plenty of segmentation and slope to keep you honest in your approach shots and approach putts.  If they speed them up to 12 on the stimp you are in for a handful.

I just loved the flow of the course.  Both nines start out with expansive visual holes that are extremely inviting and are then followed by short technical holes that will demand focus and execution.  The stretch from nine to fourteen looks very forgiving on the card but you will be challenged big time through this stretch not to make any unforced errors.  Fifteen through seventeen are all long and strong  so there is no relief to the end.  The finishing hole will grow on you-especially if you make a par-it is short but very demanding-any wayward play on this hole will do damage to your scorecard.

(All photos from sauconvalleycc.org website)

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Architect: Herbert Strong (1922)

Tees               Par          Rating         Slope        Yardage

Blue                 71            73.1            138            6800

White               71            70.7            135            6337

(Click to see complete Saucon Valley Old Course hole-by-hole descriptions)