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Friday, September 12, 2014

Olde Stonewall Golf Club (Elwood City, PA)


It's hard to imagine that just ninety minutes away from Cleveland is an excellent mountain course one can play just on the other side of the Ohio/PA line! 

Olde Stonewall is designed by Hurdzan/Frye on the side of a mountain in Elwood City. It's a very severe piece of property and the challenge of designing the golf course is very evident as you make your way around. The front nine plays out and eventually down to the valley where the river is located. 

The first three holes play up and down the hill before the fourth finally goes into the valley. It's a good par four with a penisula green waiting for a solid approach. 

It's followed up by a good par three 

As you can tell by the pictures, the beauty of the course is second to none. The conditioning is also second to none too. The greens consistently run 10+ on the stimpmeter and the fairways are very tight. It's very important to be on the correct side of the green since Hurdzan uses ridges to separate sections. 

The eighth is a good par four with a bi-level fairway. The tee shot is typically laid up in the lower level, leaving a short iron to the green. However, the long hitter may chance it, and try to carry it to the higher level even with the green. A pair of deep traps are cut into the slope of the hill separating the two fairways, and a ball hit into them can leave a challenging shot.  

The ninth hole brings the player back to the clubhouse and this par five is the best birdie opportunity on the course. It's reachable in two for the long hitter and the short hitter has plenty of room to lay back short of the trouble on his second shot. Olde Stonewall only has two par fives, and the back nine has none, so it's imperative to take advantage here. 

Hurdzan and Frye routed the back nine out and up the hill. Basically, the holes are cut into the land terrace style, so there's definitely a man-made look to them. Granted there's a slew of strong par fours, but the greatest strength of the back nine are the incredible views! Long par four after long par four greets the player as he makes his way to the fourteenth hole, the first of back to back par threes. 
The eleventh has a green tucked back in a ravine where right and long is death. Twelve is a layup hole off the tee to the 150 marker, then a short or mid iron to a very difficult green halved by a ridge. The rear portion slopes away from fairway. Thirteen is absolutely gorgeous!! Bunkering all along the right frames the hole beautifully, and the green must be approached from the left to feed the ball to the hole. 

Fourteen and fifteen are back to back par threes as mentioned before. The back nine is unusual as it goes 4-4-4-4-3-3-4-4-4. Of the two, fifteen is the hole most remember well after the round. It's 215 yards across a ravine to a target that looks barely big enough to hold such a long shot. 

Getting to the fifteenth green to putt out takes some local knowledge as the cart path is accessed via the twelfth hole. Like  I previously mentioned, this side is more manufactured and doesn't blend in as well as it should. 

Continuing forward, the sixteenth is the gem of the mountain holes, offering majestic views of the valley, as well as a stout downhill par four with carries on both the drive and the approach. 
think many would agree this is the best hole on the course. 

The last two holes don't have the flair seen in the ones before them, but they're both good, and will be challenging to make par. Eighteen is a long par four that ends behind the clubhouse. 
The clubhouse and hills in the distance are a reminder of just how good the setting is. 

And the setting is what makes Olde Stonewall the place that it is. The experience outweighs some of the shot values and recovery options that I seek every time I tee the ball up. Unfortunately, with the severity of the site, any type of mishit shot can add penalty strokes quickly. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoy myself when I play here and have no qualms of the high score that is possible. I give Olde Stonewall a 7 (great rating). 

(Golf Digest and Golfweek both have it #3 for best public in Pennsylvania.)








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