Downington Country Club (Downington, PA)

Downington was designed in the '60s by George Fazio and later renovated by Gil Hanse in 1995. It's a wonderful piece of property with rolling terrain, ponds and creeks, and well- sculpted bunkers. 

Downington is also a walking-friendly layout. It's compactness and intimate routing is one of its enduring qualities. This is the type of course that I find myself drawn towards. A place where a golfer can play, enjoy his surroundings, and be done in four hours or less. The real question is how long will it be there. Very much like Acacia CC here in Cleveland, Downington has a shopping plaza right at its doorstep. Hopefully it can coexist for a long time. 

The golf course has an unusual routing with seven par fours on the front nine. Typically this would translate to a more difficult side, but four of the seven holes are short par fours. Two of the holes I really like, the second and the fourth. Two takes full advantage of the hill by making a kick plate that the aggressive player can use to get close to the green. Four is potentially driveable, but a line of bunkers crosses diagonally, making the line off the tee very important. 

The unusual routing continues on the back nine. There are three 4s, three 3s, and three 5s. In fact the course concludes 3-5-3-5. The par threes are solid on this side. 

The twelfth is a beautiful hole across water and sand. The fifteenth is nearly an island green as water right, left, and long guard the green with a large bunker fronting it. Thankfully it's just a short iron so a good shot at birdie. At seventeen, a large rock field is between the tee and green. 

The green is well bunkered and has several very good pin locations. It's exactly what a penultimate hole should be. It's a tough hole that keeps the pressure on the golfer. 

The three par fives on the back are all birdie opportunities. Thirteen is under 500 yards, but it's uphill with hazards both left and right off the tee. Don't need to hit a driver, but those who do can reach it in two with a straight drive. Sixteen is 531 yards, and like thirteen, is uphill. It's a classic par five with well placed bunkers. Finally the last hole is 562 yards.

I love how the clubhouse is just off to the left side. It's exciting as you approach the third shot. I guess it is reachable, but only by the longest of players. It's a two tier green so it's important to have a good third shot in. It's a very good ending. 

Downington is kinda course that would do well anywhere. I payed $20 to play as many holes that I could get in. I was even par thru 13 holes. I have to think players have a good chance to break their handicap here. I give Downington a 5 rating (good). 

Hershey Country Club West (Hershey, PA)

I played Hershey CC West almost twenty years ago, and on my recent trip to Philliadelphia, I stopped by to have a look-see. When I first played here, I did because the West course is just draped in history. Henry Picard was the first club professional. He won the '38 Masters and '39 PGA. Then Ben Hogan became the head professional. His stature in the game needs no mentioning as he is often touted as one of the top five players of all time. The West course played host to the '40 PGA championship won by Byron Nelson over Sam Snead. It has also hosted several Hershey Opens and Keystone Opens. 

The West was designed by Maurice McCarthy in 1930. One of McCarthy's best features was how he routed it thru the town and how it plays in between the factory, the Hershey Mansion, and the park. Having read a little bit of the course history, it's most certain that some of these areas were busy with people watching or going about their business. 

I remember a few things bout the course. It has five par fives. All of them are pretty strong length wise, the best one, and the hole I liked the best, was the 501 yard 15th.

I loved how it was reachable

In two shots. The green sat up high on the hill, and the second shot really needed to be hit hard to carry there. It's also the shortest of the three shotters, but it could dispense a wide variety of scores. The other four are much longer, typically in the 550ish range, but players tend to leave playable third shots since the holes are not really reachable. 

Another thing I remembered was how there were three 354 yard par fours. I felt this was kinda odd. Only the third hole was somewhat interesting. The green was small and tough to hit. The other two were no big deal. 

Two holes that I remember to this day looked just the way I recalled them. The par three fifth has the Hershey mansion in the background. 

It's just a beautiful hole and is one of the spots where back in the day folks would be watching the player hit the ball. 

The seventh was the other, and I vividly recall hitting the ball across the creek, and hitting seven iron into the green. 

The West course really fueled my passion for the game, and seeking out more classic golf courses. 

I went on golfclubatlas and read Jim Sherma's photo tour (these are his photos). It was a pleasure to rehash in my head all the fun I had here. I do find it a total shame that Hershey Parkview course was turned into a parking lot! Parkview was at one time one of the best  public courses in the country. It also gives a mindset how out of touch Hershey CC management is. It was expensive when I played it twenty years ago, and now it is beyond acceptable. (It's nearly as much as Pasatiempo) Regardless of price, it's still a wonderful old classic course. I give it a 6 (very good rating). 

(Golfweek has Hershey CC West as the #4 best public in PA)

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. 

I 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.)

Gleneagles Golf Club (Twinsburg, OH)

Gleneagles is a Ted McAnlis design that Twinsburg purchased in 1996. Ted McAnlis worked for Tom and George Fazio in the 1970's. Several of his best courses are in Florida, and if it's one thing golf in Florida excels at, it's residential golf communities. Not sure if that was the reason why he was picked to design Gleneagles, but it is a residential golf community. (Really ugly golf community) 

The housing definitely has an influence on  the routing and it's very prevalent on the back nine where a few holes have houses left and right. Most of the challenge at Gleneagles comes at the greens. The putting surfaces have humps and bumps in them. Many of the fairways have mounds in the rough to define the shape and direction of the hole. It reminds me of a Floridian course. The mounds keep the ball in play, the greens are pushed up so the wind has more influence, and the approach shots have to be better judged, and the water hazards are in lurking positions so the player tends not to equate them into the shot calculation until the ball hits a slope and bounds into it. After a few times, the player realizes that is in play. 

Three holes stand out at Gleneagles, all par fours. The third is 430 yard downhill par four that doglegs left. With OB left, the play is a draw down right half of the fairway. The hole then goes slightly uphill. It's a good looking hole, especially the second shot. 

The ninth is the best home on the course in my opinion. 

It's an awesome second shot hit across the corner of the lake. It's one of the few water hazards that prominently challenges the golfer, and that is why is the best hole in the course. 

The fourteenth is another really good par four. 

The hazard is right of the tee box and goes straight ahead. The player who doesn't shy away from it is rewarded with  a great view of the flagstick. Play away, and the bunker must be carried on the approach. 

If you ve ever seen a George Fazio course, you ll notice how the green pads are built up to include every feature and aspect of the approach shot. McAnlis uses that same technique and it's seen mainly on the par threes. The thirteenth is the primary example, basically forcing players to hit perfect shots over to the green or risk having the ball bounce down into the water. 

There are several holes that lack any real challenge at all. They are mostly found on the aforementioned back nine where all the housing comes into play. Ten, eleven, and twelve are very pedestrian holes. Fifteen sixteen and seventeen kinda fall into the same category. It's a shame that the back nine is as bland a it is because the front nine is decent. For the majority of golfers, it's a fine place to play, but I want better than fine, so the only time I play here is when the CGA comes. It's a 3 rating (average).