Pennhills Club (Bradford, PA)

I find it ironic how the once exclusive Pennhills Club is now a semi private course open to all. I can recall being a young man wanting to play it, and being told there was no access available.

(The incredible clubhouse is a glorious sight whether it's from on the course or from the road driving past) 

There are not many Walter Travis designed golf courses that are public, so the opportunity to experience one instantly makes Pennhills a "must play" for golf architecture aficionados. Travis helped change golf architecture by eliminating crossbunkers and placing his sand traps on the sides. This allowed short hitters and duffers an opportunity to skirt past the trouble with a straight strike while forcing crack players to control their drift instead of blasting over the trouble. Pennhills reinforces this strategy time and time again on the Travis holes. (Travis holes recognized as 2-10; Dick Wilson using Travis' routing plan 11-17; Pennhills Club 1&18) 

Travis' wild greens are also on display. The rippled third, the pimpled fourth, and possibly the craziest green I've ever seen, the bathtub seventh. The Wilson holes don't have the internal contours but they have a good deal of slope. The eleventh, twelfth, and seventeenth are known as much for their pitched greens as for the challenge of the shots. 

The use of the multiple streams that crisscross the property distinguishes it from other courses of this time period. The hazards front tees, flank landing areas, cross fairways, and even form an island fairway on the fourteenth. It's a wonderful use of the natural terrain. 

Pennhills is one of the best courses in the area. Its definitely worth a play if you're staying around Kinzue or find yourself at the Seneca Casino. I give a 5 (good).