They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Quicksilver honors its famous crosstown neighbor with its own rendition of the church pew bunker. It’s a tamer version but it sets the tone for the round. Seeing it as you descend from the first tee is like an elbow into your ribs. See you at the eighteenth.
Quicksilver is a man-sized golf course that requires full shoulder turning, calve activating drives. It’s power golf at its core, but it’s not a one trick pony. One needs to execute a variety of shots as the hilly property will throw every lie possible at you. Understanding your lines and where you want the ball to finish is key to shooting a good score. Hitting out of the rough will be even more difficult as you try guessing the ball flight from a hanging lie.
(The 399/363 yard par four third is a classic down and up hole. A good drive will reach the upslope. From there, staying below the hole is key as the green is tilted from back to front.)
(The 602/581 yard par five seventh is an absolute beast! We played it into a light breeze. It will take three solid shots to reach it in regulation. Note how the fairway slopes in the background. One will hit a long to mid iron with the ball below their feet to the green that slopes right to left. Hit too far right and the odds are very much against one recovering for par.)
Looking at the scorecard, the yardage from the white tees is a stout 6510 yards (7012 from the tips) but a closer examination reveals a more playable track. Most par fours are in a mid length range and the longest par three is only 168 yards. The length comes from the par fives. The fourth and seventh are 553 and 581 yards respectively. The fourth plays uphill for the entire length and the seventh plays into whatever wind is blowing. When it comes down do it, these are the key holes on the front.
(This is a side view of the 200/165 yard par three eighth. The water wraps around the front and sides of the green with a bunker guarding the back. There’s plenty of room to work the ball into the day’s hole location. The tee is elevated so the shot plays a bit shorter than the yardage.)
The back nine is the better of the two, and there are some fantastic holes. Besides the twelfth, which is the weakest hole on the course, the other eight are terrific and have great vistas along with fun engaging shots. The one hole I keep replaying in my mind is the sweeping downhill 441 yard thirteenth. It’s possible to cut off a ton of yardage but can you get the correct line to avoid the rough, and if you do find the fairway, can you cut a short iron off a downhill lie. These are the type of questions you find here, and to be frank, are the kind of shots that every serious player should want to hit.
(The 418/393 yard par four tenth begins the back nine is fine fashion. This intriguing bunker guards the left side while OB hugs the right...
...one is hitting into a small green at ten and the fronting bunkers leave little room to run the ball on...
...the view back shows just how close the boundary line is the fairway. The chain link fence is a bit of a downer on an otherwise strong hole.)
Back in the 1990s, Quicksilver was a very popular venue. It hosted the Quicksilver Open on the Nationwide Tour from 1990-1992 and then from 1993-1997 the Quicksilver Classic/Pittsburgh Senior Classic for the Champions Tour. Guys like Dave Stockton and Tom Weiskopf both won here which should tell you the quality of the play that is required.
(The 176/156 yard par three eleventh is uphill to a narrow green with bunkers on both sides. Note the ridge that fronts the pin in the picture. There’s only a few greens with this type of movement in it. It can be unnerving should you find yourself putting over it.)
The par threes at Quicksilver all play between 157 - 168 yards. Depending on what shot you’re attempting, one can hit the same club, like I did, on all four of them. It is the one glaring weakness Quicksilver possesses. Even the twelfth which is a ninety degree dogleg right around the brow of the hill par four, that I thought was terrible, will have its proponents. They’ll claim you can lay back and get a flat lie in the fairway. The other problem the club has, which it cannot control, is the chain link fence on the boundary line. The barbed wire on top subconsciously emits a feeling of being unwanted.
(The 462/441 yard par four thirteenth is a real beauty. It sweeps downhill and to the right. The garden spot is where this picture is taken but finding it means you were fortunate to get to the bottom of the hill. Most will be in the rough or on the downslope in the fairway. The green tilts right to left so the approach is very demanding especially from a downhill lie.)
Every time I play in western Pennsylvania, I find myself walking away with a huge smile on my face. There is some great golf over here, and Quicksilver is rightfully near the top of that list. It’s located by the Pittsburgh airport, west of the city, and is less than two hours from Cleveland. Like the Steel City, it’s all blue collar, so expect to work hard if you want to shoot a good score. I give it a solid 6 (very good)(worth driving two hours to play).
(The 424/403 yard par four eighteenth is a monster uphill finishing hole. The fairway tilts from left to right with the church pew bunker ominously waiting for anything coming its way. The approach shot plays nearly two clubs longer, and hopefully you spied the pin placement as you went to the tenth tee...
...looking back from the green, you can see just how massive the property is. Note the first hole on the left. Combined with eighteen, this might be the hardest opening and finishing holes you’ll ever play.)
(On the 157 yard uphill sixth, I hit a choked down five hybrid at the flagstick. If you’ve ever chipped in from below the green and knew it was going in because of the line it was on, then you understand how I knew it was in the hole the moment it hit just short of the green and rolled at the pin. My girlfriend gave me a side eyed glance when I proclaimed it was in the hole as we stood on tee, but I never doubted it. Hole in One!!!)
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