New Castle Field Club is a wonderful A.W. Tillinghast course. The routing takes advantage of the rolling topography and natural features in perfect fashion. The course is now public after Avalon Resort purchased the club in 2019, giving its membership and hotel guests a fourth place to play.
(The 421/395 yard opening hole plays downhill into a valley before rising up to the green. The putting surface is hidden from view with the player hitting from a sidehill lie in the valley. There’s room to run the ball on, but the player must be careful not to over shape the shot. Left is especially dangerous where the long grass on the hillside will make any of notion of par a far fetched idea.)
(The 161/156 yard par three second plays on a spine with the fifth and seventeenth greens tucked in a valley on both sides. Any shot hit left or right of the green is bound to become a double bogey quickly…
…this view left of the green shows how steep the slope is. The bunker is actually a savior. It is quite possible to up n down there).
For those who have never seen a Tillinghast course before, New Castle will be a treat. In fact, when the Tillinghast Society met at Lakewood Country Club here in Cleveland, many of the guys coming from the east coast stopped to check it out, and it was praised by many as being one of the best they’ve seen. It has a terrific routing highlighted by several awesome green complexes.
(The 475/470 yard par five third begins with this intimidating drive over the valley. It’s such a cool shot and the golfer will be ecstatic seeing his ball clear the trouble and running up the fairway. A two tiered green awaits as the player makes his way up the hill.)
(This is the view of the fifth green from the second green. Five is a 589/565 yard par five that plays downhill to the ravine edge where the green resides in the valley below. Every shot must be stuck precisely in order to obtain a good angle and yardage for the approach…
…this is the view from the fairway. A creek runs through at the bottom before the green. Long hitters going for it in two have to think twice. This is a fantastic hole!)
For me, the coolest section is where the second green is located. It’s on a raised spine with valleys on either side. In each valley is a green. The fifth is to the right and seventeenth to the left. Not many architects would find a way to use these natural features in their routing, but Tillinghast was able to do just that. All these holes are really cool.
(The 197/186 yard par three seventh plays uphill to a pedestal green. The bunkering and upslope punish any shot that doesn’t carry to the putting surface…
…like most Tillinghast greens, anything above the hole will pose a threat. A par here is well earned.)
The green complexes have a lot of variety in them. Besides the valley ones, there’s gems like the short par four eleventh which has a cool punch bowl etched into the hillside. There’s also the short par fives at three and fifteen which have elevated greens with massive false fronts. The third actually has a lower tier where a pin can be hidden. False fronts in general seem to be a favorite of Tillinghast.
(The 395/355 yard par four ninth has a small green that slopes to the right. The fairway is a bit tighter than the other holes…
…this view shows just how narrow the fairway is. A driver can get the player close to the green, but anything lost right will just be a pitch out.)
New Castle has many engaging holes with compelling shots. There’s plenty of birdie opportunities but one has to work to earn them. Tillinghast did not build any throwaway holes. Even the ones that look easy on the scorecard are built with teeth. Being in proper position is the key. The greens have slope and pitch that makes being above the hole a scary position. Every part of the game is challenged here. The player looking to beat his handicap will need to assess the best locations for his next shot.
(The 443/428 yard par four tenth doglegs left with water out in the distance on the right. It then goes uphill to the green. A long iron or fairway wood will be needed to hit this one n regulation. )
(This panorama photo of eleven green perfectly shows the severe right to left pitch. The terrain in the fairway actually slopes the opposite way, confusing the golfer judging the weight of his pitch. The hole is only 351/341 yard, but three, even four putting is a legitimate concern. I was tossing the ball to the right fringe, and it was rolling all the way back to me. Maybe one should look for birdie elsewhere.)
(The 346/331 yard par four twelth is great risk/reward hole. A creek goes right down the center, forcing the golfer to weigh his options. One can layup down the left, or take his drive down the sliver of fairway on the right. The green is beautifully bunkered with a right to left slope.)
New Castle will find itself high in the rankings when they get reevaluated next year. It might even challenge for best public course in Pennsylvania. I’ve played four of top five and I’d place it above all of them. (I’ve not seen Mystic Rock which is #1) For area golfers, this is a true must play. Avalon did well for itself in adding this to their stable of courses. Unfortunately it’s the furthest from the lodge, and that hurts the amount of play it receives. For anyone looking to book a stay, make sure you don’t skip this one. I give it a 7 (great)(worth driving 3-4 hours to play).
(The 148/137 par three thirteenth is a beautiful hole that plays slightly downhill. I came within inches of jarring the shot, settling for a tap-in birdie.)
(The 305/303 yard par four fourteenth is a layup followed by a wedge approach. For the long hitter, the opportunity to drive the green is there, but it needs to be perfect. A steep false front protects the green and makes all the front pins a gamble to attack.)
(The par fives at New Castle are fantastic and the 559/510 yard sixteenth is an exciting one. It plays downhill, so the long hitter has a chance of reaching it in two, but a creek fronts it, and the angled green is not easy to hold. The shorter player has to decide to lay back atop the hill, or let the ball roll to bottom and take a chance it doesn’t run through the fairway. The green is excellent with several challenging pin positions.)
[The entrance road to New Castle is easy to miss. I drove past it twice. It sits between two car dealerships and if I hadn’t seen the small NCCC sign, I’d probably had missed it a third. In an article I was reading, it said a new road will be built, and this hidden drive will be the back way in. This leads to my next statement. With all the money being invested into New Castle and the other properties, Avalon maybe the best club to join in Northeast Ohio. Granted it’s a lengthy drive, but the four courses would never get stale, and the extra amenities would make for a great day. It’s something to seriously consider.]
(The 183/173 yard par three seventeenth plays in the valley left of the second green. It’s well protected by sand and water.)
(The uphill 408/405 yard par four finishing hole plays longer than it’s yardage. It is well bunkered in the front. The player will have to hit a long iron or hybrid high to attack the flagstick. Note the hillside out in the distance. Western Pennsylvania has great elevation change.)
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