Some things in life are more difficult than others. Then there are the things that are really hard.
Like trying to hit an 88 mile per hour slider.
Or Chinese arithmetic.
Or making your wife happy.
In the world of golf, there is nothing more difficult than creating a good mountain golf course. It is the ultimate challenge for a golf course architect.
The problems are many – severe elevation changes, heavily wooded areas, rocky terrain, lack of topsoil, cold climates.
As a result, there are many more bad mountain golf courses than there are good mountain courses. And even on the good courses there is the common occurrence of stumbling across a bad golf hole.
In many cases the cost of construction on a mountain golf course site becomes prohibitive … long before the project nears completion. Then the owner starts to cut corners.
The land is not terraced. Boulders are not removed. Rock ledges are not dynamited. Trees are not taken down.
The final result is similar to trying to play golf in a bowling alley. Golfers have to walk single-file down the fairways. Anything other than a striped drive, down the middle, is a lost ball.
When golfers come across an excellent mountain layout, it is a treat. And one of the areas that supplies golfers with a nice assortment of mountain treats is the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
The older, less playable mountain courses are still serving a purpose. But there are also a number of newer layouts that prove all good golf does not exist at sea level.
Here is a quick synopsis of the best mountain courses in the Poconos. Note – the 27-hole layout at Shawnee Resort is not on the list … because the course sits on the flatland along the Delaware River. The mountain scenes surround it, but the course is virtually dead flat. Good golf course … but not really a mountain course.
For a good mountain golf experience, try the courses listed below.
Blue Ridge Trail GC
It took 15 years to complete the golf course at Blue Ridge Trail – near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 81, on the western edge of the Poconos. Design work was done by the famed Ault/Clark firm, based in Maryland.
Tony Barletta, a golf course superintendent by trade, was the original steward of the project. Nurturing the course as if it was his baby. Now in semi-retirement, Barletta has turned the reins of the operation over to Duane Schell, the current general manager. It should come as no surprise that Schell is also the superintendent.
Course conditions always have been of optimum concern at Blue Ridge Trail. The quality of the overall golf experience is a combination of quality design and consistent manicuring.
“When this course was built, we cut extra-wide corridors through the trees,” explained Barletta. “Too many mountain courses have too many trees and the fairways are too narrow.”
Blue Ridge Trail definitely passes the “walk-in-the-park test.” Very few houses clutter the views. Each hole is a secluded gem … surrounded by nature.
Jack Frost National
The newest golf course in the Pocono Mountains is Jack Frost National. Opened in 2007, the course is built to a large scale in order to take advantage of the many overwhelming vistas. Once again, wide corridors are the key to the success of this layout.
“It is impossible to play a round of golf on this course without stopping a number of times and admiring the views,” says Jack Frost National director of golf Keith Devos. “There are some high points on this course where you can literally see for miles.”
That is not hyperbole. A number of locations – including from the three-year-old pavilion that is the perfect spot for a comfortable post-golf respite – afford golfers a 30-mile view.
The optical features are not the only strongpoint of Jack Frost National. It is a championship golf course, built to host high caliber competitions. Stretching to 7,256 yards from the back tees, it is the longest golf course in the Pocono Mountains.
The strength of the course is the green complexes – bewitchingly beautiful and beguilingly difficult, at the same time.
Eagle Rock
Just outside Hazleton is Eagle Rock Resort, an enormous property that is a four-season destination as well as a housing development that includes more than 900 homes. In addition to all of the recreational amenities on the property is a well-maintained golf course that is as enjoyable as it is challenging.
The first nine holes were designed by Arnold Palmer, until an economic downturn put a halt to the project. The second nine holes were completed by the Texas-based company that took over development of the area. The final result is a course that takes a nine-hole excursion away from the clubhouse situated at the highest point on the property, then returns on another exciting nine-hole excursion.
Once again, comfortably wide fairways are the key to the playability of this course. In addition, trees are kept far away from the greens, producing excellent conditions on the putting surfaces.
The only problem with the course is that at many times it is extremely crowded … with deer! Eagle Rock Resort is a nature-lovers paradise … that just happens to have an excellent mountain golf course in the middle of it.
Woodloch Springs
Woodloch Resort is a 2,000-acre property north of the town of Hawley, in the far northeast corner of Pennsylvania. Known throughout the country as a quality family vacation spot, it has an extremely interesting golf course at its core.
The course opened in 1992, after a painstaking construction process under the direction of Louisiana-based architect Rocky Roquemore. Although most of Roquemore’s experience came working in the flatland areas of America, he proved that he had the imagination and skills necessary to handle a rugged mountain property.
The Woodloch Springs Golf Course has a number of severe elevation changes – and a cavernous gorge in the middle of the infamous 14th hole.
Head golf professional John Pillar has been at Woodloch Springs since the beginning and he still proclaims with amazement, “I would walk around this property when it was being built and I couldn’t imagine how they could ever make a golf course out of it.
Pardon the repetition, but wide fairways, continued tree management, uncrowded green complexes and proper soil management are the keys to success at Woodloch Springs. The course is annually among the best-conditioned courses in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Building and maintaining a good mountain golf course is a very difficult proposition. But a number of courses in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains prove that the task is not impossible.
By Tony Leodora
