Buffalo Grove Golf and Sports Center is open for the winter. Highly rated instructor Todd Sones will be conducting a free clinic tonight in the dome. Putting, it’s as simple as 1-2-3. The dome is located at 801 McHenry Road in Buffalo Grove, call (847)-459-2321 or visit bgparks.org for more information.
BY: Rory Spears, Editor & Director of Content
The Saucon Valley Clubhouse in Bethlehem PA.
It’s one of the great historic clubs in the country, located one hour north of Philadelphia, Saucon Valley Country Club is a tribute to what golf is all about.
The club has three 18 hole layouts and a short course. There is mixed opinion on which of the courses there is the best, because of all of them are that good.
The Old Course was the first 18 holes and it opened in 1920, it was designed by British architect Herbert Strong, was from Royal St. George’s. Strong’s best known work in America is said to be the Canterbury Golf Club in the suburbs of Cleveland.
The first tee shot at Saucon Valley’s Old Course.
Strong’s work on the Old Course has been touched up along the way by the likes of William Gordon, Perry Maxwell and Tom Marzolf of the Fazio Group.
The back tee’s sit at just 7,126 but the rolling terrain of this course that was once a farm, makes it play longer than the yardage on the scorecard. The member tee’s play at 6,800 yards.
Seven USGA national championships have been played on the Old Course, including the Mid-Amateur Championship this past year. The other championships include the 1951 U.S. Amateur, the 1983 Junior Amateur, 1987 Senior Amateur, two U.S. Sr. Opens in 1992 and 2000, and the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.
The Par 4, second hole on the Old Course
The opening hole is a par 5 that goes out, up and down to the green. With the second hole turning around the golfer and running them right back up the hill to the clubhouse.
The second shot is uphill and demanding, especially if you find the rough left of the fairway. But golfers that hit it long coming into the green, can end up in some trees and bushes behind the green. This par 4, 474 yard hole quickly tests your long game.
By the late 1940’s the club decided that second course was needed, as the membership was getting bigger. Architect William Gordon got the call to design the golf course. Gordon had worked on name projects with other architects when he was coming up through the ranks.
Those included William Flynn at Shinnecock Hills, Donald Ross at Seminole, Willie park Jr. at Maidstone, and Devereux Emmet at Garden City. It was then that the “Grace Course” was built, in honor of club founder Eugene Gifford Grace who helped shape the club as it is today.
The Par 3, 174 yard 11th hole on the Old Course.
Grace was the president of Bethlehem Steel, a position he held for some 40 years. Grace was not only a big player in the steel industry, but in golf as well. He was called a, “friend of the game” by those who knew him. Saucon Valley considers it great honor that the course is named after a man described as a visionary.
The Grace Course does not return to the clubhouse after nine holes, but at the turn golfers can visit the famed halfway house that’s called “Villa Pazzetti.” From the tips the course plays at 7,051 yards,with greens less undulated but much bigger than the Old Course.
The 18th hole at Saucon Valley, with a great 19th hole just right of the green.
The Par 3, 11th hole on the Grace Course is modeled after the famed “Eden Hole’ the 11th at St. Andrews in Scotland.
Three solid par 4 holes make up holes 16-17-18, the shortest one of the holes is the 437 yard 17th hole. These holes will test any golfers game.
The third 18 hole course that makes up the club is the Weyhill Course, that was designed by Gordon. The course was built on a farm that had previously been owned by an executive of Bethlehem steel. The elevation changes on Weyhill are much different than the other courses. Members will tell you that Weyhill is the most picturesque of the three courses.
The Weyhill course opened for play in 1968. Two years later the course had it’s name changed to “Bent Creek Golf Course”, after Quincy Bent who had owned the property and Saucon Creek that ran through the golf course. But two years later the name was changed back to Weyhill.
The Weyhill House provides overnight lodging for members and their guests.
Two of the most talked about holes on the Weyhill Course, are the 14th and the 15th holes.
The 14th hole is a par 3, that plays 176 yards and tee shots must carry a quarry to a severely sloped green. The 15th hole has been compared to the second hole at Pine Valley, golfers need to hit their approach shot into an elevated green that’s guarded by several bunkers.
The club has tennis and other activities for the members. The Weyhill House for overnight stays, is highly rated for it’s first class service and its amenities. For more information on the club please visit sauconvalleycc.org.