Horsham Valley Golf Club: Short, Challenging and Almost Gone

Horsham Valley Golf Club
Ambler, Pa
Yards: 2536/2579 - 5115
Par: 33/33 - 66
Rating: 62.2, Slope: 101
Score: 41/47 = 88
Date: August 16, 2008

Horsham Valley is a short, but challenging public course located in lower Montgomery County. Designed and built by Jock and Doug Melville, the course opened on July 4th, 1964 and has been serving the local golf community ever since. Although it plays to a Par 66 at just over 5,000 yards, the course is no pushover. As it is described on the course's Web site:

"Horsham Valley Golf Club places a premium on accuracy. With over 1,200 pine trees and small greens, you must be precise with your tee shots and have a solid short game. Water comes into play on holes 13 through 16. Hole #15 is the signature hole. This par 3, playing 170 yards from the middle tees, has ruined many a good round. The green has water front and right and bunkers left and long. Par is great but the average score is 5. If you keep the ball in play and avoid the many hazards, you will have an enjoyable round of golf."

Horsham Valley Scorecard

The course is especially popular with junior golfers, beginners, seniors and high-handicappers. Play can be painfully slow, but the challenge of the course more than makes up for it. But alas, all good things must come to end. Now owned by the Barbin family, who also own Chesapeake Bay Golf Clubs in North East and Rising Sun, MD., Horsham Valley is scheduled to close at the end of the 2009 season.

The narrow tee shot at the 2nd Hole

As I have stated, Horsham is short, but challenging. This becomes clear on the 2nd Hole, where you must thread your tee shot shot through a roughly 10-yard opening in a line of tall pines about 100 yards off the tee. The 4th and 8th Holes are both short Par 3s, 127 and 122 yards respectively, that play slightly uphill, are guarded in the front by bunkers and have greens that slope severely from back-to-front. The 6th Hole is another Par 3 that plays about 170 yards to a green that slopes severely from back-to-front, as well as off the sides.

A large sand waste area guards the Par 3 8th Hole

The back nine is where the real test begins. The 10th Hole is a uphill Par 3 that plays at least a club longer than the listed 171 yards. The 11th is a short, but narrow downhill 296-yard Par 4. The 13th Hole is a dogleg left that has Power Lines crossing in front of an elevated tee and a creek fronting a plateaued green. The 14th Hole features a tee short over that same creek and a large sand trap and trees in the middle of the fairway about 100 yards from the green. The 15th Hole, Horsham Valley's signature hole, is a 186 yard Par 3 that has the creek running in front of and around the right side of the green, while trees and bunkers guard the left and back parts of the green. The 16th Hole, another short Par 4, features a tee shot out of a narrow chute of trees. The 17th Hole is an uphill, 184-yrad Par 3 to a raised green. The 18th, the only Par 5 on the course, features and blind tee shot, with trees blocking the right side and a downhill approach to a slightly raised green.

Power lines cross in front of the tee at the 13th Hole

My round got off to a good start, with an 8-foot birdie at the 1st Hole, and pars at the 2nd and 4th Holes. I didn't drive the ball that well, but I was able to give myself chances and I putted well for a 41 on the front 9. I played steady golf through most of the back, even surviving a wet tee shot at the 15th. But it all feel apart at the 17th. My tee shot was long and chunked my first chip shot. My second ran about 25 feet past the flag and I cozied my putt up to about a foot-and-half left of the hole. That's when the real fun began. I lipped out twice and burned the edge for tapping in for an 8! At the closing 18th, my draw off the tee managed to catch the tree on the right and I was forced to chip out sideways lefthanded from behind the tree. My third shot had to be a lay-up and I missed the green shot and right on my fourth shot. I though I had hit a good chip with my fifth shot, but it just rolled right off the left side of the green. I two-putted from there for a 7 and 47 on the back, for a total of 88.

The Signature Hole at Horsham Valley: The Challenging Par 3 15th Hole

I would recommend trying to play a round at Horsham Valley before it closes. The price is reasonable and the conditions are still pretty good, although the tee boxes were quite chewed up when I played. I have seen the course in better condition in the past, but I have also played more expensive courses recently that were in worse shape than Horsham Valley.

A few more images of Horsham Valley:

The dog-leg 5th Hole, a 387-yard Par 4

The approach over the creek to the 13th Green

The blind tee shot at the 18th Hole

The downhill approach to the 18th Green

Photos by The Muni Golfer