Continued Woes at Walnut Lane

Walnut Lane Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pal
Yards: 2173/2098 – 4271
Par: 31/31 = 62
Rating: 59, Slope: 91
Score: 50/48 = 98
Date: September 19, 2009

Hoping to get my game turned around after some awful golf at the Delaware Shore, I ventured back to my familiar surroundings at Juniata Golf Club. However, because of a golf outing, I was forced to go play at Walnut Lane Golf Club in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. Designed by legendary architect Alex Findlay, the course opened in 1940 and is set among the Wissahickon Valley Park, which is part of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. Although it is short at just over 4200 yards and only a par 62, Walnut Lane overs a good test with elevation changes, tight driving holes and long difficult Par 3s. I felt this would be a good change to really test my new TaylorMade Tour Burner irons.

Walnut Lane Scorecard

I was paired up with Charles and Tyrell on the First Tee, and Gregory later joined us on the Second Hole. My problems began from the start. On the first four holes, I pushed my tee shots straight right, although I was always in a position to stay in the hole. My short game wasn't too bad and I chipped pretty well. I worked on my swing and finally started to draw the ball at the Sixth Hole. My biggest problem, as it has been all season, was with my putting. Two-putting was a triumph. It got so bad on the back nine that I actually began putting cross-handed in an effort to find anything that resembled a good putting stroke. It seemed to help a bit and after a few holes, I went back to conventional and putted a bit better. Still, a 50-48 for the two nines was very disappointing.

The Fourth Hole, a 218-yard downhill Par 3

The blind tee shot at the Par 4 Seventh Hole

Walnut Lane was in pretty good shape. It, like Juniata, has gone on its own when Billy Casper Golf did not take over its management as part of their deal with the Fairmount Park Commission, which still owns the course. One of the big problems that Walnut Lane has long suffered is many golfers only play the first seven holes, which are on the clubhouse side of Walnut Lane, the Philadelphia street from which the course derives its name. Because of this, the other 11 holes can sometimes suffer vandalism by people riding motorbikes or ATVs through the Wissahickon Valley Park. Many trails pass on the very edge of the course, and it is not usual to be on a green and have several mountain bikers come speeding past. We witnessed such vandalism yesterday as tires prints ran in circles across the Twelfth and Thirteenth Greens.

The tight tee shot at the Ninth Hole

Damage on the Twelfth Green

As for my irons, I am very happy with them so far. They hit the ball with a very crisp feel, almost like a blade iron. The distance is loooong and the feel is soft and easy to control around the greens. Although you don't need to hit Driver often at Walnut Lane, I hit it three times yesterday and found the fairway each time. Last week, I cut an inch off my Driver shaft, making its length 44.5-inches, as opposed to the 45.5 that I purchased it as. I was hoping that the shorter shaft would help with control and accuracy and it seemed to make quite the difference yesterday. I am hoping that it will also help eliminate the slice that has crept into my drives from time-to-time this year.

More photos of Walnut Lane:

The 186-yard Par 3 Second Hole

The approach to the Third Hole

The Eleventh Hole, a narrow, uphill Par 3

Two large bunkers guard the short Thirteenth Hole

The Sixteenth Hole, a 152-yard Par 3

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Rain Halts Play at Heritage Creek

Heritage Creek Golf Club
Warwick, Pa
Yards: 2855/2920 - 5775 (Proposed)
Par: 34/35 - 69
Rating: NA, Slope: NA
Score: 18 (3 Holes)
Date: July 29, 2009

Heritage Creek Golf Club is a Par 71 golf course that is being developed in Central Bucks County. It's architect is Kelly Blake Morgan, whose other area designs include Lederach Golf Club and The Club at Morgan Hill in Easton. The course will be part of the Golf Club Estates at Heritage Creek, an upscale housing community being developed by the Mignatti Companies. So far, only holes 6 through 12 have been built.

Heritage Creek Scorecard

Despite the threats of thunder storms, my cousin and I attempted to play at Heritage Creek this afternoon. Currently, you can pay to play 6, 12 or 18 holes. Each 6 you play, you can play from a different set of tees and each hole has two pin locations--a red and a blue. Because of the impending bad weather, we opted to try for 12. We heard rumblings of thunder as we teed off and managed to get through three holes before the heavens opened up with a heavy rain. We managed to make it back to our cars, but not before we were soaked. We were given rain checks for 9 holes at a future date.

The view from the 6th Tee

While you can tell that Heritage Creek is a work in progress, the fairways and greens are in exceptional shape. These greens were probably the best I have putted on this year. If this is an indication of what is to come, Heritage Creek will be a spectacular addition in the area golfing landscape.

A few more photos of Heritage Creek:

The Red and Blue pins on the 6th Green

The 185-yard Par 3 Seventh Hole

A view of the 3rd Tee from the parking area

Photos by The Muni Golfer

A Holiday Round at Green Pond CC

Green Pond Country Club
Bethlehem, Pa.
Yards: 3205/2949 - 6154
Par: 36/35 - 71
Rating: 69.4, Slope: 122
Score: 53/51 = 104
Date: July 3, 2009

While once again doing the family thing in Easton, Pa. during the holiday weekend, I finally got a chance to play Green Pond Country Club. Located just a short distance off Route 33 and Easton Road, Green Pond bills itself as "the public's country club." The course, designed by Scottish immigrant Alex Findlay and opened in 1931, is a classic layout with a lot of tree-lined fairways, doglegs, sand traps and medium-sized greens. Unlike many of the area courses, it is relatively flat--a few holes play slightly uphill or downhill, except the Par 17th--and is a very easy walking course.

Green Pond Country Club Scorecard

Conditions are Green Pond were excellent, except for the tee boxes, which could have been a bit more level. Nevertherless, the course was in great shape. It is a course where you definitely want to put the ball in the fairway as the rough was thick. The greens were fast, and I struggled with my speed throughout the round. They also featured just enough break to keep your full attention until the ball was in the hole. The greens are also well protected by numerous bunkers as I found out throughout my round. It is understandable why Green Pond is the host course for the Lehigh Valley Amateur Tournament each September. Green fees are also very reasonable: $32/42 to walk/ride during the week and $55 with a cart mandatory on the weekends. Twilight rates are $22/30 to walk/ride after 2 p.m. during the week and $32/42 to walk/ride after 3 p.m. on weekends.

The 1st Hole at Green Pond, a 342-yard Par 4

Since a lot of people had off Friday in observance of July 4th, the course was crowded when I arrived. The pro shop staff was very friendly, especially considering they were having computer problems. They informed me that there were presently five foursomes waiting to tee off. The young woman went out and spoke with the starter then came back to tell me he indicated he would be able to get me out, but that it might take awhile. I said I was in no rush and would wait. After about 20 minutes, the fourth foursome indicated they only had three golfers, so the starter paired me up with Mike, Rich and Robert. They welcomed me into their foursome and we had a great time throughout the round. Play was semi-slow through the first 7-8 holes, but moved along well after that.

Approach shot to the 9th Green

As for my round, I hit my 3-Wood off the 1st tee into the middle of the fairway and then a 9-iron to the back of the green. A good start, I thought, until I hit my first putt about 15-feet past the hole and three-putted. The 2nd Hole, a 544-yard Par 5, I hit Driver to the right side of the fairway, layed up, then hit a short iron onto the green in regulation...then again three-putted. So instead of starting par-par, a started bogey-bogey. At the 3rd Hole, a slightly downhill Par 4 that doglegs left, I hit my 2-Hybrid into the middle of the fairway, then left a 7-iron out to the right and into a bunker, the first of many I would visit at Green Pond. In fact, I spent more time in the sand at Green Pond than Charlton Heston did filming The Ten Commandments. I did manage to play out of most of the bunkers rather well, but I was never able to get the speed of the greens and three-putted numerous times. In fact, only made one par all day, at the 10th Hole, where I hit my tee shot far enough right that missed the dogleg and hit a 9-iron over some trees to the back of the green, then two-putted. I was happy overall with how I played off the tee and my iron game was pretty good, but my chipping and putting really let me down. It added up to a 104.

A pond fronts the 14th Green

One cool note: on the 16th tee box, a young red fox was playing around with what looked like a field mouse or some other small creature that he had captured. Unbothered by our approach to hit our tee shots, he sat and watched as we played through!

Our wild gallery of one on the 16th Tee

Green Pond adds another golfing option when visiting the Lehigh Valley and I look forward to returning to Green Pond for a round in the not too distant future.

Some additional photos of Green Pond CC:

The 3rd Hole, a 354-yard Par 4 that doglegs left

The 5th Hole

The 10th Hole doglegs right

The blind tee shot at the 13th Hole

The Par 3 15th Hole

The 17th Hole, a Par 3 that plays downhill

The 18th Hole, a straightaway Par 4

My playing partners: Mike, Rich and Robert

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Ross is Still the Boss at Jeffersonville

Jeffersonville Golf Club
Jeffersonville, Pa.
Yards: 3012/3138 - 6150
Par: 35/35 - 70
Rating: 69.4, Slope: 124
Score: 50/48 = 98
Date: June 26, 2009

It is always a treat to play a course that was designed by a legendary golf architect. On Friday, I played a round at Jeffersonville Golf Club, which is located just northwest of Norristown in Montgomery County. Jeffersonville is a Par 70 municipal track that was designed in 1931 by renowned golf architect Donald Ross, whose other legendary designs include such notable courses as Aronimink, Pinehurst #2, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill, Interlachen, Inverness and Seminole. The course was purchased by West Norriton Township in 1972 and they spent $2.3 million in 2002 restoring to as close to Ross' original layout as possible. It is a classic example of how a course can be challenging without a lot of gimmicks. There are a lot of holes that dogleg left or right, have double doglegs, play uphill or downhill, bunkers that line fairways and guard greens, as well as devilish greens that have false fronts or slope off on the front, back or sides.

Jeffersonville Golf Club Scorecard

Jeffersonville has decent length, measuring 6150 yards from the white tees and just over 6400 from the tips. The opening hole is a 434-yard Par 4 that plays across a small valley to an uphill fairway that doglegs left. The second hole, which plays downhill at 333 yards isn't any easier, with the green sitting on a plateau that has a creek crossing the front and right and out-of-bounds left and behind. There are two Par 5s: the 557-yard 6th hole, which doglegs right and features an almost blind second shot, and the 516-yard 18th Hole which doglegs left off the tee and then right back towards the green. One of the unique things at Jeffersonville is the pinsheet that is given out with scorecards in the proshop. With each green broken into thirds numbered 1, 2 and 3, it tells in what portion of the green the hole is located on that day. During our round, the pins were in #3.

Jeffersonville Golf Club Pinsheet

Usually, to play a course designed by such a legend, you would expect to pay $75 or more. But Jeffersonville's rates are truly in the spirit of municipal golf. To walk costs $26/35 during weekdays/weekends and to ride costs $42/51. The conditions of the course were excellent for a public facility. In fact, Jeffersonville is so respected, it is playing host to the Philadelphia Publinks Championship on June 29.

The 2nd Green is surrounded by a creek and OB

As for my round, my goal was to better the 100 I had shot at Jeffersonville two years ago. I felt pretty confident coming off last week's 90 at Mainland Golf Course. Although I was forced to hit Driver a few more times at Jeffersonville than Mainland, I still used my 3-Wood and 2-Hybrid off the tee a great deal. Unfortunately, I was back to fading or slicing the ball off the tee again. This put me some difficult spots to try and go at the green on my approach shots. My short game was either good or bad, depending on the hole. I did have success from the bunkers, which I found more than my share of, and my putting was again fairly consistent. I was disappointed to have five 7s on my card, although two of them came on the Par 5--I made an 8 on both last time. I did take some confidence away from the fact that I hit the ball solid, had a putts for par on the last five holes, and did break 100.

The blind approach shot at the Par 5 6th Hole

I would strongly recommend putting Jeffersonville on your must play list. It is a wonderful opportunity to experience golf as envisioned by one of the great golf architects, and at a price that can't be beat!

The Par 5 18th Hole doglegs left off the tee

Additional photos of Jeffersonville Golf Club:

The 3rd Hole, a short Par 4 which plays uphill

The Par 3 4th Hole

The straightaway 5th Hole

The 8th Hole, a downhill Par 3 with a creek in front

The approach to the 10th Green

The long 13th Hole doglegs left

with a creek in front of an elevated green

The long uphill Par 3 15th Hole

The Par 4 16th Hole

The approach to the 18th Green

Photos by The Muni Golfer

All Hail Muni Golf!!

A great story about the joys of playing muni golf has been posted on golfdigest.com. "A Man of the Munys Celebrates the Soul of American Golf" by Steve Rushin, which will be published in the August issue of the magazine, even gives an example of Golf Digest Editor-in Chief Jerry Tarde playing on a muni golf course while growing up in Philadelphia:

"Golf Digest Editor-in-Chief Jerry Tarde often played at a Philadelphia muny with an elderly gentleman who put Elmer's Glue on his grips and then shook coffee grounds over them to increase the tackiness. (In every sense of that word.) When Tarde passed him in the parking lot after one round, the guy was on his knees, spray-painting his own Cadillac."

Of course, Tarde grew up in Juniata and the Philadelphia muni that Tarde was playing was our beloved Juniata Golf Club!

The 1st Hole, a downhill Par 3, at Juniata Golf Club

A sidebar piece also ranks the best muni course in each of the 50 states. In Pennsylvania, that honor was bestowed upon Cranberry Highlands Golf Course, which is owned by Cranberry Township in Northwestern Pennsylvania. But I would argue that it is hard to beat Jeffersonville Golf Club, which is owned by West Norriton Township in Montgomery County. Jeffersonville was originally designed by the legendary golf architect Donald Ross, whose others works include Pinehurst #2, Oakland Hills, Oak Hill, Interlachen, Inverness and Seminole. I think it is hard to find another muni course designed by such a world renowned architect. Lucky for me, I will have the privilege of playing Jeffersonville tomorrow.

11th Exelon Invitational is an Ace!

Today I attended the 11th Annual Exelon Invitational hosted by Jim Furyk at The Ace Club in Lafayette Hill, Pa. The event featured four members of the 2008 Ryder Cup--Delaware Valley native Furyk, Kenny Perry, Anthony Kim and Paul Casey--playing a two-team fourball match. The match was Furyk/Kim vs. Perry/Casey. Furyk and Kim won the match 3&2, thanks to an ace by Kim at the 212-yard Par 3 14th Hole. What was really cool about Kim's ace was, as per golf traditional, he bought all of the spectators a drink! At the 15th green, they were handing out free cans of beer and soda on Kim. Furyk and Kim split the first prize money of $160,000, while Perry and Casey split the runners-up share of $120,000. The event raised nearly $200,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, and in its 11 year history has donated almost $1.7 million. You can see all of my photos from the event by clicking here.

Furyk, Perry Casey and Kim

It was a gorgeous day with brilliant sunshine and high humidity. Thunder storms that predicted for the afternoon held off, but some gray skies did roll in late in the day and the winds began to gust. The sun and humidity had to take a small toll on the players, who had all just finished playing The Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio this past weekend except for Kim.

Anthony Kim makes an ace at the 14th Hole

Apart from Kim's ace, another interesting moment occurred at the Million Dollar Shootout. Prior to the start of the tournament, spectators can can take three swings to try hit a golf ball as close as possible to a pin 72 yards away. The four closest contestants are then given the opportunity to tee-off for a hole in one at the 8th Hole, prior to the pros. A Hole-in-one is worth $1 million. One of the contestants was a 13-year-old named Cole, who hit his tee shot about 20-feet above the pin. One the green, Paul Casey gave Cole his putter and the youngster two-putted for a par!

13-year-old Cole putts for birdie!

Here is a re-cap of the match from the Sports Network:

Kim's ace highlights Exelon win

Lafayette Hill, PA (Sports Network) - Anthony Kim made the first hole-in-one in the 11-year history of the Exelon Invitational on Monday, guiding himself and Jim Furyk to a 3 & 2 victory over Kenny Perry and Paul Casey.

Kim holed his 212-yard tee shot at No. 14 with a five-iron, giving his team a 3-up advantage with four holes to play. He said it was the ninth ace of his career.

"I didn't see it go in," said Kim. "I saw the reaction of the crowd and knew it was good."

The one-day event is hosted by Furyk and held -- fittingly for Kim -- at the Ace Club in suburban Philadelphia. The Ryder Cup-style fourball tournament raised nearly $200,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, Furyk said.

Kim's hole-in-one may also be the last in tournament history.

Exelon, which has sponsored the event since it began in 1999, is cutting back expenses in the difficult economy, Furyk said. He said the tournament, which draws top players every year, won't be held in 2010.

"We're hoping to come back in the future," said Furyk.

The players kept the mood light while birdies were made at 11 of the first 13 holes.

Furyk and Casey were especially hot, combining for seven birdies on the first nine holes. Furyk's fourth birdie putt on the front side, a five-footer at No. 9, gave himself and Kim a 2-up lead.

Perry didn't make birdie until the 10th, when he holed an 18-foot putt to cut his and Casey's deficit to 1-down. They also made birdie at the next hole to square the match.

Kim put his team ahead again with a 10-footer for birdie at the 12th, set up by a soft six-iron into the green.

After rolling a birdie putt well past the hole on 13, Kim played to the supportive gallery, which was reacting to a loud noise coming from the greenside pond.

"That frog is laughing at me," he said.

Furyk rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on the hole to give his team its second 2-up advantage of the day. They moved a commanding 3-up on Kim's ace at the 14th.

"Hey everybody, drinks are on Anthony!" Perry called out -- and sure enough, beer and soda were brought out on a cart several holes later.

The players -- all ranked in the top 15 in the world -- halved the next two holes to give Furyk and Kim the victory.

Furyk, Kim and Casey then played the final two holes using only one club -- Furyk a five-iron, Casey a four-iron and Kim a three-wood. Furyk thrilled the gallery by holing a 40-footer for birdie with his five-iron on the 17th green.

The ACE Club is a beautiful Gary Player-designed course, built over the rolling, hilly landscape of northwestern Philadelphia and southwestern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. From the tips, it plays at 7,471 yards, with a rating of 76.1 and a slope of 146. It also features a 610-yard Par 5. From the white tees, the course is 6702 yards, with a rating/slope of 72.7/137.

Photos by The Muni Golfer