It's time to check out the back nine at Armitage, go here to see the front.
The tenth hole is the longest par 4 on the course, playing 420 yards into the wind. The hole is essentially straight, but a large tree just right of the fairway in the landing area gives it a feeling of playing like a dogleg, and it makes a fade the best play on the tee shot. It's a fun drive, going down into the valley, but the second shot is where things get really interesting. It's uphill, but what makes things tricky is the green, which actually slopes from front to back. That makes the short to mid iron approach from 20 feet below the green tough to control, since you'll be coming in from a lower-than-normal angle. It's a bit reminiscent of the third at Oakmont (my brother made that connection, not me), and it reminded me of a typical down-than-up Donald Ross long par 4. Either way, simply tilting the green slightly away from the line of play made this hole quite possibly the best on the course.
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The tenth hole. |
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Approaching the tenth green. |
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The tenth green. |
The eleventh hole is 340 yards, and it looks quite inviting on the tee. It's a downhill tee shot, and while the fairway definitely isn't wide, it really is very tempting to blast away with driver. That fairway bunker makes it even more tempting, since you can get past it with a solid drive. And there's nothing stopping you from making that choice. It is also a colossally stupid thing to do. If you happen to get the drive onto the right side of the hole, than it can work out, but if you end up 50 yards out with a bunker between you and the hole, than you might as well write a bogey on the scorecard, because you are not getting that golf ball anywhere close. The green is highest in the middle, which will give running shots from a half-wedge approach even more momentum as they head toward the back.
A long iron on the tee will stop short of the fairway bunker and leave a full wedge back up to the green. It is the safe, boring play, and no one wants to do that. It's also indisputably the right way to play the hole. I know that, and yet, I would still try driver here again. I know the odds are against me, but it's just so tempting. And that's the sign of a good hole.
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The eleventh hole. |
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Approaching the eleventh green. |
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The eleventh green. |
The twelfth hole isn't quite on the same level as the previous two holes, but it is at least fairly memorable. You don't often see double-dogleg par 4s. But this fairway, threaded through large trees, bends hard right in the landing area before immediately turning back to the left. This has the effect of dramatically tightening the space one has if they want to hit driver. It also means that, if one plays safely without challenging the trees on the right side, there's a very good chance they'll be blocked on the second shot by trees on the left, effectively turning this 360-yard par 4 into a three-shot hole. If you do thread the needle, the second shot will be a wedge uphill to a medium-sized green protected by a large bunker front right.
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The twelfth hole. |
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Approaching the twelfth green. |
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The twelfth green. |
The thirteenth hole would be a really good hole if it were 50 or 75 yards longer. The idea is there: On the tee, you're supposed to fade your tee shot between the bunker left and mounding right (there was pretty obviously a bunker here), then you draw your approach onto the green, which is angled right to left and has bunkers back right and front left. But long drivers can carry all the trouble on the tee shot, rendering the challenge and shotmaking that the hole wants you to employ obsolete. At the very least, the green here is still quite tricky, with a back tier presenting some particular difficulty. I didn't often miss length at Armitage, but this hole was an exception.
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The thirteenth hole. |
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Approaching the thirteenth green. |
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The thirteenth green. |
After eight par 4s straight, the fourteenth finally presents something different. And it's a tiny little 125-yard par 3, which I very much appreciate. Short par 3s are underutilized. This is not a particularly tough hole; there are three bunkers around the green, but the green isn't particularly tricky and it's not that small either. Realistically, the only real challenge is judging the distance, since the hole plays significantly downhill. But still, it's a charming, likable hole, and I'm happy it's here.
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The fourteenth hole. |
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The fourteenth green. |
The fifteenth hole is the longest hole at Armitage, playing 530 yards. One might expect that a basically straightaway par 5 with no bunkers or real trouble for the first 500 yards of the hole would be not that interesting, but that is decidedly not the case here. This fairway rises and falls over multiple landforms, with much of the hole tilted sharply from right to left. The tumbling land is always something you have to account for, and it provides built-in interest on both the drive and second shot. The green itself is kind of tucked behind a pair of bunkers up at the top of a ridge, and while it isn't that exciting, it definitely isn't flat either. Overall, considering this was the only par 5 we got to play at Armitage, the fifteenth held up very well.
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The fifteenth hole. |
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Approaching the fifteenth green. |
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The fifteenth green. |
The sixteenth hole is 365 yards, and the first thing you'll notice is that the fairway is rather precariously sloped from left to right. Any sort of fade or slice is going to bound off the fairway toward the cluster of trees right. To complicate matters further, while the hole has no bunkers, the green is definitely best approached from the left side, thanks to the steep dropoff right of the green. The ability to hit a draw on command is very useful here. The green itself is quite small, which presents its own challenge, since no matter where you're playing your second shot from, you'll have to account for the massive sideslope. That makes this already-small target even more elusive.
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The sixteenth hole. |
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Approaching the sixteenth green. |
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The sixteenth green. |
The seventeenth hole is by far the longest of Armitage's par 3s, playing nearly 240 yards. It is slightly downhill (and was downwind for our round), which helps, as you can run a golf ball along the fairway either up onto the green or at least quite close, leaving an easy chip. Right is very much something to be avoided; if you must miss, miss left. The green is sloped from back to front and has some little wrinkles and bumps to it that make chips and putts not entirely simple. Overall, a tough hole at the correct point in the round.
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The seventeenth hole. |
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The seventeenth green. |
The eighteenth hole is a rather underwhelming finish to the round. At 325 yards, it's not driveable, and the fairway is both flat and pretty wide, so there's nothing to think about on the tee beyond getting close to the green. I guess if the flag is cut close to one of the two front bunkers you don't want to hit driver onto that particular side, which would leave you with a half-wedge with little green to work with, but that's not exactly riveting strategy. This green isn't even particularly interesting. At least it gives you a good opportunity to close things out with a birdie.
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The eighteenth hole. |
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The eighteenth green. |
I'm actually really a little disappointed that it took me this long to play Armitage, it's actually a pretty fun golf course, a lot better than I was expecting. It's not on the level of Paxon Hollow and certainly not Cape Arundel, two other sub-6,000 yard golf courses, but it's certainly in the conversation for best public course in Harrisburg. The only other competition is Dauphin Highlands, which may be going away if Dauphin County has anything to say about things.
Armitage's biggest strength is how it embraces the landscape: Remember, this golf course is tiny and on an equally tiny piece of land. Pretty much every hole runs parallel with each other. But when you're out there, you really don't feel it. Each hole presents you with different looks and feels different. Even on that stretch in the middle of the round where you get eight straight par 4s, most of which are pretty similar in length, I didn't really feel like I was missing anything in terms of variety. Actually, the stretch from 7 to 11 is perhaps the strongest group of holes on the course. Plus, Armitage manages to include a tiny little par 3 and rambunctious long(ish) par 5 in direct succession, both of which are appreciated.
The cost to play is also quite modest: just $28 to walk during the week, and it's never more than $40 to walk on the weekend. The conditions are also pretty solid, though mid-spring is pretty much ideal for any golf course to present solid grass conditions. I do, however, have a bit of a bone to pick regarding cost. Right now, Armitage has 8-minute gaps between tee times, which is absolutely not enough time. It took my brother and I just over 4 hours to play, which is absolutely absurd for such a short golf course with pretty much nowhere to lose a golf ball. Frankly, I think Armitage should charge more and space out the tee times more. They'd make the same money and the golfers would have a better experience. I'd pay more to play Armitage, I think it's worth it.