Review: Flatbush Golf Club (Part 1)

We're heading north of the Mason-Dixon Line again for this month's review. Today, we'll be looking at Flatbush Golf Club, located in Littlestown, Pennsylvania. This is another one of the many, many golf courses littered about in the general Gettysburg area. Way back in 2014 (I can't believe it's been that long), I reviewed Meadow Brook and Cedar Ridge, two other courses in the area. I passed a sign for Cedar Ridge on the way to Flatbush. And that's not even mentioning the other two courses in the vicinity, Quail Valley (which I have not played but would like to soon) and the Links at Gettysburg (which I have played but you couldn't get me back there unless you paid me). And that's just the area southwest of Gettysburg. So, if you're looking for a vacation spot and you like history and golf, Gettysburg could definitely fit the bill.

Anyway, back to Flatbush. I can tell you from the start that half of the name is quite apt, and that there aren't a whole lot of bushes here. Hey, nothing wrong with a fairly flat golf course, it just means it's easy to walk. And Flatbush is quite easy to walk.

The course starts with a short par 5, not much more than 500 yards. It's not always good for getting golfers out the door at a decent pace, since you often have golfers waiting in the fairway for the green to clear, only to top their 3 wood 50 yards, but there's something about having a good birdie opportunity right away that's very appealing. Who doesn't like being one under through one hole? To have the best chance at hitting the green in two, the drive should be down the left side, flirting with the fairway bunker and the native area. From here, you have a clearer shot at the green, which is guarded by two bunkers front right and by another bunker behind. There's lots of room to bail out right on the drive, but you may be blocked out by trees. Overall, it's a good starting hole.

The first hole.

It's beneficial if you can fade it into the green.

Looking up at the first green.

The second hole is a 423 yard par 4, the first of several long par 4s the front nine has to offer. However, this one is definitely on the not-so-tough side. The drive is quite lenient, so long as you're not directly behind a tree (most of which aren't very big), you'll have a shot at the green. The second shot is a lot tougher, the green is elevated and not very big, and there are two bunkers very much ready to catch wayward shots.

The second hole

The second shot is semiblind.

The third hole is the first par 3 at Flatbush, and also by far the longest, weighing in at 220 yards. There's no great trick to this hole, the green is slightly elevated, much like the last two holes, and there's a bunker front left and behind. You just have to be able to hit a good long iron. No problem, right?

The third hole.

The fourth hole isn't quite the longest par 4 on the course (that honor belongs to the eighth), but this is definitely the toughest hole at Flatbush. It's 450 yards, and it was playing straight into the wind when we played it. There are two ponds bordering the fairway, one on the right side that is definitely in play off the tee, and one left that is really not much of an issue unless you possess some stupendous amount of length. The green isn't big, and there is one bunker to the right, but I do feel the approach is a bit underwhelming. This is supposed to be a tough hole, it should be tough from start to finish. I can't believe I'm advocating for more difficulty, but a more thoroughly protected green would make the hole more memorable. Just don't use more water please. Ponds are not my favorite kind of hazard.

The fourth hole.

There isn't much around the fourth green.

The fifth hole is a short par 4, the only one under 400 yards on the front nine, and the start of a welcome 2 hole respite from an otherwise stern and fairly long opening nine. The hole doglegs significantly to the left, and there are trees in the corner of the dogleg, so you can't really go at the green. That means you'll be teeing off with a wood or long iron, and that brings a pond, lurking behind the trees on the left side, into play. If you've done everything correctly, the second shot will be slightly uphill to a green guarded by a bunker front left, which is an issue, and a bunker long right, which really isn't. That bunker probably doesn't get a lot of action, and I forgot about it completely until I looked at the course on Google Maps.

Laying up is the obvious choice on the fifth.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is the shortest par 3 on the course at 160 yards. It plays slightly downhill to a small green, and there are bunkers left and right. And that's about it for this hole.

The sixth hole.

The seventh hole is the longest hole on the course at 532 yards. The tee shot plays uphill to a small plateau, and is very wide open. There is a pond that cuts across the hole around 100 yards from the green, so if you've hit a poor drive, there's a very good possibility you'll be laying up short of it. So you may end up with quite a long third shot. That third shot (or second shot, if you've got the length to go for the green in two) is made more difficult by the presence of a pair of trees just over the pond, directly in the way unless you're far enough left. The ability to either hit it high or hit a fade is quite beneficial here. The green is fairly undulating for this course, and is guarded by bunkers left and right. Unlike the first hole, this par 5 is not such an easy birdie prospect.

You can't really see much from the seventh tee.

This is not the view you want on the third shot of a par 5.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is the longest par 4 on the course at 455 yards, but it was playing downwind, so it wasn't playing as long as the fourth hole. A draw threaded between the fairway bunker and the OB line right of the fairway is the ideal shot off the tee. But essentially, so long as you keep it in bounds, you can go at the green, which is defended by two small bunkers. It may be a pretty long hole, but honestly, it's not really that tough.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green is pretty open at the front.

The ninth hole is 436 yards and uphill pretty much the whole way. There's OB right in the form of the property line and a thick group of trees, and there's OB left in the form of the driving range. The playing corridor is plenty wide, but it's always a bit constraining having OB on both sides like this. The green has sand left and long. The back bunker has a sort of brick wall behind it, which I thought was a fairly unique feature.

The ninth hole.

The second shot plays across a shallow valley.

The green, with the rear bunker backed by a wall.

That's it for the front nine, next week we'll check out the back nine.