Review: Berkleigh Golf Club (Part 1)

There's a very good reason why I drove more than 2 hours to quaint little Berkleigh Golf Club in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, just a bit west of Allentown: Golfweek declared it the tenth best public golf course in the state in 2019. How could I resist?

Okay, I'm fabricating about my reasoning, but Berkleigh really is that well thought of by the raters of a respected golf publication, which makes it the fourth golf course in their Pennsylvania public top 10 that I've played (the others: Bedford Springs, Inniscrone, Toftrees). ( I did play Bedford Springs before the renovation though, really need to get back there.)

Berkleigh started life out as a private course, designed in the 1920s by Robert White, a lesser-known Golden Age architect who worked primarily in the mid-Atlantic. As a private club, it hosted the 1951 Reading Open (won by Jim Turnesa), as well as the LPGA Betsy King Classic from 1996 to 2004, whose winners' list included Se Ri Pak, Lorena Ochoa, and Annika Sorenstam, so there is a bit of tournament pedigree. The course was sold off in 2008 and has been public ever since. Some restoration work began in 2018, which was still ongoing during my round, as there was no actual clubhouse. The pro shop was being run out of a shed, so it was an interesting start to the round. Anyway, let's see if Berkleigh deserves its spot on that top 10 list.

The first hole is a nice gentle handshake to start the round. A par 4 playing just under 400 yards, it doglegs ever so slightly to the right gently downhill. The driving range off to the right represents a hazard, as does a single fairway bunker, but on the whole, it's a pretty open tee shot. The second shot is a bit tougher as the green is pretty well defended by sand, but on the whole, it's a fairly friendly opening hole.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green..

The first green.

The second hole is a long 430 yard par 4 featuring a blind tee shot. Luckily the hole is dead straight, but it runs very close to an O.B. line along the trees right, so if you want to miss, left is the place to do it. Once you get over the crest of the ridge about 100 yards from the tee, the rest of the hole plays downhill. The green is sloped from back to front, and the sides are also raised, so shots will funnel toward the middle. There's also three bunkers around the green, so while it's easy to get a ball on the center of the green, when the hole is placed along the edges, both approach and recovery shots will be more difficult to get close.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is the shortest hole at Berkleigh, a short 160 yard par 3 over a little stream to a slightly elevated green. There are two bunkers short and one right that have to be negotiated, but otherwise, this is a pretty simple hole.

The third hole.

The third green.

We go from the shortest hole on the golf course to the longest, as the fourth weighs in at a healthy 590 yards from the tips. There isn't much trouble on the tee shot, but it is important to hit the fairway. The second shot is blind, and while the ridge isn't an issue to clear if you've hit a good drive, if you don't, you'll likely have to lay up below the crest and have a nearly 200 yard blind third. And the green is pretty heavily bunkered. In addition, when laying up, the left side is preferable, as there are some overhanging trees on the right.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a mid-length par 4 that drops from a high tee down through a valley and back up the other side. To get a decent view of the flag, you'll have to hit driver, but that means contending with the pair of fairway bunkers, which are very much in play for most golfers. If you can, it's better to approach the green from the right, as the left greenside bunker is a fairly mean one. The green is pretty subdued, so if you can get on in regulation, a birdie is doable.

The fifth hole.

The approach to the fifth green is semiblind.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole, a 190 yard par 3, could use some tree removal. I didn't get a picture of it, but when you play from the back tee, there's a big overhanging tree near the middle tees that force you to hit a fade to get anywhere near the green. And while this green doesn't go full Redan, it's definitely a lot harder to go at the flag with a fade.

The sixth hole.

It's helpful to hit a draw into the sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a par 5, but it's a far cry from the relative brute that the third was. Playing 110 yards shorter at 480 yards, this hole is completely reachable for a lot of golfers, but there's a catch: A small stream cutting across the fairway about 275 yards from the tee. It takes up so little space on the hole but affects so much. Either way, if you choose to challenge it or lay up short, the second shot is up the hill. A pair of fairway bunkers challenge those who are laying up, and those going for the green will have to contend with a small target zealously guarded by four bunkers. Oh and there's also a bit of a false front to the green. This hole really isn't as easy a birdie as you might think.

The seventh hole.

Another semiblind approach.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole plays parallel to the seventh, and that means negotiating with the same small stream. However, this time the carry isn't so extreme, about 225 yards, so only the shortest hitters will have to lay up. In fact, using driver eliminates the fairway bunkers, though the fairway does narrow the farther you go. The green on this 375 yard par 4 is reasonably undulating and best approached from the left side. Shots from the right not only have to fly the greenside bunker, they may also have tree trouble.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is the third par 5 on the front nine, and happily, it's almost halfway in between the other two in terms of length. Variety is a good thing. If you want to get a good look at the green so you can go for it in two, you have to reach the top of the hill, but a pair of bunkers pinch in, making the task of finding the fairway a bit more difficult. The long approach isn't much easier, as three bunkers protect the green on three sides, including the front. That bunker in the front makes approaching this green tricky, you really have to think about the best way to get around it, a choice that will vary depending on where you and the hole are.

The ninth hole.

The approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for the front nine, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.