Review: Gettysburg National Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to see the back nine at Gettysburg National, go here to check out the front.

The tenth hole is a 400 yard par 4, and a bit of a departure from the front nine, in that there's actual trouble that you have to worry about. The pond near the tee isn't an issue, but there's a big fairway bunker left and a stream, along with a forest, runs down the entirety of the right side. Sure, there's plenty of space, but after nine holes of almost complete freedom, the sight of real trouble can be intimidating. I would opt for a 3 wood to stay short of the bunker, and leave a short iron into the green. There's a bunker short left of the green, and the forest is a factor if you slice the approach. There's a fair amount of slope to the green as well. 

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh, however, is a tough hole, despite being a modest 400 yards, and one that's had my number in previous rounds. At my last junior tournament round here, I shot an 80, which would normally be good, save for the fact that I made a quadruple bogey on this hole. Four birdies that day and I couldn't even break 80. Anyway, the dense trees are what make this hole so difficult, as does the gentle but constant leftward curve of the fairway. The drive is very awkward: Go too far right or too long and you'll blow through the fairway (my mistake during my last round) into the trees, or be blocked out by them. Go too far left and you'll run into the line of trees running near the fairway. There's a tiny sweet spot for the drive, and it's on the left half of the fairway, about 200-250 yards from the tee. If you do that, you'll have a short or mid iron to a green with quite a severe back to front slope that's protected by two bunkers. It's not the toughest hole I've ever played, but the eleventh is no pushover.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green. I was too far right in the fairway, so I had to bail out a bit left.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a 170 yard par 3 playing through the forest to an elevated green. There are bunkers short left and left, and the green is quite shallow. There's a falloff right, so if you slice it around the trees and don't get caught in those, you may very well hit a downward slope and bounce off into the forest. Much like the tee shot on 11, there's not a whole lot of room to miss. Don't worry though, things will get a bit easier after this.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is the longest hole at Gettysburg National, and the only one that stretches over 500 yards. The hole doglegs right around the side of a big hill, and the fairway is sloped from right to left the entire way. You can cut off the dogleg and avoid the big fairway bunker, but be aware that O.B. lurks to the right, so don't get too greedy. Hit a good drive and the green is reachable in two, but with water lurking left a more judicious play slightly to the right may be the best play. If you can't go for it, you'll also want to stay right, since you'll have a better angle and you'll be away from the water. Win-win right there.

Not a lot to see on the thirteenth tee.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green. 

The fourteenth hole is 360 yards and plays slightly uphill. There's O.B. right, and if you hit driver a pond left of the fairway comes into play. Fun story about that particular pond, back in my junior days I hit a drive over there, and in the process of looking for it I almost stepped on a copperhead hanging out on the bank. Needless to say I stopped searching after that. Anyway, I'd recommend a fairway wood or long iron off of the tee, since this is a short hole and laying back gives you more space. However, the second shot will be tough no matter what, since the green is quite small, has two tiers, and is protected by three bunkers. Honestly, despite the modest length, this is one of the tougher holes here, in my opinion.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

I like the fourteenth better in fall, you can see the rocky hillside behind the green better.

The fifteenth hole is 415 yards, but that distance is mitigated somewhat by the downhill tee shot. The landing area isn't exactly narrow, but it's not wide either. There's a fairway bunker left, and to the right there's some trees that will block out approaches, plus there's O.B. if you really feel like slicing one. The second shot, if you've hit the fairway, will be a short or mid iron to a green protected by two bunkers in front and a small pond to the left.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is the shortest hole at Gettysburg National, playing a miniscule 145 yards. Not that the course was pushing the limits of length anyway, but I like seeing these little par 3s. Unlike some, however, this one is pretty easy. Yeah, there's water and two bunkers left, but the right half of the green is completely open, and there's not a whole lot to the green itself. Hit it in regulation, a task pretty much any golfer could accomplish, and you've got a great chance at birdie. 

The short sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is not quite so inviting. It's the longest par 4 here, playing a not-inconsiderable 440 yards. A tiny little stream/ditch runs up the right side, and there's a bunker left of the fairway as well, so it's not a wide-open tee shot, but there's a comfortable amount of space. A little fade would do well here. Once the tee shot is taken care of, the second shot is a slightly uphill iron to a mildly bowl-shaped green protected by a bunker front right and back left. 

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a par 5 that offers the chance to finish in style if you're bold enough. It's just under 500 yards, so it's reachable in two for many golfers, but the tee shot needs to be either skirted along the tree line left or drawn around it to give a good view of the green. Play safe out to the right and the green is basically out of reach. If you get into a good position, you'll be left with a wood or long iron to a long and narrow green squeezed between water front right and three bunkers left. That actually makes the hole a bit of a switchback, where you need to curve the ball one way on the tee shot, then curve it the other way on the second. Now that I'm thinking about it, this is actually a really good finishing hole, and definitely the best hole on the course. I'm not a huge water fan, but on a short, heroic par 5, it fits.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

I hit 18 in two, but I had quite a putt left. Big surprise, I three putted.

Not every golf course in the world has to be the pinnacle of design. Sometimes it's nice to play a fairly simple bread-and-butter course that's open and inviting to all. That's what Gettysburg National is. This is not a difficult golf course, and I'm glad that it isn't. Pretty much anyone could go out there and have a good chance of breaking their personal best, or coming close. I snuck in under 80 here during this round, and I had quite a few spectacular slices off of the tee. But I missed in the right places, and this course is quite forgiving of occasional waywardness. The front nine is especially easy.

Now, all this friendliness would be wasted if the course was stuck with a big greens fee, but fortunately, Gettysburg National is completely afford. I was able to walk (mid week in the afternoon during the off-season, admittedly) for under $20. It doesn't quite have the design value of Mark Twain, but pretty much any course with solid conditions for that price is absolutely worth it. If I lived a bit closer, I'd be extremely happy to play here pretty much every day. That's what Gettysburg National is: A friendly little neighborhood course that the golfers of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, should be happy belongs to them. Could it be better? Sure. But it suits its purpose very well, and I applaud it for that.