Review: Jeffersonville Golf Club (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is a shortish 350-yard par 4 with a pretty wide open fairway, though there is a bunker left that can catch longer drives. The green is more interesting; there are two bunkers, one front left and one right, and the green itself is heavily sloped up in the back left corner, while falling away in the back right section. It also has a small false front. A clever golfer can utilize the slope in the back right to stop approaches and bring them closer to the hole. Or, if you're like me and lack in execution, you can inadvertently thin a 60-yard pitch over the green and turn a potential birdie into a bogey.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a mid-length par 4 where, once again, the drive is pretty wide open. There's a couple of bunkers right of the fairway you'll want to stick close to in order to set up the best angle for the second, and while you can't see it from the tee, there's a tiny ditch crossing the fairway about 280 yards out which can catch otherwise perfectly decent drives. So long hitters should be wary of that. The second shot is a wedge or short iron to a very elevated, semiblind green that rather precariously slopes away at the back.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is an excellent example of what one can do with flat, featureless land without going crazy with the bulldozer. The hole, a mid-length par 3, has just two bunkers, but it doesn't need any more. What it does have is a few mounds, one of which sits directly between the green and the tee, and a green that is perched maybe a foot or two above the surrounding fairway. The mounds ultimately don't take up much space, but their influence extends throughout most of the green. My tee shot ended up just short of the mound short of the green, with it directly between me and the flag. The resulting chip was not tremendously difficult, but there were so many options (flying a wedge over, bumping it into, going around, not to mention which club to use) that the shot couldn't help but be interesting. Everything here is subtle, but the end result is a fascinating hole.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a 430-yard par 4, with the fairway pinched by bunkers and trees on both sides. Not an easy drive, but not a tough one. The second shot is much more difficult; you'll need to hit a short or mid iron over a valley to a small green sharply sloped from back to front, set back amongst trees and long grass, with two deep bunkers short left and right. We're not talking about tremendous strategic decisions, but the second shot requires precision and commitment, and the green site does look quite good with the native grass and massive trees looming overhead.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is just 340 yards, but the drive is steeply uphill and plays to a semiblind fairway, with O.B. lurking close by on the left side. Two bunkers protect the left side from drives hit by long irons, while two bunkers further up on the right give those who use driver something extra to think about. The second will be a wedge (or half-wedge) to a partially blind green with bunkers on each side. The back of the green doesn't exactly fall away, but it's not sloped toward the fairway either, so you do have to be careful with overly zealous approaches.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is the final and longest of Jeffersonville's par 3s, playing 210 yards, though it is a bit downhill. The green's pretty big, but it slopes a lot in the front, and there are three pretty deep bunkers protecting the green, two right and one left. It's not the most compelling hole in the world, but I'm sure it doesn't give away too many birdies.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is home to a rather questionable tree. Located barely 100 yards off the back tee, it looms over the right portion of the hole, forcing you to either hit a massive fade, risking going straight through the fairway into bunkers or tall grass, or using a long iron to skirt around and remain short of the trouble left. At 390 yards, the hole's short enough that this works fine (I hit 3 iron then pitching wedge), and I understand the strategy, but that doesn't mean I'm a huge fan of it. The tree is just a big too close; 50 yards further away and the hole works better. If you lay up, the second is a short iron to a green nestled in a group of small mounds with a single bunker front right.

The sixteenth hole. If it looks like that tree is really in the way, that's because it is.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole edges out the first for prize of longest par 4 at Jeffersonville, playing 452 yards (luckily mitigated for our round by a fresh downwind breeze). A cluster of three bunkers sit in the corner of the dogleg; these can be carried by a decent drive, leaving just a short iron or even wedge into the green. However, many will be drawn away from them, especially considering how open the left portion of the fairway is. Of course, bailing out left leaves you with a 200-yard second, turning this hole into a pseudo par 5. The green here is crowned, with bunkers front left and front right. I can tell you from experience that missing long is a bad idea; the green is elevated a few feet above the rear portion of fairway, making chips from beyond very delicate, as the green slopes away from you as well. Tough but rewarding to pull off, that is until you miss your par putt from 8 feet away. 

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole isn't the longest par 5 in the world, but at 545 yards (and no forward tees this time), it's no slouch either. The fairway snaps left about 225 yards from the tee, so if you want to hit driver, you need to flirt with the left tree line. The second shot, if you're laying up, is all about getting far enough down the fairway to get past a big pine tree in the corner of the double dogleg, squeezing between water left and a cluster of bunkers right. With that done, you'd think you could breathe easy, but no, this hole possesses one of the most diabolical greens you'll ever see. It's not particularly complicated or well guarded; there's only one greenside bunker off to the left, but the green slopes sharply from front left to back right, making it almost impossible to keep an approach from rolling out. The hole location we got, perched on a small shelf on the left-front corner, must be the toughest. I hit a good wedge that landed 15 feet left or so, but ended up with a 50-foot birdie putt, which I three putted (preventing me from breaking 80, by the way). At least if you miss the green left you've got a chance to get the fourth close to the hole; those who miss right are faced with the most delicate of chips to a green that slopes hard away from you. This may be a par 5, but it's honestly one of the toughest pars at Jeffersonville. 

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green, featuring a questionable pine tree to the right.

Even from 100-something yards away, you can see the green's significant tilt.

The eighteenth green.

Simply put, Jeffersonville is an excellent golf course. While it lacks the ambiance of Shennecossett, the design is just as good. There are some really good holes here, and no weak ones. When I was doing some research on the course ahead of time, I was led to believe that Jeffersonville was flat, and while it's got nothing on a course like Deerfield from last month, it's got enough topography to keep things interesting. Holes I particularly enjoyed were the first, the fourth, the fifth, the twelfth, and the seventeenth. That said, Jeffersonville does fall a bit short of George Wright in the design department. Those holes I mentioned have nothing on five through seven at George Wright, and in general everything Jeffersonville has, George Wright does a little bit better. It's even got Jeffersonville beat when it comes to over-the-top quirk; the eighteenth green here is silly, but George Wright has the twelfth, an entire hole devoted to silliness.

That's not to take anything away from this course. It's a fantastic place and definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a round in Philadelphia. The value is also hard to beat: $35 to walk on a Friday afternoon. The course is in good shape, or as good as one can hope for from a well-trodden muni, and you'll be treated to a full dose of classic Donald Ross. I wouldn't drive 2.5 hours to play there and only there, but I'd absolutely go again if I'm ever in the area with some time to kill.

UPDATE ON NOV. 15, 2022: So as it turns out, I actually recently played Jeffersonville for a second time. That doesn't happen too often on these course reviews, especially not one I literally only reviewed a month ago. So I thought I'd add in a few extra thoughts. First thing was that the conditions in late October were incredible. The course was running very firm and fast, much faster than in July. It made the greens a lot more threatening and interesting, and it was a lot tougher to get up and down. It's not a super long course, but it's got plenty to defend itself with, and there are very few easy holes. Also, the eighteenth is much easier to deal with when the hole is on the left side of the green. It's still a tough green, but it's at least possible to one or two putt. All in all, I'd say the second round definitely improved my opinion of Jeffersonville. It honestly might sneak into my top 10 at this point, and I think I do prefer it to Shennecossett.