Review: Paxon Hollow Golf Club (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is quite simply fantastic and the best hole on the course. The tee shot drops down into a valley with a stream running down the middle; the eighteenth is on the other side. On a course filled with short par 4s, this is the shortest, playing just 275 yards. That means quite a few people can seriously think about going for the green in two. But of course it isn't that simple. You've got the stream right and a pond left. The line of bunkers on the far side of the fairway, along with the two greenside bunkers short right, would lead you to believe that the ideal place to lay up is as close to those fairway bunkers as you can get. But that leaves a delicate pitch shot, and when the hole is left or in front, it's almost impossible to get that pitch close, thanks to a subtle left-to-right slope on the left portion of the green. The direct approach of going for the green is of course and option, but there's a lot of sand, not much green to work with, and a pair of well-placed trees lurking just right of the line you'd want to take. Miss at all to the right and you could end up behind them with no shot at holding the green with the second. 

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a 450-yard par 5, but this is definitely not an automatic birdie. The drive, hit through a chute of trees, goes down to a fairway tilted severely from left to right. There's a road left and trees and high grass right; the playing corridor is reasonable but far from spacious. Your first instinct on a fairway tilted like this one is to hit a draw, but with trees looming in so close and O.B. left, you'll need to be precise to avoid both while still using driver. A fade will likely roll out into the right rough. The second shot, if you're going for the green in two, is a long iron or wood up a big hill to a semiblind green with a deep bunker front right. The green is not large, not particularly deep, and one of the more severe on the course. Both my brothers three putted this green, but I think we got a particularly difficult hole location on the right side on a significant slope.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is 360 yards and plays over two valleys, one that is carried over the drive and a second, narrower valley that the second shot plays over. The drive should ideally be laid up to the top of the plateau in the fairway. While one can hit driver, you'll end up at the bottom of the second valley, leaving yourself a partial wedge up a giant hill to a small green tilted pretty strongly from back to front that's surrounded by numerous small bunkers. That's not really a shot you want. It's much easier to use a long iron and leave a longer second shot from a relatively flat stance and with a full view of the green. Paxon Hollow may be short, but holes like this show that it's not a course you can overpower.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole, a 360-yard par 4, looks pretty similar to the first and fifth off of the tee: There's a valley filled with long grass left, and you need to decide how much to carry on the drive. The fairway is very wide out to the right, making it a safe bailout, but if you do that, you'll quickly regret your choice. If this isn't the smallest green at Paxon Hollow, it's got to be close, and it's basically an island, separated from the fairway by three bunkers short(including one that's maybe 5 feet in diameter) and backed up by trees and brush beyond. And we're not talking about a flat green either, it's got plenty of slope to it, mostly from right to left. That makes approach shots from the right side of the fairway extra delicate. You want to be as far up and as far left as you dare here, challenging an always-narrowing fairway. The risk is worth the reward here.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

While the back nine here is incredibly strong, the fourteenth hole is the weak link on the chain. It's not a bad hole, but it lacks that extra bit of strategy and style found elsewhere. The tee shot is blind, with O.B. left and scattered trees and a couple of fairway bunkers right. At 381 yards, it's the longest par 4 on the course, and it's one of the few holes at Paxon Hollow where you can comfortably hit driver without really thinking about it. The green is perched on the edge of a valley beyond, so long is a very bad miss. There's a bunker front left and another about 20 yards short of the green, which is tilted from back to front.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is the longest of Paxon Hollow's five par 3s at 180 yards, and by far the most difficult of the set. It's got a good claim for being the toughest hole on the course. The green is built into a hillside and is perched precariously over dense forest to the left. The green is medium sized, but with two bunkers right and three left, there's not much room to miss. Right is obviously safer than left, but the green has a fair amount of right-to-left tilt to it, so it's tough to keep chips from the right side close to the hole unless you're very precise.

The fifteenth hole.

The fifteenth green.

When you're dealing with a small, hilly site, it's only natural for there to be a few routing eccentricities, and while the sixteenth here is far from the most egregious example, it is noticeable. You play a par 3 going out, walk a hundred yards further on to this tee, then turn around and come back the way you came. This hole is 320 yards and bends nearly 90 degrees right, wedged between the previous three holes which form a triangle around it. The odd routing is easily forgiven because this is a good hole, and no pushover either. Off of the tee, you can either lay up to the center of the fairway or challenge the bunker in the corner of the dogleg, potentially leaving just a pitch or chip to the green. However, this green is tiny (it's something like 40-50 feet wide), sloped from left to right with no back to front tilt to help slow shots down, and protected on both sides by sand. If you do try to get close to the green, you have to be directly in line with the axis of the green to be able to hold it. If you have to carry some of either bunker, you'll either have to flop it up and on, or accept that your second shot will probably roll through into the back fringe. If I were to play this hole again, I think I'd lay up and come at this green with a full wedge. That's probably the better play.

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

When I played Pocono Manor back in 2021, I thought the tiny drop-shot par 3 seventh hole there would be pretty unique. And while it certainly remains the shortest par 3 on an otherwise full-length golf course I've played, the seventeenth at Paxon Hollow gives it a run for its money in every other regard. At 116 yards, it's the shortest hole on the course, and it plays straight downhill to a green that's got to be something like 75 feet below the tee. And there's trouble in the form of bunkers short and a stream long to make the task of judging the distance all the more difficult. The green is medium sized, but it's wider than it is deep, so there's really not much room to work with. Just remember though, this hole effectively plays under 100 yards. It's within everyone's reach.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is Paxon Hollow's longest hole, playing 535 yards through the same valley as the tenth hole. The stream in the middle cuts the fairway in two at roughly 250-300 yards out, so you probably won't want to hit driver. Trees also crowd in on the right, a little too much so in my opinion. I think clearing out a few trees would make the decision off the tee a bit more interesting.  There's just no space for a driver, so the best play off the tee is pretty clearly a long iron or fairway wood. You just have to accept this is a full three-shot hole. The second shot is to a narrow, heavily sloping fairway with long grass left, and if you didn't get your drive far enough out, the stream lurks to the right. There's also a tree protecting the right front part of the green, and that will block out shots that don't keep to the fairway. The green itself is on the larger side but is two tiered; there's a lot of back-to-front slope here. I wish the tee shot was a little more interesting, but beyond that this is an excellent finishing hole, and the setting is top tier. Especially in the fall with the trees in full color.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

What more can I say about Paxon Hollow? It's an endlessly fascinating course, and one that punches way above its weight. It's not difficult in the traditional sense, and you can go out and shoot a good score here. But you can't just go out and do that. You need to think, you need to put yourself in the right position. Paxon Hollow defends itself by taking driver out of your hand, and it gets away with it because it rarely forces you to do so. You can hit driver on pretty much every hole, there's nothing stopping you from doing so. It's just rarely a good idea. You can't overpower this course. So while it is way under 6,000 yards, it never feels that short.

I also want to give special recognition to the back nine, which I personally believe can stand tall with the best courses I've played. It might even exceed them in some cases; I think the tenth is the best of the 108 holes I saw during our Philadelphia swing. And that's including a past and future major championship host (we'll get to that soon). The front nine is a bit weaker, with some exceptions (particularly the fifth and eighth), which does hold Paxon Hollow out of my top 10, but even the opening stretch isn't terrible. 

As for value, Paxon Hollow is a little on the pricy side: $65 on weekends and $50 during the week, with no discount for walking. That's a bit annoying. It's quite a bit more than Jeffersonville, which is an ever-so-slightly better golf course. But the conditions are on the whole excellent for a public course, and the golf is interesting enough that I absolutely think Paxon Hollow is worth the price. I'd absolutely play there again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Good Night Moon

Brewed by: Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company, Worcester, Massachusetts

Description (from Untappd): "Strong, bold, creamy and delicious. If you’re seeking a flavorful Porter that means business, here you go. We’ve created a traditional-style London Porter with the addition of unfermentable lactose to give you a creamier mouth feel, a technique famously found in milk stouts. The results are out of this world. Brewed with Chilean Coffee and Chilean Chocolate malts – you’ll get unbelievable hints of roasted flavors that only enhance the typical caramel flavors of traditional porters. We then cold condition our Imperial with Venezuelan Cacao nibs which impart a harmonious hint of chocolate and coffee to what we only call an 'Imperial drinking experience.' We think our Imperial Milk Porter is unlike that of any porter you will find."

Would I buy it again? Milk stouts are a fairly common thing, but a milk porter? Pretty sure this is the first one of those I've seen. Of course, I don't think I would have guessed this was a porter if you presented this beer to me blind. It does taste pretty good, of course. It's loaded up with chocolate, of course it tastes good. I would buy this beer again, but I'm almost more intrigued by the brewery than the beer. A brewery that only makes imperial-style beers? I'd like to visit that place.

Review: Paxon Hollow Golf Club (Part 1)

Length is not the end-all and be-all of challenge when it comes to golf. A good golf course can come up with plenty of ways to defend itself beyond length. And yet, when I saw the scorecard for Paxon Hollow ahead of my round, I was less than impressed. How interesting could the place be? It's barely 5,700 yards from the tips.

Oh, how wrong I was.

The tenth kicks off a fantastic four-hole stretch, one any golf course would be proud to have.

Let's not too carried away, Paxon Hollow is certainly not the toughest golf course in the world. That lack of length does make a difference. But not every course needs to be Oakmont or Pine Valley. And while Paxon Hollow lacks distance, it certainly doesn't lack interest. This is a fascinating little golf course. And it's no surprise either. While Paxon Hollow lacks a big-name designer, it's nearly a century old at this point, and for the past 20 or so years it's been worked on by an associate within Gil Hanse's design team. And as we'll see, that work shows.

An additional note: By the time this review comes out, the golf course will either be in the process of changing or about to start. A driving range is being added on top of the current first hole, and Paxon Hollow is taking the opportunity to replace the first through third holes. Those holes aren't the strongest, so I think this will be a very good thing. Still, I'm glad I got to see the original three.

The first hole is a 330-yard par 4 with a fairway angled 45 degrees from right to left around tall grass and a few trees. The more aggressive the line you take on the tee shot, the shorter the second will be. Go through the fairway and the second will be either under or blocked out by a group of pine trees about 100 yards from the green. The second shot should be a wedge to a fairly long and narrow green with two small bunkers left (and three short right, but those aren't exactly greenside) and a fairly steep dropoff behind. 

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is just 130 yards and tucked into a corner with dense trees left and long. The green is long and narrow, with several small bunkers in between the green and the trees. Right is the obvious bailout, but the green is subtly tilted from right to left, so chip shots from right can be tricky to keep close to the hole. It's not much, but it's enough that my brothers and I played it in a combined two over, so it's no pushover either.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is a par 5 that's just under 500 yards from the back tees (though the tees were all moved up for our round, so we played it from about 50 yards further up). The fairway bends hard right about 250 yards out, so if you want to use driver you'll need to aim up over a hillside covered in pine trees and tall grass. Obviously, you can play safely out to the left, but that turns this into a solidly three-shot hole. You'll also have to deal with a fairway bunker about 75 yards short of the green. If you're long enough, the second will be as little as a short iron or even wedge into an elevated green flanked by bunkers.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is 145 yards and plays over level terrain to a long, narrow green with a false front. There's a fairly large bunker front right and a small bunker left. This isn't a terribly interesting hole, but it is a decent birdie opportunity so long as you don't get tripped up by the false front.

The fourth hole.

The fifth hole, on the surface, seems pretty similar to the first, but this hole is absolutely more interesting, and this is the first really good hole at Paxon Hollow. This short par 4 swings left around a hillside covered in long grass, and the more you cut off the shorter your approach will be; however, this goal is complicated by two interior fairway bunkers on the more direct line most golfers will be drawn toward. You ideally want to find the right side of the fairway; this will give you the best line into the green, and of course being closer to the green will also improve the angle. The green is sloped from back to front and protected by bunkers front left and to the right, with dense trees beyond.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a tiny little par 4, playing just 295 yards. And yes, you can use driver here, and that could potentially work for you. It's certainly tempting standing up on the tee and seeing the green so close. But this is a hole where accuracy is highly rewarded. The fairway is narrow, with dense forest and some very tall trees bordering the left side. Bailouts right are of course safer, but then the second shot will be blocked out by a tree protecting the right side of the green. You can maneuver around, over, or under that tree, but it is something you will have to deal with if you play too safe with your tee shot. There's a big bunker in front of the green, separating it from the fairway; going in there will leave you with a 30- or 40-yard bunker shot, which is really not something you want. The green is small, narrow, and sloped pretty significantly from back to front. It may be less than 300 yards, but this is no hole to play casually or carelessly.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is one of two 450-yard par 5s at Paxon Hollow (remember, the course is only 5,700 yards), and it's definitely reachable in two for quite a few golfers. However, if you really want a short second shot, you'll need to hook a 3 wood or driver around trees and O.B. left to hold the fairway, which bends hard left about 225 yards out. Manage that, and you'll have just a short iron into a fairly undulating green, which is protected in front by two bunkers.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is where Paxon Hollow really hits its stride. Not that the first four holes and the seventh are bad, but from this point forward the course doesn't miss a beat. The eighth is 170 yards and while it plays parallel to the fourth over similarly level ground, this hole manages to pack in a lot more interest. It's a mini-Volcano hole of sorts, with the skyline green elevated above the surrounding landscape and six greenside bunkers by a few feet. It's not much, but it's enough to add a lot of challenge and nuance to shots that miss the green. You need to work to get up and down. 

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole, and Paxon Hollow in general, excels at taking driver out of your hands without technically doing so. The technical playing corridor for a driver is generous, and there's no bunkers or hazards in play, just a few trees on the edges. However, the fairway itself is narrow and cut into a steep slope; miss left and your drive will bounce down a long way, likely leaving you underneath a tree with the ball a foot above your feet. Not ideal. But you don't want to lay too far back on the drive. The ninth is 380 yards, long by this course's standards, and the green is tiny, with sand on both sides and massive dropoffs left and long. It isn't a green you want to approach with much more than a wedge. This is a quirky hole, but it's also a solidly strategic one.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

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

Beer of the Week

The beer: Nocturnal Visions

Brewed by: Revision Brewing Company, Sparks, Nevada

Description (from the can): "This traditional German-style black lager presents notes of chocolate and a hint of roastiness, but don’t let the color fool you, this deceptively light-bodied beer is here to quench your thirst anytime."

Would I buy it again? I definitely get the roastiness and the finish is pretty dry, not so much the chocolate. It was lighter than you'd expect for a beer that's literally black, so it does have that going for it. It's not bad, but I'm not completely sold on it, so no, I probably wouldn't go for this again.

In Space, No One Can Hear Your Rolls-Royce

Not a lot to say about this, but hearing that Rolls-Royce, maker of luxury automobiles, is making a nuclear reactor to be used in space travel, is not the sort of news you expect to hear. However, if they don't put the hood ornament on the front of any Rolls-Royce–powered spacecraft, I'm going to be extremely disappointed.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Catoctin Heritage Vienna Lager

Brewed by: Milkhouse Brewery, Mt. Airy, Maryland

Description (from the website): "One good lager deserves another, so we decided to see how Monocacy played with a grist heavy on Bear Branch's Vienna Malt.  The two go together wonderfully, with a smooth and toasty maltiness complimenting the floral earthiness of Monocacy."

Would I buy it again? Maybe it's not a huge surprise that this is a lot better than the American Lager. That's probably kind of the point of last week's beer, to be a cheap, simple beer for the masses. This beer has a lot more taste to it, and the hops are really doing a good job. It's still pleasant and easy to drink, but it's not watery. I'd probably buy it again, provided it doesn't cost too much.

Review: The Bucks Club (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is 350 yards and plays over level terrain. The fairway is pretty narrow, with trees on both sides and O.B. lurking beyond the tree line right. You could use driver, but no one's reaching this green and driver simply isn't necessary. A good 3 wood will leave you a wedge into the green. And it's quite a green. Small, sloped sharply from back to front with a false front to boot, and a couple of small mounds within. It's also the most well-bunkered green on the course, with two long, one left, and one right. The hole location we got, perched about 2 feet above the false front, was rather treacherous. If you play the hole cautiously, it's not difficult, but I could see poorly executed aggression resulting in a big number.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a 275-yard par 4, which makes it driveable for a fair number of people, more than most driveable par 4s. And considering the group of three large bunkers right of the sliver of a fairway about 75 yards short of the green, there's pretty much no reason not to take driver (or less, if you are a long hitter) and have a go. The green is typically undulating, with bunkers right and short left, along with a steep dropoff into forest long. The hole doesn't give away birdies, but still, you can hardly ask for a better opportunity.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is the first of the new ones at the Bucks Club, and it's certainly ... something. You walk up to the tee and you can see literally nothing but overgrown brush. Okay, if you squint at the right side of the first picture, you can see a sliver of fairway bunker. The fairway's to the left of that. Now, you see greens with two tiers fairly often, but this hole has a two-tier fairway, with the right side 10 feet higher than the left. I don't know if golf balls can stop on the slope between the two sides, but if it can, have fun. The green is carved into the forest, with three bunkers left. It's on the flatter side for this course, but it's not completely out of character.

Despite all appearances to the contrary, this is the twelfth hole. Yeah, we were confused too.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is 200 yards, but plays shorter as it drops downhill over a stream valley. While there are two bunkers to worry about, the real star of the show on this hole is the green. The previous hole may not have had a particularly interesting green, but this one more than makes up for that. There are humps, bumps, and dips galore, and any putt much more than 20 feet is almost guaranteed to have to negotiate some sort of obstacle. If anything, it's too loud to match the greens on the front nine. But I still enjoyed it.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is 350 yards and doglegs hard right about 225-250 yards out. Of course, you can lay back at the corner, leaving a full wedge up the hill to the green. Alternatively, you can challenge the dogleg, skirting the forest right, and leave just a pitch for the second shot. The green here is similar to the twelfth, quieter but not completely uninteresting, with a fair amount of back-to-front slope, with a slight amount of fallaway in the back third.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is 425 yards and plays straight through a corridor of trees to a mostly blind fairway. A cluster of bunkers right threaten slices, but even a mediocre drive can clear them. A good drive will leave a short iron down the hill to a fairly small green pushed up significantly at the back. There's a greenside bunker right, and obviously long is dead. Forest, an elevated green that runs away, not much chance of getting up and down if you go over the green.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

If you thought the thirteenth had a wild green, buckle up, because the sixteenth takes things up to 11. The hole's just 140 yards and plays over a stream and brush, but the green itself is bunkerless and there's a fair amount of space short. But this green needs no hazards. If you look at the picture below, you might think: "Wow, is it just me, or is the left side of the green as high up as the top of the flag?" Yes. Yes it is. The left side of the green is indeed 6 or 7 feet above the middle and lowest portion. This is a wide green, but still, we're only talking 50, 60 feet here for the green to fall that much. Then again, we all took putts from up top there and my brothers both two putted, if I'm remembering correctly, so maybe it's not actually that difficult. It is certainly memorable, however.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

We return to the original design for the seventeenth. This is a pretty straightforward hole, with a single fairway bunker right tightening up the drive slightly. But since the hole's just 350 yards and that bunker is about 100 yards from the green, a good drive can clear it, reaching the widest part of the fairway. The green here is big, and while it's not flat, it's not one of the course's best. 

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is 440 yards, making it the longest par 4 at the Bucks Club. The drive is fairly open, with no bunkers, though there are trees right and O.B. left. After the fairway turns sharply right, it crosses a pond about 50 yards short of the green. I'm not entirely sure why they bothered with the pond, it doesn't really come into play on either the drive or the second, but hey, technically this is a long par 4 with water. The second shot is plenty demanding on its own, since you'll have a longer iron in hand and the green, while on the bigger side, is closely guarded by bunkers on either side. The armada of geese, while likely not a permanent of obstacle, certainly added an unexpected hazard for the conclusion of the round. 

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green, which is protected by an army of geese.

The gooses did eventually relinquish control of the eighteenth green.

Summing up the Bucks Club is actually pretty simple: It's an average golf course with very good greens. Tee to green, the course isn't very interesting, and there are too many blind or mostly blind tee shots. The original holes simply aren't laid out over particularly compelling terrain, and the new ones are too disjointed to be much better. But you need to think around and on these greens. Your putter needs to be working; if it is, you can absolutely go low on this course. It's 6,200 yards from the back, so it can absolutely be overpowered.

As for the new holes, they're generally not too bad. Yes, they obviously don't fit, routing wise, and the long, long walks in between holes is pretty annoying. But the two par 3s, 13 and 16, are at least good for a laugh. They put a smile on your face, and sometimes you can't ask for much more than that.

Would I play here again? I mean, I wouldn't say no, I suppose, but it's not a course I'd rush back to. A bit above average, I'd say, but nothing more. The next two courses we'll see, they're a different story.