Review: Sunset Golf Club (Part 1)

I've been curious about Sunset Golf Course for a while. Not because of any particular design heritage (it doesn't have any), but it seems to have an intriguing location up in the hills lining the Susquehanna River. Also, I have a friend who I visit fairly often who lives very close by, so I go through the Middletown, Pa., area more often than most people who live 90 minutes away. And since I'm kind of running out of interesting golf courses within reasonable driving distance of home, any amount of curiosity is enough to convince me to try a course out. 

This isn't a very promising start. Or a convincing one. Sorry, not every course can be fascinating. (I promise things will get better starting next month.)

The first hole is 370 yards and a fairly welcoming opener to start things off. The fairway doglegs hard left about 250 yards out, so if you're a longer hitter you'll definitely need to cut some of the dogleg, or risk running out of fairway. The long grass bordering the fairways at Sunset is distinctly of the "you won't find it in there" variety. The second shot is a wedge or short iron to a medium-sized green overlooking the Susquehanna River. This is the one decent view of the river we get, so enjoy it.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is not the most fun hole in the world if you play from all the way back. From the white tees, it's a mid-length par 4, but from the tips, it's about 100 yards longer ... and still a par 4. At least on the scorecard. Practically, it's a par 5 (Sunset is a par 70, so it's not like adding an extra par 5 makes it some nontraditional par). The fairway is partially blind as it negotiates a series of small hills; if you can hit a solid drive of about 275 yards, you'll get to the top of the hill and receive a good view of the green. That leaves a wood or long iron to a green sloped from back to front and rather well guarded by three bunkers. Like I said, this is a par 5 in all but name, and 5 is a perfectly reasonable score here.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a longish par 3 at 210 yards, playing over a valley to a wide and fairly shallow green. There's a large bunker short left and another out to the right. It's not an easy hole, but it's not a particularly exciting one.

The third hole.

The fourth hole is a mid-length par 4 playing uphill to a fairly narrow fairway squeezed between bunkers left and high grass right. You definitely want to favor the left side; like on the first, you can run out of room pretty quick on the right. A solid drive will leave a wedge or short iron to a fairly small green protected by four bunkers, two on each side.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is just under 200 yards and plays to a fairly large and undulating green. The front half is protected by three large bunkers, with a pretty narrow gap in between. You probably just want to aim at the center of the green no matter where the hole is located. Hole locations on the left or right edge are going to be tough to get to.

The fifth hole.

The sixth hole is a very short par 5 at only 470 yards, which is in fact less than the second hole, which is a par 4. Yeah, that's a weird one. There's not much to see on the tee; the fairway is completely blind and the trees are oddly distributed to make it look like there isn't a fairway at all. It is out there though, bending left than right to the green. Favoring the left side is a good idea, since trees about 100 yards short in the corner of the second bend will block tee shots that drift too far right (which is easy to do considering the fairway slopes from left to right). The green is on the small side and flanked by sand. It's an excellent birdie opportunity overall, especially if you place your drive correctly.

The sixth hole. Trust me, it's out there. The ideal line is along the right edge of the two small trees on the left side.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole plays parallel to the sixth and is also a short par 5 (though this one is at least technically longer than the second). It's also quite confusing off of the tee, since the only fairway you can see is offset way left and absolutely not where the hole goes. A good line is just right of the cart path. Get far enough and you'll have a long iron or wood into a small green with a big bunker right and forest left and long.

The seventh hole. Not sure why they routed the fairway/cart path where they did.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a very short little par 3, just 135 yards. tucked against forest left. There are two bunkers right of the green, which is the primary source of interest here. It's a pretty undulating green, so two putting is no simple task. The hole location I saw was up on a small shelf, making it particularly tricky. This isn't quite as easy a hole as it looks.

The eighth hole.

The ninth hole is a mid-length par 4, and a pretty tough one at that. The fairway is not wide, slopes severely from right to left, and is wedged between a bunker right and dense brush and high grass left. If your driver can clear that right-hand fairway bunker, then driver isn't a bad choice; if not, you may want to consider using a club to get you into play. That will obviously leave a pretty long second shot uphill to a semiblind green protected by two small bunkers, one on each side. This is a hole to make a safe, cautious par on and walk away. 

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

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