Review: Coudersport Golf Club (Part 1)

In October last year, my girlfriend and I took a trip to northern Pennsylvania so we could spend a night out at Cherry Springs State Park, home of the darkest skies on the East Coast. We've been wanting to do this pretty much since we first met, and it was an awe-inspiring experience to sit underneath so many stars on a dark, moonless night. You really can see so much, including the span of the Milky Way itself. I don't have any pictures of that, but I think we would definitely like to go again, this time with a telescope that actually functions.

The thing with stargazing, of course, is that you need the sky to be cloud-free. That means you need to allocate a few days waiting for clear skies, and since nearby Coudersport is a town of just 2,000 people and has very little to do, I had some free time for a round at the local golf course (the only golf course within an hour of town, as a matter of fact; northern Pennsylvania is very sparsely populated). Coudersport Golf Club dates back to the 1930s, with an additional nine holes being added in 1992. The course was built by local people and squeezed into a narrow valley, much like the town itself a few miles up the road.  It's often very rugged, and while all that has its downsides, it can also present some interesting opportunities. 

The first hole is a short drive-and-pitch par 4 at 345 yards, and is about as plain as a golf hole can get. Generous fairway, dead-flat land, no hazards beyond the trees lining the playing corridor. The green has some subtle undulation, but there's no getting around it: this is a very uninteresting hole. Naturally, I made a double bogey. Literal easiest hole in the world, and I make a double. Classic.

The first hole. Hard to believe these pictures were taken a month and a half before my North Carolina trip. Winter comes quick to northern Pennsylvania.

The first green.

The second hole is just a hundred yards, but it plays sharply uphill to a green carved out of the hillside. It's a small green as well, with significant back-to-front slope. There are no bunkers, but missing the green will present you with a thoroughly awkward chip from a decidedly not-level stance. It's a fun little hole, and a definite step up from the previous hole.

The second hole.

The third hole is by far the most interesting hole at Coudersport, and one that could fit quite comfortably at any high-brow Golden Age country club. At just 320 yards, this is not a long hole, but the fairway is not wide and sharply canted from right to left as it negotiates the side of the ridge. The hole also bends left and gets increasingly narrow as it goes, quite effectively taking driver out of play while never officially doing so. A long iron is by far the best choice on the tee, leaving yourself a wedge off a hanging lie to a thoroughly unique green complex. I don't know if the original architect knew what a Biarritz was, but that signature deep swale is here, dividing a very narrow green in two. There's even a little pot bunker left, further pinching the green. Considering the steep falloff, you're actually fortunate if you end up in that bunker over any alternative. Right is of course the safer miss, but if your ball gets hung up in that rough, good luck on keeping the chip shot on the green. And of course, if you find the wrong half of the green, two putting is quite the challenge. 

Overall, this is just a great hole, and this alone made the round more than worthwhile.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is 370 yards and plays alongside the same hillside as the last hole. That means the fairway is severely tilted, though here at least you have space to hit driver. A draw will run down the hill a long way and leave you with just a little wedge for the second shot. A single bunker guards the front-left corner of the green, which is medium sized (for this golf course, at least) and mildly domed, with subtle but noticeable undulations throughout, making it more challenging to putt than you might think.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole, a 345-yard par 4, was unfortunately being worked on during my round, so I don't actually know how it plays. Here's what the Coudersport Golf Club website says: "The tee shot is fairly open with out-of-bounds up the right side again.  An ideal tee shot is 230 to 240 yards up the right center of the fairway.  From the tee long hitters can reach the hazard right of the green and half-shots are difficult to stop on this green, so it's prudent to lay back a little bit.  The green is the most severely sloped on the course leaning from left to right."

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a fairly short par 3, though at 150 yards it's 50 yards longer than the second hole. This hole is a lot more conventional, though not particularly easy. A former bunker protects the right half of the green, which slopes pretty hard from right to left. Left is definitely the better place to miss; it's going to be very difficult to get a chip close when the green falls away from you. I'm also not sure when the bunker was grassed over, as the website still says that there's a bunker there. This won't be the only time the website presents outdated information.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is just over 400 yards and plays straight ahead to a wide fairway with a moderate left-to-right slope. A good drive will leave a wedge or short iron second to a small, undulating green with a pretty severe left-to-right slop tucked behind a tiny pond and dense trees to the right. For a bunkerless hole that's so open on the tee shot, the seventh is no pushover.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a little silly. The scorecard says 300 yards and has a steeply downhill tee shot, but this hole is a 90-degree dogleg with forest covering the entire right side. The bend comes quickly too; all you need is to hit a long iron a couple hundred yards. You don't want to go too far, or trees will obstruct the second shot. Not like if you fail to reach the dogleg, of course, but still not ideal. The approach will be a full wedge to a relatively large green carved from dense forest. Definitely an awkward hole here.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is the first par 5 at Coudersport, playing about 500 yards from an elevated tee box to a flat and wide fairway. With no bunkers and not much to the green either, making this a great opportunity for eagle if you've got the length for it. Otherwise, there's really not much to this hole other than the downhill tee shot.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll check out the back nine.