Review: Great Cove Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at Great Cove's back nine, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is, much like the first hole on the other side of the driving range, a 420-yard par 4. The tee shot is significantly downhill with very little in the way of hazards. It's normally a great opportunity to blast driver, but that opportunity was somewhat diminished during our round, as my brother and I played this hole into a pretty strong headwind. That made the second shot fairly challenging, as we had mid irons into the green. Really, the place you don't want to miss this green is left, as the bunker guarding the green is both large and deep. The green's also got some pretty significant slope to it, maybe the most on the entire course. 

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole presents a little bit of a mystery. Today, this hole is a short par 5, playing 470 yards and involving a 200-yard walk in the wrong direction to get to the back tees. While neither my brother or I can remember for certain (and we don't have any old scorecards on hand to prove otherwise), we're fairly certain this hole did not originally play as a par 5. It used to be a shortish par 4, and it's kind of interesting that they changed it. The way it is now, pretty much any tee shot that the people who frequent a course like this can hit (ie, not very long) will leave a blind second shot. This was not an issue before the change. Oh well.

Anyway, provided you hit a solid drive, you can get to this green in two, just be sure not to miss left. If you're lucky, you'll catch the bunker. If not ... well, your golf ball's probably gone. Right is a safe place to bail out, or you could just aim to lay up just a little short, leaving a pretty simple uphill pitch into the green.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a short par 3, playing 155 yards downhill to a slightly elevated green with moderating mounding all around. And that's about it. Really a very simple hole, as usually short par 3s have some element of danger to compensate for the lack of length. But not here. It does have a pretty nice view of the mountains, at the very least.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is the first in a three-hole stretch of mildly awkward short par 4s. The designer clearly routed themselves into a corner, and while it doesn't show so much here, it will soon. This particular short par 4 is 325 yards that plays to a fairway that's eventually pinched by trees left and a small pond right. Any drive hit more than 250 yards is entering the danger zone, so a fairway wood or long iron is the best choice off of this tee. That will leave a little wedge into the green, which has a decent amount of slope to it and is protected by two small bunkers left.

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is just 300 yards, which technically puts the green within reach for longer hitters. However, the hole bends left significantly, and with numerous tall trees guarding the corner, you'd either need to hit a giant hook or hoist a driver very high to reach the green. Further complicating matters is the pond lining the right side of the hole. Not only is it very close and in play even if you lay up, the fairway tilts heavily from left to right, encouraging big bounces right in the direction of the water. You need to be careful on this tee shot; fortunately, it's a short hole, so even teeing off with a mid iron will leave you with a wedge second. The green is sloped significantly from back to front, and while it's bunkerless, there's forest long and a lone tree guards the left side, complicating drives that stay too far away from the pond. I'll give the fourteenth this much: It's definitely not mindless.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is 310 yards, and it's everyone's favorite design: the 90-degree dogleg. Like the previous hole, the green is technically reachable, but with about a thousand trees between the tee and the green, you'd need supreme confidence in your abilities to try. For most people, this is a long iron followed by a little wedge up the hill to a small green tucked into the forest, with a single bunker left. No need to complicate anything.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a mid-length par 3 playing ever so slightly downhill to a narrow green flanked by sand. It's not a terrible hole, but it's hardly the most inspired thing in the world.

The sixteenth hole.

For the first sixteen holes, Great Cove does not present much of a challenge. This is not a difficult golf course. However, once you step onto the seventeenth tee, things take a turn. At 550 yards, the seventeenth may not seem all that long on paper, but this is a true three-shot hole. It plays uphill the entire way, gently but endlessly. And with dense trees hemming in the narrow fairway, there's precious little room to maneuver or recover should your drive stray offline. And the fairway only gets narrower as you go. The smart play is to accept this as a three-shotter and hit a 3 wood off the tee (or even a long iron), followed up by another fairway wood or long iron. That should leave you with a wedge third, but don't think the challenge ends there. This green slopes very sharply from back to front, and while the greens aren't fast, I've watched someone six putt this green back in the day. Par is a victory here. Honestly, even bogey is fine. Just avoid the dreaded other and move on.

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is by far the longest of Great Cove's par 4s, playing nearly 460 yards. Admittedly, that is mitigated by the steeply downhill tee shot, but in order to access the fairway, you must first thread your drive through a narrow chute of trees. Hitting a draw will work very well for you here. Provided you do make it through, the hole opens up tremendously. A good drive will leave a mid iron into the green, which gently slopes from back to front and is protected by bunkers on both sides. Not an easy shot, but way less difficult than the drive. Still, this is not a gentle finishing hole.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

So, does Great Cove have any secret hidden depths to it? Uh, no. It's definitely not the worst course in the world, but neither is it good in any real sense of the word. It's a pretty average golf course, tending toward the basic. And that's reflected in the price: $25 to play 18 holes is really not too bad. For that, I can excuse quite a bit. So, while I wish the course was better, I think you definitely get out of Great Cove what you put into it. I wouldn't say no to another round there.

Review: Great Cove Golf Club (Part 1)

It's time for another rousing entry in my occasional series: "Returning to golf courses I played in my junior golf days." This month, we're visiting Great Cove Golf Club in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, located in one of the state's numerous long, narrow valleys. I won't say I'm intimately familiar with it, since it has been something like 13 years since I played it, but I do know the course reasonably well. Partly because I have played it multiple times, and partly because there's not much to it. At least, that's how I remembered it. Who knows, maybe the years have been kind to Great Cove? Let's find out.

The first hole isn't exactly a long par 4, but at 420 yards, it's not really a short opener either. On the face of it, this is a classic simple strategic hole. Flirt with the right-hand fairway bunker to obtain a better view of the green. This is slightly complicated, however, by the presence of the course's driving range just left of the fairway. It's not the worst thing in the world – the driving range has to go somewhere – but it does lessen the strategic potential of the hole. Better to be in the bunker than reloading on the tee.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is a mid-length par 4 that doglegs right pretty significantly around a cluster of trees. The fairway is mostly blind and tilted from right to left, which makes going through the fairway into the trees beyond quite easy to do if you don't take an aggressive enough line on the tee shot. You can hit driver up over the trees right if you've got the length, and doing so leaves just a little partial wedge. For most, however, a driver or 3 wood just left of the fairway bunker is the ideal line, and will leave a full wedge second into a small green protected by three bunkers.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is 420 yards, the same as the first, though this one plays dead straight and lacks any fairway bunkers. What it does have is a 10-foot-deep dip taking up the right side of the fairway, exactly where a good drive might end up. Obviously, this is best avoided by favoring the left side. Unfortunately, the green isn't exactly set up to reward this behavior, featuring two flanking bunkers (technically three, but I doubt the back left bunker sees much action) and a not particularly interesting green.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a 190-yard par 3 that plays slightly downhill to a small, well-defended green. If you're going to miss this one, short left is the place to do it; that leaves you a very simple chip and a great chance to get up and down. The green itself is slightly domed and a little bit trickier than the past three, but by and large Great Cove doesn't present much challenge on the greens.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a short par 5 at just 490 yards, with a fairway playing slightly right to left over pleasantly rolling terrain. Ideally, the drive favors the left side, as this shortens the hole and gives you a better angle to go for the green in two. If you're not a long hitter, be aware that the fairway slopes pretty hard from left to right in the general vicinity of a hundred yards out, so if you want a flat stance for the third, you either need to get quite close (inconvenient considering the shallow nature of the green and the bunkers front right) or leave more than 125 yards in. And that's not much fun on a hole less than 500 yards.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole isn't particularly long at 160 yards, but it plays slightly uphill and it's all carry. Three bunkers line the front of the green, making an aerial approach a necessity. Beyond that, though, there isn't much to this hole. Just avoid the sand and you should be okay.

The sixth hole.

The seventh hole is 430 yards and plays straight away to a fairway with a distinct right-to-left tilt. There's no fairway bunkers, but the left side – definitely the better place to approach the green – has several pine trees creeping in quite close. It doesn't take much of a miss to be blocked out. The right side is safer but gives you a worse angle into the green, which is reasonable large and has bunkers front right and left.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole isn't quite a 90-degree dogleg, but it's not too far away. The fairway bends sharply left about 205 yards out (if that), meaning you really can't hit driver unless you've got a big hook on command. Hitting 3 wood is the safe play, but the second shot will be quite long (the hole is 420 yards), uphill, and semi-blind. And while the green itself is receptive enough, two bunkers closely guard it front left and front right. It is not an easy second shot here.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is 515 yards, making it 25 yards longer than the fifth, but with a tee shot that plays significantly downhill (and very downwind for our round), I think this hole is potentially more reachable. That said, if you do want to be aggressive on the second, you need to stay left. Go too far down the right side and trees will block you out. There's a bunker about 100 yards out to give people laying up something to think about, and the green is flanked by bunkers as well.

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.

Review: The Bridges Golf Club (Part 2)

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

The tenth hole is 420 yards and pretty much feels like a longer version of the first hole. The drive is extremely wide open, and since the hole's got an extra 50 yards to it, the stream that crosses the fairway  a hundred yards short of the green isn't a concern. The lone greenside bunker front right is reasonably threatening though, and the green itself does have a fair amount of back-to-front tilt. Still, a little too much like a copy-paste of the first hole, in my opinion.

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole, on the other hand, is actually a pretty solid and fun golf hole. It's a 180-yard par 3 with a narrow green carved out of a hillside. There are two bunkers right which function both as hazards and as a means of catching slightly wayward shots from bounding down into the trees further right. Also, this green's got some interesting contours and isn't just a basic back-to-front proposition. I do wish the hole was slightly shorter, as this would be an excellent candidate for a genuine short par 3, but I'll take what I can get.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a fairly short par 4 at 350 yards, and while it may appear to be as wide open as most of the previous holes, there's actually something to pay attention to on the drive here. Two staggered bunkers eat into the fairway right where a driver would land, so if you want a short pitch into the green, you'll have to thread the needle between those bunkers. The green is open in front but is flanked by one large bunker left and two tiny little bunkers right. Also, there's a tree guarding the front-right corner that I imagine does an excellent job of interfering with approaches hit from right of the fairway.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that plays uphill to a partially blind fairway, with a completely blind water hazard about 275 yards out essentially cutting the fairway in half. Everyone's favorite, blind water hazards. At least you can see it from the previous green, so you know it's coming, and the scorecard does give a distance to it. Theoretically, you could squeeze between the water and the trees left, but we're talking about a gap of like 15 yards. Not something you can depend on. A 3 wood is fine on the tee and should give you a short iron second shot. The green's pressed up against a boundary line with a single bunker left; the approach is open and right isn't a terrible miss.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is quite a short par 4 at 325 yards, but since it plays uphill the green really isn't within reach. Also, driver is a very bad play, since the margin for error is so tiny. Big trees overhang the right side, and a bunker and more trees cut in from the left; unless you've got a long fade at your disposal, this is definitely long iron time. That leaves a wedge into the green, which is on the narrower side, sloped pretty significantly from back to front, and protected by a large bunker to the right. Given it's length, this isn't the birdie opportunity you'd think it would be.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a 535-yard par 5 and is definitely the best hole on the course. The hole is mostly blind, with the fairway falling out of sight about 225 yards out. That's not a big carry, but with O.B. right and forest left, the landing area is relatively narrow, certainly narrower than most of the holes The Bridges presents. If you can carry past the top of the hill, you'll be rewarded with a massive kick forward, potentially bringing the green into reach with the second. If not, the second shot has to contend with a massive right-to-left sideslope that dominates the second half of the hole, as well as a bunker about 50 yards short that's perfectly placed to catch overly ambitious lay-ups. The green is pretty small, with a single bunker left. Not the most exciting end to a fun hole, but this isn't that sort of golf course.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is just over 200 yards but does play significantly downhill, making it play a bit shorter than the scorecard indicates. The green has a fair amount of slopes and breaks to it, and there are two bunkers left. There's also a pond back right lurking in the background, but you'd either have to significantly overclub and slice or virtually shank your tee shot to get to it. It looks more intimidating than it actually is.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a little bit awkward when you step onto the tee, as the tee's angled well away from the fairway, pointing more at the twelfth fairway than its own. Also, there are a couple of small trees about 30 yards away that come uncomfortably close to the line you want to take. Beyond that, this 370-yard par 4 is relatively straightforward. The fairway's pretty open, and the pond that does come in from the right is basically out of range unless you're a long hitter. The green is pretty big and has some significant undulation, so if you can't get your second shot close, three putting is a distinct possibility. 

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The Bridges closes things out with a 540-yard 5 that plays parallel with the ninth, with the teeing grounds literally 20 feet apart from each other. I actually overheard a brief heated discussion when I was walking away from the eleventh green where one group accused another group of jumping in front of them, only to realize that they were the ones who were standing on the wrong tee. Anyway, the fairway negotiates the same rolling ground as the ninth, with a bunker guarding the corner of the dogleg. Carry that bunker, and you could go for the green in two. The green is pretty small though, and protected quite closely by two large bunkers, so a lay-up is likely the more prudent play. It's a decent way to finish out the round; not too easy, but birdie is a distinct possibility.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

The Bridges is far from being the worst course in the world. It's also far from the best. Our amateur architects built a distinctly average golf course, with a couple fun, interesting holes and a couple weird, not-so-good holes. I really did enjoy the fifteenth. All in all, though, The Bridges doesn't really rise above the numerous pleasant yet forgettable layouts dotting the south-central Pennsylvania countryside. Well, except for the Links at Gettysburg, but moldy bread is more appealing than that place.

The price was fine, being sub $40, but there are cheaper options (namely Gettysburg National). Maintenance was also fine, and the course was in good shape, but at that point in mid-April, if you can't grow grass and have your golf course looking lush, you're kind of doing something wrong. In the end, there's nothing wrong with The Bridges, and it's a perfectly reasonable place to play if you're looking for a round, but there's no good reason for me to go back.