mjonathan

Gville is my go to course in this area. Always friendly, excellent course conditions and great value.

In fairness actually a nice course with scenic views and staff was friendly. Has some holes however that are somewhat 'tricked up' .... short holes with severe doglegs and elevation changes wedged into the landscape ... again nice conditions quick smooth greens but just not my style.

A local nine hole track that could have potential if maintained a bit better. I can't recommend that this is near worth the trip. If you live around the corner go for it but otherwise forget it!

It was a long ride to the course ( 1'45'') but it seemed like a nice course based on reviews. It turned out that even though i was there early ... there was a league on the front nine .. so they sent me off the back. They were nice in the clubhouse about it and I thought by the time I was done it would be clear but NOOOO! So I had to play the back twice. It's ok ... not long but tight and hilly in spots.

I was sad to not play the front nine - longer by far but it was not happening this day. The greens were nice but soft. The fairways were were good but the grass was pretty long.

I never expected a league first thing Monday am ... Its a shame because I can't justify driving that far to try it again!

Yes the reviews you see on line will be off-putting but ... while sceptical I gave Harkers Hollow a chance. What I found.... like the reviews there are many things that continue to be a work in progress. The fairways are generally closely mown so you dont so much notice that they are 75% crabgrass. The rough has been mown down a bit so you can find your ball but your lie is going to be mostly crabgrass. Long crabgrass is just too penal to hit out of.

The greens were just ok. If they were mown a bit closer and rolled they could present a nice challenge. The bunkers are a mystery. Not one had sand that you could see. They were filled with grass/crabgrass. I guess its possible they are simply letting them become grass hazards but any lie you'll get right now is redonkulous.

The back nine was a bit better conditioned than the front. I actually had a couple of lies on actual grass. That was a treat.

Overall, I would tell you to check the course out if you can get a deal through Golf Now. The layout itself is actually pretty nice and you can see that whenever it used to be a private club, that it probably was a place you would want to play. Rolling hills and some pretty challenging uphill, downhill, sidehill challenges set against the local hill country, so some nice scenery with hillside and valley holes.

I played the course in two hours flat (riding) with no one ahead of me. The staff was friendly and cordial. I hope they are able to bring the course back to a higher state. Yes ... the more seasoned golfer is going to rake the course over the coals but there seem to be a gem buried at Harkers Hollow if someone can just dig it out!

I'm happy to say that this course has improved over the past several months since the summer season. It looks like they are trying to improve the conditions of the course.

The greens are very slow right now and the traps need work but I am looking forward to seeing this course in the spring.

I have wanted to play at Shannondel for a good while. It has been 45 years since I last played the course ( General Washington CC at the time). The course bares little resemblance to the original layout and there are a couple of pretty 'hinky' holes they have made out of what used to be some good holes.

Overall the course is in good shape and features a rather nice clubhouse facility now - much better than the original. I wish I could say I would go back and give it another try but I found it rather boring compared to the old layout.

I will admit I was trying to relive old memories but it just didn't match up to what I felt about the layout in the past.

Let me begin by saying that Hickory Valley is an excellent layout and extremely well maintained. I have played here a number of times over the summer and fall but I can't recommend this course anymore to anyone!

The fact is that pace of play has ground to a halt and there is ZERO monitoring. On several occasions it made no difference to have a starting time or not. And most annoying was the fact that there was a 'Sr League' on the side I played ... a fact that was not disclosed until I had played one hole until I was smack behind it ( and not a nine hole league I might add).

In all cases, it has made no difference whether I played alone or paired up. Watching paint dry would have been preferable. Today was NOT packed at all. The twosome in front of me was SLOW but did let me thru. But they were not the worst of it. The twosome I caught up with routinely hit at least three balls off the tee (none straight or findable). They did ask me if I would like to join them! REALLY? Unfortunately there were about three groups in front of them ... equally inept and SLOW. I finally gave up after nine and tried to find a couple of holes to finish on. So I had to bypass FIVE HOLES to get to the last four. I was so flustered at this point it really didn't matter.
I gave the course a chance one too many times I guess so that's on me ... I should have gone to Gilbertsville, just about a mile away instead of being tortured. I absolutely will in the future. Hickory Valley is now OFF my rotation in this area. I recommend the same to you. A real shame because it's a fine layout!

Just a local golfing dump! Greens, Fairways, Tees beyond bad! A poor decision on my part to try it!

I gave this a shot because it looked like it might be one of those out of the way gems .... It wasn't!

Even though I made a tee time on line ( on their own web site) .. they said they don't take tee times! I arrived a bit early for my tee time only to find what looked like a league lined up at no 1 tee ... it wasn't a league just the 'regulars' lined up ... and literally the carts were parked in line about 10 foursomes deep!

I took a chance by going off the back nine first thinking maybe it would clear when I finished nine ... no such luck. The course could be very nice but was not that well maintained ... it can play up to 7200 yards from the back tees.

In short ... I played my nine and got the heck outta there! It was nearly as bad an hour and a half later as when I arrived. One of the most disappointing times Ive had on a golf adventure ( since I drove two hours to get there).

I'v played Wilkes Barre many times over the years and haven't played for a couple of years until today. It was an unpleasant surprise! The course was in overall poor condition. There was little difference between fairway and rough. The greens had been aerated (which was why the front nine was closed this day) and were just ok but very slow. The traps were mostly just packed dirt.

It's a shame because the course itself is a nice Cornish design and has some challenging holes. I played with a twosome who were on there second time around the back nine that was open ... at least it was good company on an otherwise disappointing visit.

By the way ... the course website doesn't work anymore and tee times are not available thru Golf Now.

Sawmill is a little local course off Route 33 near Easton. I knew what to expect so I can recommend this course with the following background:

This course DOES NOT TAKE TEE TIMES so just know that depending when you arrive, you may wait in line to pay and get started. There's no starter so just know that you'll be in line at the tee. Many folks seem to be sent to the back nine ... which became a problem when I got to the 10th tee (played from nine in one hour) in a cart. I will just say that I looked at the course map and circumvented the two groups ahead of me by starting on number 3!

It's short course and very compact with holes running parallel to each other in many cases. However, in fairness it's a nice little course for beginners or higher handicappers.

The fairways are mowed pretty long and there is some reasonably deep primary rough. It was little like playing out of your back yard but manageable. The greens had been aireated
and were not too bad. For the most part they were smooth but very soft and slow. They actually had some pretty challenging multi-level greens that were a nice surprise.

Sawmill is not the ultimate in golfing experiences and is a fairly easy course. The price may be a bit high ( $32 sr rate with cart) for what the course is. I drove about an hour plus but have driven further and been more disappointed. If I was a local I probably would play the course more.

The clubhouse staff was polite and accommodating. So if you are just looking for some place for a quick round ( I played 18 in two hours) this may be the place for you. Just know what to expect!

I finally got around to playing Sugarbush for the first time. This course is a Geoffrey Cornish design and is a beautiful layout that follows the 'lay of the land' which is a hallmark of Cornish as a designer.

The course itself was in excellent shape. They were aerating the fairways during my round but had no impact on my play. The greens are very true and pretty fast with nice size and undulations. A word of caution - get a put rolling up over a mound toward the pin and the ball is going to carry well past the hole if it doesn't drop!

For the big hitters: this course is 7,000 plus yards from the back tees. There are four par fours on the from side that AVERAGE 448 from the long tees plus one par three on the back at 266 with a forced carry over a lake uphill to the green!. But honestly, you'll get all you want out of the white tees!

You will find no fancy clubhouse here and the staff is accommodating and friendly. It's tough to beat the price: it was $27 this date including cart!

I'm glad I ended my summer tour of the 'great course architects' at Sugarbush. I'm sure the views will only be more spectacular as the leaves turn this fall.

Overall I would recommend this course based on condition and quality of layout! Don't be fooled by the scorecard .... Four Seasons is not a long course on the card but has a series of very stiff par fours and some challenging par threes within it's 6300 yard longest tees!

The course is well tree lined but landing areas are generous enough unless you are pretty crooked off the tee. There is both intermediate as well as primary rough that will challenge your next effort!

It had rained the nite prior to my round so the greens were a bit soft. The fairways are well maintained but your lies will be fairly tight.

My only knock here was that there is NO ONE that monitors tee times or pace of play. I was lucky to join up with a twosome ahead of me but in all our round took 4:45 and that just spoiled an otherwise nice round with good company. The course is just not that hard to take more than maybe 3:30 playing time and Im fairly certain I could have gotten around in about 2:30 on my own.

But in fairness this is one of the nicer municipal layouts I haver played all year!

After a 35 year hiatus, I returned to what I remember as a challenging but well conditioned layout at DelCastle. This is yet another instance where time did not heal any wounds. Unfortunately you could smell the diseased grass right on the first tee.

The tees were scrappy at best with a rather long mow on the grass that was there. The fairways were like concrete and had plenty of bare spots. The rough was like hitting into tumbleweed connection. The greens were relatively smooth but had crab grass growing into them ... but they were very 'spongy' and slow.

It's a shame because the layout I remember was challenging but fair. The course layout does allow you to hit an errant drive fro the most part and still have a shot you can advance so a great track if your not a straight hitter.

I must say the staff was friendly and the starter was great on this day when the temperature topped out at about 95Degrees! All in all it was a fair price fro the round $30 with cart but it was just so disappointing based on overall conditions. I hope that conditions improve but I can't really recommend the course right now.

Just another note: They really don't have true forward ( Sr) tees. But it didn't matter because I was generally at or inside 150yds from the white tees ( and in some cases blue tees) because of hard conditions.

I gave Pocono Manor a try despite knowing the reviews were inconsistent. That being said, I had an enjoyable round on a perfect day for golf. The greens were very good and smooth although there were a few with some blemishes. The fairways were good although they were a bit dry and tight lies are possible.

They did seem to have 'manufactured' a couple of par three holes when they combined the East and West courses. They are both very odd to say the least. These courses have a lot of history and were designed by Ross and Flynn so you can see their work on many of the better holes.

I thought that the staff was very accommodating as I just showed up early in the am to play. I drove about 90minutes to this course and am not disappointed ... Ive driven as far for way less of an experience. Definitely a good value for the price ($30) including cart.

P.S. - the course is designed with generous fairways BUT ... if you spray the ball you will be hitting out of the trees or from some challenging uneven lies! There really aren't true forward (Sr Tees) so if you are a longer hitter you will be able to see the green surface your shooting at ... if not you will be guessing where to land it!

I have been fortunate the past several months to play some different courses out of my area. I thought Lykens would be a nice change and the reviews were promising. So much for that idea!

In fairness, this course is a bit remote and I think if I only lived a couple miles away I would probably play it but...... since I drove two hours I can't suggest anyone do that.

I will say the greens are very nice. The fairways are very hard and have many dead and or bare spots. They were friendly and sent me out ahead of my tee time which was great but..... after chewing up the better part of an hour by the fourth tee, I was totally ready to bail. I stuck it out and came it about 2:15 for the first nine ( I would say that time par for this layout would be maybe 3:15 for 18). Sadly when I arrived at the 10th tee ( a long par three from the back tees) there were suddenly three groups
waiting to tee off. I made a quick decision to drive ahead to see if I could just skip a couple of holes but no luck totally backed up so I jumped back over to a parallel fairway on the front nine and played about five more holes before I again got behind the US Open foursome who had no intention of letting a single player through although totally open ahead of them.

Here's the deal: They DO NOT monitor play here and because of that, players ahead don't really give a rip what's going on behind them. That's the course's fault. Would like to be more positive because the layout itself is scenic and could be fun but my "Good Drive Was Spolied' this day.

I stopped by this course while in the area a while back in the spring and it was packed so there was no playing then. I wanted to come back and did so today ... a very nice layout with some good challenges but the course condition itself was disappointing. The greens were pock marked - clearly patrons don't care about repairing ball marks. There were many greens that were patchy. Sprinklers were on on at least half the holes I played so much so that there were rivers of water on the greens making them unplayable even though I was on in regulation. Sand traps were crusty and hard. Fairways were average at best.

It's a shame because the layout itself is clearly very good and could present an awesome round if in good shape. $25 with cart is a fair price but I don't think I would return based on what I saw today.

This was one of those occasions that only come around once in a long while. I had the opportunity to play the Militia Hill Course at Philadelphia Cricket Club.

This is a PGA Tour level facility. A beautiful course that can play up to 7300 yards. There are many subtleties to be found but every aspect of the course and maintenance is outstanding. Rolling hillsides, strategically placed bunkering, perfect fairways and tee boxes, and greens that roll as quick and true as any I've ever putted.

They just completed the PGA Club Pro championship here in the past couple of weeks and I can see why the course would be chosen .. not the least of which is the opportunity to also use the Tillinghast Wissahickon course as well.

A great day put on by a fantastic staff.

I played the course once many years ago and always wanted to return to see how it has changed. It was hard to find current reviews so I decided to give to a shot.

There are three nines on the course (Red, White, Yellow). Only the Red & White were open. While I'm sensitive to the issues caused by rain in terms of mowing ... I have to say the course condition was shockingly bad beyond just a missed day of mowing. There was little difference between fairway and rough grass. Drainage is a huge issue everywhere ... by that I mean there were many areas where sitting water had killed the grass leaving brown crusty areas in many places.

The greens are poor at best, full of crab grass and slow even where smooth. The few traps are in poor shape. The cart paths are just that ... gravely rough paths ... sort of....

Bottom line ... don't bother with Wild Oaks ... I was hugely disappointed and really hope they are able to turn the course into a more solid conditioned layout.