I spent a few days at Bedford Springs (Bedford, PA) this week and I loved it. The entire package there is fantastic. Yes, it is pricey, but it is a resort, right?
I'm obviously an amateur taking pics, but I think many of these are pretty darn good.
After all the discussion I've seen on the course, there has been limited photos. I played there late on Tuesday afternoon, then early on Wed morning. I cobbled together the photos from both rounds to give a photo album of almost 200 pics that are here if you wish to view them all:
http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/BedfordSprings/index.htmlBut for this thread I'll select various photos and also include a description for each hole included in the bound book of each room at the resort (when did you ever see this?!).
Ok, let's get started.
The first hole is one Mike Cirba says is the worst opening hole in golf.... well, at least that is what I think he said.
It is a short par 4 requiring just an iron off the tee and a short iron in to a very small green. It is not the hilite of the course.
The 2nd is a par 3 that apparently hasn't changed much since the original 1895 design of Spencer Oldham. From the tips there is a large carry over the wetlands/creek, but with plenty of bailout room right, although there is a single trap there:
The 3rd is a straight-away par 5 with some interesting bunkering and a tough green:
The 4th is the Ross volcano par 3:
The 5th is a double dogleg par 5, relatively flat:
The sixth hole is another Ross, a shortish par 4, beautifully framed, with a smallish green with a neat back tier:
The seventh is another short par 4 with the creek in play, to a very unusually shaped green:
#8: another short par 4 with a tee ball over the creek, which really isn't an issue, but the tough part here is a tiny green.
The 9th is the 3rd par 5 on the outward nine, reachable in two and again with a tributary of Shober's Run to be crossed:
The 10th is a little par 3 over a gully, not the best par 3 on the course for me but the green is interesting:
The eleventh has some elevation change with the drive pretty much blind, trying to land on a pretty generous flat part of the fairway:
A straight par 4 follows at No12:
The 13th is a par 5 called "Long". Which it is.
The 14th is called "Tiny Tim", a short slightly downhill par 3:
On the 15th you have the choice of playing conservatively out to the right leading to a longer 2nd shot in to this par 4, or trying to lace a drive between the opening in the trees leaving a chip shot in to a very contoured green:
Another par 5 awaits at the 16th, running modestly downhill with cross bunkers and a brick wall protecting cars along the road!
The 17th is a par 3 that was resurrected in the restoration and I'm thankful for it as I love the hole. Yeah, it is tight in that part of the course, the hole teeing off real close to the 16th green, but it works.
Some might be disappointed in the closing hole as it isn't some 460 yard par 4 beast... but I don't mind a carefully crafted par 4 finish. All the fairway bunkers make determining the line challenging, with an uphill short second shot to an elevated, contoured green:
As others have said previously, Bedford Springs might be a bit much for some golfers with many forced carries. But for the better golfer, this place is a likely big-time hit.