The Poconos- Shawnee, Tamiment and Great Bear
My wife and I recently visited the Poconos for a few days of R&R and some golf. We stayed at the historic Shawnee Inn. I chose 3 courses to play from different eras of golf architecture: Shawnee CC (Tillinghast, 1911)- Tamiment (RTJ, 1947) and Great Bear (Nicklaus, 1997)
Shawnee CC
A little bit of history: C.C. Worthington, a wealthy NY engineer, is a major figure in American golf history. He was involved in the formation of the first golf club in the US-St. Andrews GC in Mt. Hope, NY. He also helped organize the PGA and invented the first commercially successful gang mower used in golf courses. He purchased about 5000 acres north of Stroudsburg, PA and created what is now known as the Shawnee Inn. He hired A.W. Tillinghast in 1909 to design and build an 18-hole golf course on the property. This was Tillinghast’s first design and led to his successful career. Shawnee became known as “The Gem of the East” and hosted the 1938 PGA won by Paul Runyan who defeated Sam Snead 8&7 and the 1967 NCAA won by Hale Irwin. Sam Snead represented Shawnee for many years. The Shawnee Open was a popular event on the PGA Tour for many years. The popular bandleader Fred Waring, an avid golfer, purchased Shawnee in 1943 and hired Bill Diddle to add an additional 9 holes in the 1950s. Shawnee hosted many celebrities over the years including Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Ed Sullivan, Mickey Mantle and even President Eisenhower. Arnold Palmer met Winnie, who was working in the pro shop, here and later married her.
The course as it now exists has 3 nines: Red, White & Blue. The red nine starts adjacent to the pro shop with a modest par4 and then crosses the Delaware River with a par3 to an island via a bridge designed by Worthington. The remaining 8 holes of Red are on the island as are the entire 9 holes of White and 6 holes of the Blue. The Blue nine crosses the river with another par3 and the remaining 2 holes of Blue return to the pro shop and Inn. We played Blue and White. The Island holes were completely destroyed by a flood of the river in 1995 and were rebuilt in house and reopened a year later. How much of Tillinghast remains today is a big question for Phil Young. Tom Doak created the 9hole short course on the property.
Tamiment GC
Some more history: Members of The American Socialist Society founded Camp Tamiment in 1921 as a vacation spot for union members. The Camp also operated a famous summer theater that helped develop the talents of such stars as Danny Kaye, Imogene Coco, Jerome Robbins, Woody Allen, Neil Simon and Carol Burnett. A book was written about the theater- “Every Week a Broadway Revue.” The owners hired Robert Trent Jones in 1947 to design their resort course. By the 1960s Tamiment was a thriving resort. Yours truly spent a summer there in 1964 as the person in charge of canoes on Lake Tamiment. I even shot some billiards with the world’s foremost authority, Professor Irwin Corey and saw Woody Allen do stand up comedy. The resorts success led to its downfall as the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status and the owners- The Peoples Educational Camp Society- were forced to sell. Today, there is little left of the original Tamiment except the lake and golf course and clubhouse. It was my first visit there since 1964. It was sad, very sad indeed, to see the ruins as a subsequent developer bought the place in 2005 and demolished the resort. Plans are on hold to redevelop the property.
At one time, Tamiment was highly rated in Pennsylvania. The course is now operating with a barebones maintenance budget. According to locals, some days are better than other others. Clover was all over the fairways. Bunkers were in need of a total renovation. Greens were soft and were probably about a 5 on the meter. The tree-lined fairways were wide enough. The golf cars were at least 10 years old. BUT, the bones are still there. Typical RTJ with bunkers at 4 & 8 o’clock on the greens and sometimes behind the green at 12 o’clock. The greens were mildly undulating and pin positions behind the greenside bunkers were challenging. The course is noted for its long par5s- 14 @ 563y and 17 @ 585y. The 15th hole, a par4 @ 435y, is famous for a plaque affixed to a boulder near the tee that reads:
“THIS BOULDER WAS MOVED TO CLEAR 14 GREEN AND PLACED HERE IN TRIBUTE TO THE MEN WHO TOILED TO BUILD THIS GOLF COURSE.”
How many courses have such a tribute to workers who built the course? Given the history of Tamiment, this plaque was mandated.
Here is a description of the course as written by RTJ:
http://www.tamimentgolf.com/sites/courses/layout9.asp?id=323&page=7832My pictures of the sad state of some bunkers will be posted later.
Great Bear G&CC
No history: Great Bear opened in 1997 as the second Nicklaus course in Pennsylvania. Housing surrounds the course but does not intrude. We played the course on a stifling warm and humid day under dark clouds. It was easily the best-maintained course that we played. The greens were a little slow but challenging. The bunkering was good. Take a tour of the course:
http://www.greatbeargolf.com/course_overview.cfmAll in all, I liked Great Bear a lot. I thought it was better than the other Nicklaus course in PA- Nevillewood, near Pittsburgh.
I also visited, but didn’t play, Water Gap CC, a course that was recently mentioned here.
http://golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,39788.0/I’d like to play Great Bear and Water Gap in the fall under more favorable and less humid conditions.