Longue Vue ClubVerona, PARobert White - 1922
In follow-up to my previous photo tour of National Golf Links, I thought it might be useful to readers of this site to shine a light on a lesser known, but very worthy golf course - namely, Longue Vue Club. Several of you have requested this tour, so I hope this doesn't disappoint.
Longue Vue was designed by Robert White, a St. Andrews native and former president of the PGA of America, as well as the architect of the first putting green ever installed on the White House lawn, and opened for play in 1922. A decade and a half later, A.W. Tillinghast lent his eye and his mind to improving the course at Longue Vue, and the club made several improvements as a result of his input, including changes to the first, ninth, tenth and eleventh holes.
The product was a first rate golf course on an astonishing piece of land high above the Allegheny River. The course incorporates several templates of the Macdonald/Raynor school, including a Redan, Eden and Punchbowl. Despite the hilly nature of the property, the course is a joy to walk and to play. The staff, led by Superintendent Josh Saunders, does a fabulous job of keeping the conditions ideal for enjoyable golf and the club maintains firm fairways, fast greens and penal but playable rough.
Longue Vue has a tendency to be overlooked due to its location in the long shadow of nearby Oakmont and Fox Chapel, but this gem is more than worthy of discussion. I hope you enjoy the tour.
Longue Vue Club
The Clubhouse
I tend to rattle on a bit about clubhouses in my tours, as I have always believed that, when done right, a clubhouse can add to the experience of a golf course. Longue Vue's clubhouse is, in a word, exceptional.
Designed by architect Benno Janssen, the clubhouse is entirely stone with a slate roof and includes several large archways.
As seen above, the clubhouse is designated a National Historic Landmark and appears on the National Register of Historic Places.
Upon arrival at the club, and depending on the entrance used, the player drives through the arched tunnel to reach the parking lot.
The landscaping surrounding the clubhouse is impeccable, and colorful flowers are planted in seemingly every available space.
The views from the club's main patio are likewise impressive - hence the name.
This view from the west side of the clubhouse shows the 18th hole, which finishes steps from the building.
Even the walk to the first tee is impressive.
The CourseLongue Vue plays to a yardage of 6606 from the back tees and to a par of 71. The course is routed loosely in a counterclockwise fashion, though it doubles back on itself frequently on the second nine.
Hole 1 - 396 yards - Par 4A tough opener, the first doglegs to the left around a sharp falloff - anything to the left of the fairway is looking at a bogey or worse.
A tee shot hit too long or too timidly to the right will find rough and a challenging angle. An accurate drive is a must on this hole.
The view off the right side of the first hole gives the player his first look at some of the scenery to come.
The first green is sloped substantially from back to front, providing a receptive target for longer approach shots while penalizing balls hit long.
A very solid opening hole.
Hole 2 - 390 yards - Par 4The second of two stout par 4 openers, the second hole plays gently downhill to a fairway bending in the opposite direction from the first.
The fairway falls off to the left and feeds into these bunkers, which make for a challenging recovery to the elevated and well-protected green.
The proper play is down the left side of this fairway, which provides both the ideal angle and view into this green.
The slope of this fairway, the angle to which it feeds into the green, and the left to right tilt of the green itself combine to provide for some very interesting approach shots.
Hole 3 - 202 yards - Par 3An excellent Redan, the third plays over a large ravine to a green at tee height.
There is little room for error here -- misses short or left are dead, and those long or right make for extremely challenging recoveries.
The green is unique among Redans, in my experience, as it contains both a hollow and a second tier to the right rear.
The third is a standout hole at Longue Vue.
Hole 4 - 553 yards - Par 5The first three shot hole of the round begins high above the Allegheny River and drops steeply downhill.
An accurate tee shot on the proper line will run forever, and will provide most players with a second shot into the green.
Those who choose to lay up are offered a generous fairway, which then tightens considerably near the green.
The large green is receptive to shots hit from distance, but care must be taken to avoid the miss long or right. An enjoyable hole.
Hole 5 - 198 yards - Par 3An Eden template par 3, the fifth plays over a shallow ravine to an elevated green with replica Hill and Strath bunkering to either side.
The green slopes hard from back to front here, and the Eden bunker is ready to catch balls hit long. The hazard bounding the right side of the hole adds an element of difficulty due to the steep slope from the green to the trees. Though not as dramatic as some Macdonald Edens, the fifth at Longue Vue is a fine example of this template.
Hole 6 - 390 yards - Par 4The sixth requires a tee shot to a banked fairway running left to right around a large ravine that encroaches from the right side.
The banked fairway rewards well struck drives that fade right to left with some extra distance and a kick down into the flat bottom of the fairway.
The large green is accessible, but the penalty for missing it is high, as it is surrounded on all side with trouble in one form or another.
Hole 7 - 312 yards - Par 4The shortest two shot hole on the course, the seventh asks for a tee shot to a narrow fairway benched into the side of a hill. Longer hitters wishing to challenge this green of the tee must confront a set of bunkers set into the hill above the left side of the fairway. The contours of the fairway obscure parts of the landing area and the green.
This unique bunkering presents a visual and actual hazard on the seventh hole.
As seen from behind the green, the topography at Longue Vue makes for some challenging and interesting golf. A fun risk-reward par 4.
Hole 8 - 548 yards - Par 5The beginning of perhaps Longue Vue's prettiest stretch of holes, the eighth hole begins on a rise and proceeds over the club's entrance road to a fairway canted steeply uphill and hard from left to right.
This fairway is truly difficult to hold, and your author thinks this hole could improve from good to great if the fairway were widened by 20 or more yards. In any event, second shots are hit from a significantly uphill lie.
The fairway short of the green is beautifully contoured and open to encourage running second shots into this large green. While the ideal approach is down the left side of this green, the cross bunker some 50 yards short of the green on the left must be avoided.
Once again, the rolling land provides character and interest to this two-and-a-half shot hole.
Hole 9 - 452 yards - Par 4The bunkerless ninth hole at Longue Vue may be the most difficult on the course. The tee shot requires a carry of a ravine to a fairway not only sloping left to right, but substantially undulating as well.
Level lies are few and far between in this fairway, making the long second shot that much more difficult.
Missing the fairway off the tee means having to confront this deep depression some 80 yards short of the green.
The interest of the ninth is increased by the fact that the horizon green slopes from front to back, a feature made more challenging by the length of the hole.
A superb hole, and perhaps the best on the course.
