Requiem for a Country Club

[JohnV]

Rich Lerner has written a nice piece on the GC website about the club he grew up on in Eastern PA that recently closed:

Requiem for a Country Club

It is a shame when a course closes for everyone, but even more for the people who have played there all their lives.

[Jason Mandel]

John,

Thanks for bringing this story to our attention.  I highly suggest everyone read it. I had no idea Berkleigh had been sold and was closing.  I know they used to be very kind to the PA Golf Association in hosting qualifiers.  I regret never making it up to play at Berkleigh.  

This is going to happen to more and more courses over the next decade if we are not careful. I think the main thing to take out of this is golf/country clubs are about people and not neccesarily the courses themself.

When its all said and done, its clear Rich remembers the great friends he made most about Berkleigh.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

So...where will the remaining members go? Moselem Springs?

[JESII]

So...where will the remaining members go? Moselem Springs?

Yes, many of them have done so I believe...LedgeRock is also a candidate.

[Mike_Cirba]

That's really a damn shame...Berkleigh was a very nice Robert White design that I was able to play a few times over the years and always enjoyed.

[Larry_Keltto]

Thanks for linking it, John.

Lerner wrote an excellent piece.

[Dan Herrmann]

I know of at least one other private SE PA club (NOT MINE!) that has a greater than 50% chance of closing in the next 2 years.  

It's sad, but clubs need to change with the times - to become family oriented, to fit into today's 'soccer kid' culture.  I don't know if this was Berkleigh's problem, but it's certainly the primary problem at the club I'm thinking about.  The average age is over 60, and they're not attracting any new members because they aren't family/woman friendly.  

0000000000000000
Back to Berkleigh - They held an LPGA annual event less than 5 years ago (The Betsy King invitational).   And, their name was a concatenation of Berks and Lehigh - the counties they drew their members from.

I hope this helps Moselem.  Having gone from a very private club to one that frequently advertised on WFMZ-TV, they needed the membership infusion.  Ironically, WFMZ was Rich Lerner's first gig in TV.

[Rich Goodale]

Thanks, John (and Rich).

Excellent and poignant essay.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I understand the club was purchased by a nearby quarry and may be kept open for at least a year as a daily fee course.

[MargaretC]

John:

What a wonderful read!  I have a lump in my throat...
Lerner offered a beautiful memorial.  Thanks so much for sharing.

[Don Dinkmeyer]

Neat article, thanks for sharing.

Did not know Lerner could write, too.

Old courses don't fade away, they're bought by cement companies? What shall this land be - a parking lot for mixers??

[TEPaul]

Jason, you're right, Berkleigh was generous to the Pa Golf Association with qualifiers and such. Seems like I went up there now and again over the years for exactly that---qualifiers for state events.

I always called courses like Berkleigh "country courses", and there are a number of them around out and away from the major cities. Some of them like Berkleigh were good solid golf architecture of an era---nothing fancy really but some good solid holes that generally turned well, used the available natural features and natural topography pretty well etc, etc. Again, nothing exceptional, just some pretty good basic golf holes and good basic architecture. These are the kinds of courses and architecture this distance increase is really killing.

On those kinds of "country courses" like Berkleigh or Brookside, Allentown or a number of others around the east and northeast of the state you had to shoot a bit lower to pick up one of the 20 to 22 available qualifying spots but they were OK to play. The architecture never really beat you up and most all of it was holes that weren't exactly memorable in any kind of lasting way but you still had to hit the shots to get the job done.

About a year or more ago I heard Berkleigh was going down and it's sad. One of the guys on the PA Golf Assoc. board told me about it--he told me he tried to think of possible solutions but the last time I spoke with him he said it was inevitable it was going down the tubes.

It sounded to me like it was a victim of the demographics of that area and there really were no practical solutions.

To me, like many others on here, it's just sad to see a nice old course go down the drain but the world is changing and it's just going to happen.

[JMorgan]

orestes

[Tom Roewer]

A short while ago on GCA I asked about Moselem and was told it too would probably be closing.  If this helps Moselem, then at least some good comes from it.  That just goes to more proof that this is just the iceberg tip i'm afraid.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Berkleigh remains open as public facility, at least for this year!!!!

www.berkleighgolfclub.com

[Dan Herrmann]

Steve - I was wondering about the flagsticks I saw on Friday.  Thanks for the info.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Here's the story of how:

www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=90350

[tlavin]

Frankly, I don't have much regard for Rich Lerner's work on television.  I find his presence slightly grating and his hair dye a bit comical.  As a result, I wasn't expecting all that much out of this country club lament.

It's great being wrong!  Rich hit just the right chord when talking about the fibers that tie club members together.  Every word in that essay is heartfelt and passionate and it should resonate with all of the clubbers out there who have a love/hate relationship with their club.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I played Berkleigh yesterday for the first time and was impressed, at least with holes 1-15. The finishing holes, all short par4s, although interesting, being bunched together and shoehorned in the small area were a letdown. If they had been interspersed in the routing,they would have provided more interest. I guess that's what happens when an architect runs out of room.

I understand the lessee has a 10 year lease from the new owners. The greens were in good shape but a lot of the bunkers could use more sand and the carts could use divot filler as the fairways were showing signs of need. However, for the $35 weekday senior rate Berkleigh is a great value. On weekends, after 11am, the rate for all is $45.

[Joe Bausch]

I too finally got out to Berkleigh yesterday and just had a blast on this old, formerly private, course.  MikeC tells me the course was built in stages, where the first nine went in around 1926 by Robert White, then a 2nd nine (the front nine as currently configured) was added around 1951 by the superintendent but according to White's plan.  I would say that if you enjoy courses like Reading and Deerfield, you're going to like Berkleigh.  It has a wonderful variety of holes.  It starts you off pretty easy, with the first three holes not too tough at all and you just know tougher ones are to come with a slope pushing 140.

SteveS comments above that the last 3 holes are shortish par 4's sort of scrunched together.  Yeah, they aren't my faves on the course, but the greens were interesting on all three.  Heck, the greens were pretty interesting in many places!  Because of the less than stellar closing holes, I would like to see the club switch the nines and see what people think.  I think it might be an improvement.

Here are a few photos:

The fourth is the first of three par 5's on the front is a really neat almost double dogleg par 5 with neat elevation changes.  Here from about 175 yards out:



The sixth is a par 3 that can play from a handful of angles, this shot from the middle tees.  The blue tees has you coming in from an angle set much farther to the left from where this pic was taken.



The 7th is a down-then-up par 5 with a creek crossing the driver landing area.  That darn little creek comes into play on a handful of holes, frequently on the tee shot!



Probably my favorite pic of the bunch I took is this from the fairway on the shortish par 4 8th:



The 9th is an uphill, slight dogleg left, par 5 with a green quite back to front slopey:



The 10th is a narrow, downhill par 4 with a nice green complex.  In the shadow of that tree behind the green is just a real little back terrace for a nice Sunday pin placement:



The 12th is another of a real nice set of par 3's at Berkleigh:



My favorite par 4 on the course is probably the 13th.  Neat look from the tee with a big ole mound in the left side of the fairway landing area, and a nicely bunkered small green:



No. 14 is a sweeping dogleg left par 5.  Yeah, kinda like Deerfield, I would like to introduce Berkleigh to a few chainsaws. 



The postcard hole is likely the par 3 15th over a pond:



The wonderfully contoured green at the short par 4 17th:



If you wish to see the 130+ pics I took of Berkleigh, go here:

http://tinyurl.com/berkleigh

P.S.  Gosh these show and tell threads are so much less tiring than some others. 

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Joe,

Thanks for the pics. I was planning on taking my camera but my daughter absconded with it.The greens on the 3 finishing holes are indeed very interesting. I look forward to a return visit in the fall as the foliage there must be spectacular.

It was sad to see the empty locker room there. After rereading Lerner's article, I can visualize the good times there of the days gone by. The half way house featured a pastrami sandwich when I was there. A reminder of the past.

By the way, there is a good diner down the road from the course. It's a real throwback.

[Dan Herrmann]

That's a helluva good looking cement quarry!  I sure hope it remains as a golf course!

Say - does anybody know anything about Wodbridge, a new public course just outside Kutztown?  Architect/quality/etc?

[Richard Boult]

Joe, thanks for the photos... added to our GCA Photo Tour directory before it's too late:

http://delicious.com/golfclubatlas/Pennsylvania

[Joe Bausch]

I've been told by enthusiast Jim Hutchins that the LGPA tournament held at Berkleigh for years played with the nines reversed.

The more I think about it, changing the nines might be awkward.  As you finish the current 18th green, getting to current #1 tee isn't far away but does require going through the parking lot.  Plus, leaving the current 9th green now is a pretty easy trek to the 10th tee (and it takes you right by the halfway house).

[Mike_Cirba]

That's a helluva good looking cement quarry!  I sure hope it remains as a golf course!

Say - does anybody know anything about Wodbridge, a new public course just outside Kutztown?  Architect/quality/etc?

Dan,

The architect was the late Enrico Filippini, who unfortunately died during construction while driving a dozer, having a heart attack, and ending up being found in a pond.

He had previously done some work on what was known as Exeter Golf Club when it was 18 holes, and also owned Golden Oaks.

The course is....um...interesting, but I believe the price is reasonable and there's nothing wrong with that.