News:

Welcome to the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group!

Each user is approved by the Golf Club Atlas editorial staff. For any new inquiries, please contact us.


Joe Bausch

  • Karma: +0/-0
Bill Brightly presented some before and after photos of the restoration (by Marzolf of TFaz) of the Gordon Weyhill course at Saucon Valley here:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,48493.0.html

I don't personally have any 'before' photos, as for my first 20 years of living in the Delaware Valley I never received an invite!  ;)

Well, that is no longer the case!  Last week I joined Bill, Mike Whitaker, and Jerry Kluger for a morning round.  Today I'll present the pics of the front nine, then on Monday the back.  The front is good, the back even better, IMO.

All the photos are "clickable" to obtain a larger size.

Here is the hole-sequencing from an August, 2010 Google aerial, which shows the restoration in progress.  It is a nifty routing with three loops, most convenient for getting in some partial rounds.



#1.  Slight dogleg-right par 4 with water in play off the tee to the right (395 yards).











#2.  Par 3 (183 yards).









#3.  Par 4 (449 yards).









#4.  Dogleg-left par 4 (410 yards).









#5.  Par 3 (205 yards).









#6.  Double-dogleg par 5 with aqua to be crossed twice (No. 1 stroke hole; 587 yards).













#7.  Dogleg-right par 4 (404 yards).











#8.  Dogleg-right par 4 (400 yards).









#9.  Par 5 with a blind tee shot (536 yards).









The back nine on Monday, which is mighty fine.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2019, 02:45:14 PM by Joe Bausch »
@jwbausch (for new photo albums)
The site for the Cobb's Creek project:  https://cobbscreek.org/
Nearly all Delaware Valley golf courses in photo albums: Bausch Collection

Brian Laurent

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Weyhill: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2011, 05:01:41 PM »
Great pictures, Joe! #5 is hardly recognizable.

Can't wait to see the back nine.
"You know the two easiest jobs in the world? College basketball coach or golf course superintendent, because everybody knows how to do your job better than you do." - Roy Williams | @brianjlaurent | @OHSuperNetwork

Jerry Kluger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2011, 09:47:57 PM »
I can say that I was really impressed with the course although I had not played it before so I don't know how good it was before.  It is a heavily treed parkland course but there is plenty of width in the playing corridors and the tree removal has made the views great throughout the course.  The bunkering is strategic and the greens have some really interesting contours although they are still very new so they are running them a bit slower than optimal speeds.  The land itself has some real movement and there are some very interesting rock outcroppings which have been exposed - they even uncovered a very small waterfall when they cleared an area on the side of a pond wall.  The rectangular tee boxes are something we don't see too much today and I think it adds quality to the experience although I understand that some people really dislike them.  Saucon Valley is an amazing complex of 3 courses and a short course and should not be missed if given the opportunity. 

Malcolm Mckinnon

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2011, 12:04:41 AM »
Joe,

Beautiful!

I've never played any Saucon courses, always a conflict when opportunity arose.

When I get you to Princeton we should also check out Princeton Country Club, another Gordon &  Gordon  creation publicly funded vs Bethlehem Steel.


Joe Bausch

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2011, 09:25:38 AM »
Okay, Monday morning it is and a fine morning it is to display the back nine of the recently renovated Weyhill course.  There is not a weak hole on this side, IMO.

It begins with one of my favorite two-shotters, with a beautiful use of a natural (?) landform.

#10.  Par 4 (440 yards).



From the tee you can't see the trouble right, reachable only by the biggest of hitters:



But this view back down the fw from over the green shows the large gully/swale leading to a pond:



Approach shot view:



From the back right part of the green:



The swale/gully extends over in front of the tee on the next par 4.

#11.  Par 4 (381 yards), named "Road Hole" on the card.





Approach shot view:



From short of the green:



I love the way this green seems to just sit perfectly on the land:



Now we have my favorite 3-shotter on the course, again with a nice landform to negotiate on the 2nd shot:

#12.  Dogleg-left par 5 (569 yards; No. 2 stroke hole).





Here you begin to see the chasm to carry:



Arrghh, poorly focused 2nd shot view:



A look back across the chasm to the dogleg:



Approach shot view:



From just over the green:



That big house for sale that Steve Shaffer posted sits to the left, near the tee on the 13th hole.

#13.  Dogleg-right par 4 (393 yards).



The tee shot is blind, where a little cut starting down the walking path is a good line:



Many trees I'm told have been cleared from the inside of the dogleg:



Conservative tee shot leaves an approach shot view like this, more bold with driver can take you down to the signs with a short iron in:



From right of the green:



From over the green:



As you head to the next tee you can get a glimpse of the 15th and 16th greens:



Next up is the "quarry hole" par 3.

#14.  Par 3 (207 yards from a new back tee, 176 from a more manageable tee up).





From short and right of the green:



From the back of the green:



Another neat landform is used on this upcoming par 4 called "Stonewall".

#15.  Par 4 (419 yards).



Arrggh again, another poorly focused pic, the tee shot view:



The second shot is quite uphill to this plateau green:



This gives a little better feeling of how perched the green sits:



From the back of the green:



Now on to a par 3 called "High Low".

#16.  Par 3 (145 yards from either back tee).



The "high" tee view, where the group in front of us is on the new back tee of the 17th:



"Low" tee view:



From just right of the green:



Looking back to the tees:



The 17th utilizes a new tee to make a cape hole.

#17.  Par 4 (363 yards).



New tee view.



White tee view from across the bridge:



This hole is called "Lime Kiln" as the remains of an old limekiln (to produce quicklime used in the preparation of stainless steel by Bethlehem Steel) are present:



Hard to believe this is my approach view from my tee ball after you see where a caddy is heading on the next hole!



From over the green where the 15th and 3rd greens are nicely basking in the patches of sun in the distance:



If you look at the Google aerial at the beginning of the thread, you can see lots of work happened right on this hole.  I'm told it is so much better now.

#18.  Dogleg-right par 5 (585 yards).



White tee view:



Here the caddy is starting the adventure for my drive right.  Bill came by and asked if my ball was lost, to which I replied "no, it just hasn't been found".



A look back to the dogleg with the 1st green in view:



An approach shot view:



From short of the green:



From just over the green:



From left of the green:



If you wish to view all 100+ photos in a much wider format, go here:

http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/SauconWeyhill/index.html

What a treat it was to play the newly restored Weyhill course.  And the lunch to be had with a fabulous burger was wonderful to recount the round, and recharge our batteries before heading over for an afternoon round at the Old Course (site of the 2009 Women's US Open).  I can do a photo tour of that course too, if the audience desires it.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2019, 02:31:57 PM by Joe Bausch »
@jwbausch (for new photo albums)
The site for the Cobb's Creek project:  https://cobbscreek.org/
Nearly all Delaware Valley golf courses in photo albums: Bausch Collection

Jerry Kluger

  • Karma: +0/-0
Joe: Please put up the Old Course as well.

Mike Cirba

Joe,

Some really great pics of Weyhill...thanks.

I'll add my vote to Jerry's.

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Thanks to Joe for so many great photos and a great tour. I'll add a few "before" shots. Here is the old par 3 #5, A hole that was so heavily bunkered that it played like an island green. Built by William Gordon, this front bunker harkens back to a time, IMHO,  when architects built "big and bold" bunkers. Shaped like the letter "C", this front bunker might look cool, but it was a bitch to play for most women and high handicaps who hit shots 30 yards short of the green and where left with one of the hardest shots in golf, while low handicaps missing a little short simply played a normal bunker shot.

And the back left bunker you see has been removed, replaced by a fun collection area, as shown by Joe's photos.




#5.  Par 3 (205 yards).







« Last Edit: July 25, 2011, 11:22:28 AM by Bill Brightly »

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Here is how the tee shot used to look on Hole 8. You can see from Joe's photo how the palying corriders have been greatly increased.




#8.  Dogleg right par 4 (400 yards).



 

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Here is the old #1 green, which has been re-built and shifted about 25 feet right, closer to the water. The front right bunker is also gone. In the background is hole #5, and you can get a feel for the excess foliage that has been removed.



#1.  Slight dogleg right par 4 with water in play off the tee right (395 yards).




« Last Edit: July 25, 2011, 04:54:58 PM by Bill Brightly »

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Not much has changed to the second hole, except the severe grade on the back right portion of the green has been softened, allowing for so many more pin positions.



#2.  Par 3 (183 yards).






Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Nothing dramatic changed on the 9th hole, but there were some subtle changes that really opened up options and make the player think.  

Note how the space between the green side bunkers has been widened, enticing longer players to have a go at the green, but also adding a new bunker 60 yards short which makes the second shot FAR more interesting. I'm really not long enough to reach this green in 2, but where should I try to lay up?





#9.  Par 5 with a blind tee shot (536 yards).











« Last Edit: July 25, 2011, 04:55:42 PM by Bill Brightly »

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Not much different on Hole 3, but how can I pass up the chance to show the unique follow through of GCA's Jed Peters? :)

However, if you look closely at Joe's picture below, you'll see a new forward tee box on the left, compared to the "afterthought" green tee markers shown in my photo. Keep in mind that this was Beth Steel's course built in the 60's... so why would there be forward tees?




#3.  Par 4 (449 yards).



« Last Edit: July 25, 2011, 12:31:04 PM by Bill Brightly »

Jerry Kluger

  • Karma: +0/-0
I know there are some who do not like rectangular tee boxes but I think they work really well at Weyhill as they are separate for each tee box as opposed  to RTJ's runway tee boxes. 

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2011, 02:49:20 PM »
Before any MacRaynor fans get crazy, I am sure Hole #11 is called Road because the hole is parallel to the entrance road...

Not a significant change in how the hole plays, but a far more appealing green complex, IMO.




#11.  Par 4 (381 yards), named "Road Hole" on the card.


Approach shot view:



From short of the green:



I love the way this green seems to just sit perfectly on the land:




Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #15 on: July 25, 2011, 03:05:03 PM »
No significant changes to Hole 12 other than the addition of a bunker about 50 yards short and right of the green. This really adds to the thought process on all lay up shots.



I also should add that the huge swale is reachable from the tee (white tees for me, blue tees for the bombers) and the green can be hit from a very reasonable short ruff lie, but it will be a blind shot.  I've gone for the swale twice, one time on purpose. :)  Both times I came up a yard or two short of reaching the flat bottom of the swale, and left myself with an awkward downhill shot out of rough. The first time I did this I hit a tremendous rescue club recovery, only to find the new bunker...which I forgot about 'cause of the blind shot...


Arrghh, poorly focused 2nd shot view:

« Last Edit: July 25, 2011, 03:12:18 PM by Bill Brightly »

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #16 on: July 25, 2011, 03:28:46 PM »
I wish I had a good "before" photo of Hole 13, but suffice it to say that the inside of the dogleg was so heavily treed that any shot pushed right was in total jail. No recovery was possible, just a 30 yard pitch back to the fairway. If you look at Joe's photo, you can see the large expanse of newly planted grass on the right which used to be trees. The first time I playe dthe hole I hit a weak fade there, but at least I had options. I chose a heroic shot, hit a low sliced 6 iron that barely cleared the bunker and scooted on to the front of the green. This was never an option before.

And perhaps this photo shows how severly pitched the green was back-to-front. The pin you see was really the only pinnable location. Now there are so many more options.





#13.  Dogleg right par 4 (393 yards).

The tee shot is blind, where a little cut starting down the walking path is a good line:



Many trees I'm told have been cleared from the inside of the dogleg:



Conservative tee shot leaves an approach shot view like this, more bold with driver can take you down to the signs with a short iron in:



From right of the green:



« Last Edit: July 25, 2011, 04:57:52 PM by Bill Brightly »

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #17 on: July 25, 2011, 03:46:46 PM »
On my previous thread, someone commented that the "before" version of Hole 15 looked pretty good. It certainly was dramatic (and so is the "new version") but to me, the old version was incredibly hard for everyone except low single digit handicaps. The bunkers you see were at the base up the steep upslope, and the fescue swallowed up any approach to the green that failed to completely carry the hill. Balls that ended up there were rarely found and/or playable. I don't know how 95% of the women could play this hole, except to nudge it as close as they dared to the bunkers before attempting the final climb... Therefore, the "new" version represents great work in making a dramatic hole playable for average golfers without taking anything away.



Perhaps this photo captures the severity of the upslope:




#15.  Par 4 (419 yards).

Arrggh again, another poorly focused pic, the tee shot view:



The second shot is quite uphill to this plateau green:



« Last Edit: July 25, 2011, 04:58:52 PM by Bill Brightly »

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #18 on: July 25, 2011, 04:01:23 PM »
Hole 16. Seven bunkers reduced to three!





#16.  Par 3 (145 yards from either back tee).

The "high" tee view, where the group in front of us is on the new back tee of the 17th:




From just right of the green:




Kenny Baer

  • Karma: +0/-0
I have played Weyhill and will say I thought it was great, truly one of the better courses I have played and that is saying quite a bit considering I was playing some of the worst golf of my life when I played it.  I played it before the renovation but it looks like it has only gotten better.  What is the knock on it and why is it not more highly regarded?

Chris Roselle

  • Karma: +0/-0
This was my favorite of the three before the renovations and after seeing these pictures I can't wait to get back up there this fall for a return engagement!!!

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
I have played Weyhill and will say I thought it was great, truly one of the better courses I have played and that is saying quite a bit considering I was playing some of the worst golf of my life when I played it.  I played it before the renovation but it looks like it has only gotten better.  What is the knock on it and why is it not more highly regarded?

Haven't heard any "knocks" on it Kenny. I think it simply is not that well known and probably has held few, if any, tournaments, while the Old Course has held Pennsylvania Am's, two US Sr Opens and the US Womens Open in 2009.
« Last Edit: July 25, 2011, 08:05:52 PM by Bill Brightly »

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #22 on: July 27, 2011, 01:41:36 PM »
In addition to the new tee which makes Hole 17 neat cape hole, the greensite has been greatly improved with the removal of a few trees that not only kept the green in shade, but hung over the bunkers.

Here is the old version

 

Joe's pictures:







[/quote]
« Last Edit: July 27, 2011, 01:44:15 PM by Bill Brightly »

Bill Brightly

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration
« Reply #23 on: July 27, 2011, 02:00:06 PM »
The changes to hole 18, specifically the look and play of the tee shot, are easily my favorite. Prior to the work, this was a long slog of a double-dogleg par 5, that was simply "target golf." A straight but not too long tee shot was required, then a layup out to the right, and a short or mid iron to the green. Sorry about the poor quality, but these photos shows how boring the tee shot was before, and Joe's phots shows how options now abound. Beyond that, the uncovering of the remains of an old quarry is stunning, IMO.









#18.  Dogleg right par 5 (585 yards).

White tee view:



Here the caddy is started the adventure for my drive right.  Bill came by and asked if my ball was lost, to which I replied "no, it just hasn't been found".



A look back to the dogleg with the 1st green in view:



pg[/img]

From just over the green:




« Last Edit: July 27, 2011, 02:03:32 PM by Bill Brightly »

David Cronheim

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley Weyhill course: photo tour after restoration (all holes up)
« Reply #24 on: September 26, 2011, 11:17:23 AM »
I had a chance to play the Weyhill course yesterday and despite playing my worst round of the year, I was quite impressed, particularly with the back nine. The back 9 is a strong a 9 holes as I've played in a quite a long time, both in terms of architectural design and scenic beauty. There's a nice mix of holes and the stretch from #12 on in was particularly strong. I also had the chance to play it with some fellow GCA-ers, adding to the fun.
Check out my golf law blog - Tee, Esq.

Tags:
Tags:

An Error Has Occurred!

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()
Back