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Brian Potash

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Saucon Valley
« on: October 16, 2020, 07:37:14 PM »
Is there any consensus as to which of Saucon valleys courses are most enjoyable?


Thank you.


Brian


mike_malone

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2020, 10:03:43 PM »
Weyhill is it for me. It has a few dramatic holes that raise it above the overall quality of the total property.
 The last time I was there I played Old and Grace and began to tire of the bunkering of Fazio( I assume). However, the great place that is Saucon impresses me overall for its special presentation of golf.
AKA Mayday

Mark_Fine

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #2 on: October 17, 2020, 10:09:33 AM »
All the courses are excellent and as a trio they are one of the best private collections in the country but I agree with Mike - Weyhill is special.  It has the best piece of ground.  It is rated very high by most who play there and I mean no disrespect but it would be even higher except for a few relatively ordinary holes that hold it back. 

Steve_ Shaffer

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2020, 06:47:11 PM »
Saucon Valley is one of those " special places" in the world of golf. I also prefer Weyhill. I remember my visits through the club house and frequently caught the late " Concrete" Chuck Bednarik #60 of the Eagles commiserating  that he was born too soon to collect those big salaries. He died in 2015. Imagine him today with the huge salaries that OL & DL players get now. He played both ways. What would a 2 way HOF  lineman get today?


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mike_malone

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2020, 06:59:40 PM »
Steve,
I saw Bednarik’s name at Lehigh Friday as a member/guest winner.
AKA Mayday

Bill Brightly

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2020, 08:33:18 PM »
The "stock" answer is which ever course you are playing. :)


My preference is the Old Course because it has the best green complexes, excellent movement throughout the property, and great variety of holes. (I understand that some may not like Fazio's "tuck and roll" when he re-built the bunkers but the putting surfaces were not altered.)


Weyhill certainly has a WOW factor and when I bring guests to play all of the courses, this is usually their favorite. I think this is the one of the best inland/parkland sites in the US. The Saucon Creek meanders throughout the course and it is used with great effect without being too penal. When you get to Hole 14, you must carry a huge abandoned quarry. Hole 15 returns in the opposite direction, the quarry is on the left as you approach a severely elevated green. (I can't wait until tree removal occurs and this world class feature is no longer needlessly obscured.) The last seven holes are superb. An excellent blend of short and long par fours, a beautiful dropdown par three, and two well-conceived par fives.


The Grace Course is also excellent and many single digit players will say this is their favorite. Interesting architectural note: when William Gordon built the par 3 fifth hole, he corresponded with a surveyor in St. Andrews to recreate an Eden hole!


Obscure architectural note: When I joined SVCC about 18 years ago, I wrote to David Gordon and asked: "Since your father had all of that land to work with, why didn't he place his Eden with the Saucon Valley Creek behind the green to more closely emulate The Old Course?" He wrote back and said: "Dad did not believe in hazards behind greens, he felt going long was penalty enough."




Brian Potash

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2020, 10:13:43 PM »
Thank you to those who posted.  That is very helpful.

Mark Pritchett

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2020, 10:38:28 PM »
Thanks Bill.  Great insight into what has to be a special place in golf. 

archie_struthers

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #8 on: October 18, 2020, 07:42:01 AM »
 ;D


Absolutely Weyhill for me too!


The course just flows

Tommy Williamsen

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #9 on: October 18, 2020, 06:54:51 PM »
SV is indeed a special place. If I were to rank the three I would go with Old, Weyhill, and Grace. Weyhill, sitting all by itself, away from the hustle and bustle of the main complex puts it in its own little world. I love the terrain at both Weyhill and the Old. What puts the Old in number one are the greens. I think they are brilliant.
Where there is no love, put love; there you will find love.
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Bill Brightly

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2020, 08:58:50 PM »
One of the cool things is that each course has different grass types on the greens. About 15 (?) years ago they shut the Old Course down for a summer, killed the grass, and re-seeded with a certain type of bent. Several years later they renovated Weyhill and sodded with a different type of bent. The Grace Course has a traditional poa/bent mix, and these happen to be my favorite.


The greens on Old and Weyhill putt beautifully but I've come to believe that pure bent greens are fussy and really show the wear throughout the day. Give me a good set of poa/bent any day; these seem to receive shots better, and pitch marks are easier to perfectly repair.

mike_malone

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #11 on: October 18, 2020, 09:24:53 PM »
I so agree with that sentiment.
AKA Mayday

MCirba

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2020, 09:21:10 AM »
One of the cool things is that each course has different grass types on the greens. About 15 (?) years ago they shut the Old Course down for a summer, killed the grass, and re-seeded with a certain type of bent. Several years later they renovated Weyhill and sodded with a different type of bent. The Grace Course has a traditional poa/bent mix, and these happen to be my favorite.


The greens on Old and Weyhill putt beautifully but I've come to believe that pure bent greens are fussy and really show the wear throughout the day. Give me a good set of poa/bent any day; these seem to receive shots better, and pitch marks are easier to perfectly repair.
Oh my lord, yes.   
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

JESII

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #13 on: October 19, 2020, 09:44:43 AM »
Without casting aspersions...I'd bet the bent poa mix can tolerate with much less water, which should carry those benefits you describe above.

MCirba

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Re: Saucon Valley
« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2020, 12:52:34 PM »
Without casting aspersions...I'd bet the bent poa mix can tolerate with much less water, which should carry those benefits you describe above.


I would place the same bet, Jim.
"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Calvin Coolidge

https://cobbscreek.org/

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