Penn State University Golf
by Kyle Harris

Golf at Penn State is almost an afterthought. The golf season and school year for the most part do not overlap; with snow cover being possible anytime between November and April, most of the students get two or three months at most with which to play golf. It would probably come as no surprise to not find any worthwhile golf experience in State College, PA, however, the Penn State Golf Courses are filled with architectural relevance.

Ironically, golf at Penn State can trace its roots back to the first rise in popularity of the sport in the country, with a four hole routing existing near the present-day location of Pollock Halls in 1889. This location is not certain though, and some claims have the course being nearer to the present-day location of Beaver Stadium. If the latter case is true, those holes had quite a nice view of ‘Happy Valley’ and Mount Nittany.

The sport was popular enough to merit the construction of a nine hole design in the early 20th century (circa 1915). Two professors took the task of laying out the course, this time selecting a location on the western edge of the campus closer to the dormitories and classrooms. The rolling farmland was ideally suited for golf and soon the school would seek to add an additional nine holes to the layout.

The task fell on the capable hands of Willie Park, Jr. in 1922. Using the existing routing in addition to his own nine holes, Park added bunkers, modified greens and stretched the course to 6200 yards. The fairways were wide and rolling, and the bunkering was dramatic in both presentation and difficulty. The push up greens featured elevated pads and interesting mounding and contours around them. Oddly enough, the first tee was located on the dirt road that separated the campus from the golf course. This dirt road would ultimately become four-lane Atherton Street (US Bus. Route 322).

The course pretty much remained in this manner until 1969, with the exception of some additional bunkering by Frank James in 1949. At this time, the University decided to add an additional 18 hole course further west of the current routing. The ‘Blue’ Course would be a longer, more difficult alternative to the dated ‘White’ Course. The original routing and design of the Blue Course fell on the firm of Harrison and Garbin, both Penn State graduates, who completed the course in 1970. At 7002 yards, the Blue Course was indeed longer and more difficult, but lacked a lot of the subtly of the White Course. The new course was narrow and had relatively flat greens, but used the land effectively in its routing. Each course was run from a separate location, with the main pro shop and White Course operating out of a building annex of Rec Hall, and a smaller building used to house operations for the Blue Course (today, it stands as the cart barn and workshop).

The inconvenience of running the golf operation of the University from two different locations, in addition to the desire to expand the University prompted the school to bring in the firm of Ault & Clark to redesign both the courses to operate from one location. In order to fit with University expansion plans, Ault & Clark added a new back nine to the Blue Course, and modified several holes of the ‘old’ Blue to link up with the existing holes on the White Course. These modifications were further compounded when the PSU Golf Team collaborated to design three completely new holes for the White Course that would link the holes from the old Blue to those on the old White. Several holes of the first Blue Course were abandoned, though their remains still exist today.

All these modifications ultimately left the University with two 18 hole golf courses and one 6 hole practice course called ‘The Nittany Course.’ The Nittany Course was comprised completely of holes from the original Willie Park design. Unfortunately, the idea of a practice course never took hold and the University decided to develop the land the course occupied into graduate student housing and several new classroom buildings. The last rounds were played on those classic holes in 2000.

When the newest edition of Penn State golf opened in 1994, golfers were greeted with a new clubhouse near the location of the original Blue Course clubhouse, and two courses that were composites of pretty much all of Penn State’s golf past. The present Blue Course front nine is the 1970 Blue Course back nine, with the present Blue Course back nine being the new holes built in 1994. Holes 1 through 5 and 18 of the present day White are the remnants of the 1970 Blue Course front nine. Hole 6 of the present day White is a modification of the 1922 White’s 7th Hole. Holes 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14 of the present day White are the 1922 White’s 12th, 17th, 11th, 8th, 9th, 2nd, and 3rd Holes respectively. While the present day Hole 12 is a slight modification of the 1922 White’s 1st Hole (new green, and a par three instead of a par four). The original 1922 White’s first green sits about 80 yards northeast of this hole and serves as a practice green. The stretch of holes between 15 and 17 of the present day White are the holes designed by the collaborative efforts of the PSU Golf Team.

Even today, the work hasn’t stopped on the Penn State Golf Courses. Plans are in the making for the addition of new tees and bunkers, the expansion of greens, and the removal of trees on both courses. Further details on these plans will follow in the respective analyses of both courses.

Apart from a marked difference in green design, both courses flow well despite the Frankenstein’s monster approach to their present-day configuration. Remnants of the courses past exist to this day, and several of the original Willie Park bunkers have simply grassed over. Somehow, this blend of old and new melds well together to form a unique golf experience. Any student of architecture would do well to spend a few days or weeks playing the PSU Golf Courses to get a practical blend of experiences from many eras of golf architecture.

The White Course

The White Course is often considered the little sister of the Penn State Golf Courses. It is shorter, narrower and has smaller greens than the newer and bigger Blue Course. In fact, the reason the PIAA High School Golf Championship was moved from the Penn State Golf Courses was that the PIAA did not feel the White Course provided enough challenge to the women golfers who competed for the Pennsylvania State High School Championship there every year. The course is short (barely 6300 yards from the tips even with lengthening of several holes), however, double bogey lies lurking on every hole if the golfer gets lax in execution or thinking “ especially around the greens. The course plays much longer in any sort of wind, placing a premium on accurate approach shots not found on the more user-friendly Blue.

The White Course also suffers from having what amounts to four different courses in one 18-hole routing, however, this is not a disadvantage to the golf course at all. The architectural history has elements of every era of golf architecture of the past century as Twenties era Willie Park holes mesh with Sixties era Harrison & Garbin and Nineties Ault & Clark architecture in as seamless a flow as such a course can have.

First Hole – 372 Yards
Harrison & Garbin “ 1970

The opener is a straightforward Par 4 of 370 yards. A tee shot favoring the left side of the fairway will leave an approach to an elevated and well-guarded green. The green is large and slopes from back right to front left. Finding any of the bunkers surrounding the green leaves a tricky, but straightforward up and down.

Second Hole – 370 Yards
Harrison & Garbin “ 1970
Ault & Clark “ 1994

The second hole is probably the best of the non-Willie Park holes on the White Course. After a walk across the back tee of the driving range, the golfer is presented with his first real challenge of the round. The tee shot must be faded or aimed at the fairway bunker with a draw to stay in the fairway. The bunker short of the green seems to be right next to the green from the fairway, however, it sits 25 yards short of the front edge. On windy days, the preferred approach is low and running around this bunker to the green, which is the flattest on the course.

Third Hole – 526 Yards
Harrison & Garbin “ 1970
Ault & Clark “ 1994

After walking across the 18th hole to get to three (and noting the hole location on the 18th green) the par five third lies before the golfer. A well struck tee shot will still leave the golfer short of the crest of the hill. As early as two years ago the fairway was split by a band of rough around 250 yards from the green, making the golfer potentially think about his choice of club off the tee. Now, the fairway is cut all the way through, allowing plenty of room to let it fly. Attempts to reach this green in two will be completely blind, unless the hole is in the back portion of the green in which case the top of the flag is visible from the landing area. The green is the most sloped of any of the non-Willie Park holes and two putts are difficult from above the flag.

Fourth Hole – 330 Yards
Harrison & Garbin “ 1970
Ault & Clark “ 1994

This short par four lost some strategic elements in the 1994 renovation. The ideal line off the tee is still toward the fairway bunker, however, there is significantly less room than there was pre-1994 down the left side. A second fairway bunker, which marked the edge of the old fairway has grassed over to the left of the remaining fairway bunker. A shot down the right side of the fairway leaves a tricky approach of a deep bunker to a large, rolling green that is almost four clubs deep.

Fifth Hole – 210 Yards
Harrison & Garbin “ 1970
Mike Ward “ 2005

The first of a quintet of strong par threes on the course, the fifth hole is a 200 yard proposition to a large, but well-bunkered green. Two new tee boxes added in 2005 have shifted the angle of play to the right and have made the right side of the hole slightly blind.

Sixth Hole – 440 Yards
Willie Park, Jr. “ 1922
Frank James “ 1949
Ault & Clark “ 1994
Mike Ward “ 2005

The most maligned hole on the golf course features a classic Willie Park green, a large centrally placed bunker complex and a blind approach. The tee shot must reach the upslope of the fairway in line with or slightly left of the bunkers. A blind approach should favor the right side of the hole as any shot landing short of the green will funnel back and to the left side. The first of the Park greens is also one of the most treacherous as any putt above the hole will be hard to stop, especially from the back tier.

Seventh Hole – 176 Yards
Willie Park, Jr. “ 1922
Frank James “ 1949

The uphill 7th Hole has some of the most dramatic bunkering on the course. A mid-iron must find the back half of the green else risk rolling off the significant false front. Finding any of the bunkers is a surefire way to make double bogey, as is missing the green long.

Eighth Hole – 350 Yards
Willie Park, Jr. “ 1922
Frank James “ 1949

One of the three complete Park par fours on the course, the 8th hole is a slightly uphill and well bunkered hole. The ideal tee shot challenges the right side fairway bunker to leave a wedge shot into a guarded green tucked amongst deep bunkers and mounds. The green falls away to the left and right in the back portion of the green and shorting siding the green will leave the golfer will almost certain bogey or worse.

Ninth Hole – 356 Yards
Willie Park, Jr. “ 1922
Frank James “ 1949

The 9th hole is gentle downhill hole that invites the golfer to lay into a drive. The ideal drive should end up just short of a fairway bunker that is through the left of the fairway leaving a tricky wedge shot into a very elevated green. Any drive missing left or right will have to contend with two giant hickory trees planted in 1949 under the direction of Frank James, who planted several similar trees and added a few bunkers around the greens.

Tenth Hole – 462 Yards
Willie Park, Jr. “ 1922
Frank James “ 1949

The second nine of the White starts off with an uphill, short par 5; beginning a stretch of holes where the tournament golfer needs to pick up two strokes to par to compete. A tailwind and a good tee shot will leave the golfer with a long-mid iron approach to the most undulating green on the course. Like most of the Park greens, missing the green will leave a tricky up and down.

Eleventh Hole – 370 Yards
Willie Park, Jr. “ 1922
Mike Ward – 2005

A much needed new back tee was added to the 11th hole in 2005. Unfortunately, this hole has lost the most through years of tree planting and bunker neglect than any hole on the course. The tee shot sets needs to be shaped from left to right to stay in the fairway, leaving a wedge or short iron to a small green. The center line of the original hole is now the tree line down the right side, and two grassed over bunkers mark the original fairway boundaries.

Twelfth Hole – 170 Yards
Harrison & Garbin “ 1970
Ault & Clark “ 1994
Mike Ward – 2002

A difficult par three set up against Atherton Street (US Bus. Rt. 322) across from Rec Hall. The hole can be categorized as a very gentle Redan, however, the fairway and green do not fall away from the golfer nearly as dramatically as other Redans. A draw will find its way to any flag tucked behind the front bunker if it hits the putting surface though. The site of the original first green is now a practice green to the right of the hole, and the original first tee was located at the intersection 200 yards directly behind the tee box on Atherton Street.

Thirteenth Hole – 555 Yards
Willie Park, Jr. “ 1922

With the exception of the narrowing of fairways and the green site, this hole is most untouched of the holes on the White Course. The ideal line is just over the left edge of the massive fairway bunker that obscures the view of the hole from the tee. From hear, the golfer is enticed into going for the green, but any short of pulled or hooked shot will find trouble in the form of bunkers and mounding and a poor angle into the green. The more cautious player will lay up to about 140 yards and come at the green with a short iron. The fall away over the back and to the left of the green is the deepest (almost 20 feet!) on the course.

Fourteenth Hole – 200 Yards
Willie Park, Jr. “ 1922
Frank James “ 1949

The 14th hole is a superlative downhill par three with the best overall green on the course. The green invites the golfer to land the ball short and funnel the ball to the hole. Missing short leaves an easy chip, where missing long, left or right leaves a difficult pitch to a rolling green.

Fifteenth Hole – 323 Yards
PSU Golf Team “ 1994

The 15th is a short dogleg right par four that is drivable in a tailwind. The ideal tee shot is just to the left of the bunkers at the corner of the dogleg, where the slope will funnel the ball toward the hole. Depending on the wind and hole location, a high pitch or chip will tuck itself close to the hole. The large, flat green is one of the fastest on the golf course.

Sixteenth Hole – 198 Yards
PSU Golf Team “ 1994

This long downhill par three plays to a narrow green guarded by two shallow bunkers. The tee is the most exposed on the course and the hole can play three clubs shorter or longer depending on the wind. Like the 15th green, this green is large, flat and fast.

Seventeenth Hole – 329 Yards
Ault & Clark “ 1994

This short, sharp dogleg left is drivable with a high draw. The ideal line is over the last tree at the corner of the dogleg, which will leave the golfer with a tricky pitch to an elevated and deep green. Like most holes on the White Course, distance control is paramount on this flat, quick green.

Eighteenth Hole – 510 Yards
Harrison & Garbin “ 1970
Mike Ward “ 2005

This hole was lengthened from a 420 yard par four to its present length in 2005. Interestingly, the original played as the most difficult hole on the course as the golfer was faced with an uphill approach with a mid-long iron to a narrow green guarded in the front by two deep bunkers. The new par five will be opening soon after the time of this writing, and it will be interesting to see how the hole plays out. Tree removal around the green has drastically improved turf conditions and the new tee box should continue the improvements. The hole should be reachable with two great shots and the green complex definitely puts a premium on an approach from way out in the fairway or within 100 yards.

After the round, the first time player of the White Course may be left scratching his head in bemusement over the worth of the course. The beginning and ending stretches are convoluted and piecemeal, but the middle holes provide a challenge worthy of any golfer. In a way, the course blends the older, ‘core golf’ with a more modern ‘individual hole’ aspect “ giving golfers of all tastes and abilities something to wrap their brains and games around. Like most underappreciated golf courses, the White Course takes a little time and effort to fully appreciate, but at that point, it’s an absolute joy and pleasure to play everyday.

The End