lehigh3

Hole 13

Hole 13: Lucky 186 yards

I have found over the years that there are seemingly more par 3's at number 13 on the card and it is likely not coincidental. This may only appear to be the case, but there are certainly more par 3 and par 5's at number 13 for certain. At Lehigh CC, there is a real challenge for you and danger lurks for those suffering from triskaidekaphobia. A difficult up and down awaits if you miss the green short to the left from the grassy hollows. Too much draw and the water awaits. The duff is rewarded for his slice with a safe bailout area and a fairway if you are short and on-line. This is one of the most if not the most interesting grens at Lehigh with a combined set of spines creating no less than four distinct sloped areas. In many cases the high point on a cross section of the green is very close to the middle. Par is likely to win you the hole more often than not. Difficult putting is indeed the norm, many a three-putt is witnessed here.

Since we at redanman.com doon't believe in such nonsense as triskaidekaphobia, number thirteen gets named lucky. Also, it is the site of the author's sole ace at Lehigh. Tom Paul, Past President of the Pennsylvania Golf Associattion (And author of no less than 17 Aces! at his home course Gulph Mills) upon hearing that I had aced number thirteen commented that he wasn't certain whether he had ever hit and held the green at number 13 at Lehigh. A humourous comment, but likely untrue.

Hole 14

Hole 14: Sissy Ridge 369 yards

This hole gets its delightful name from the ridge that cuts across the fairway at about the point where a well-struck tee shot will carry. It is not quite as difficult nor penal than it seems, but interesting strategy is created. Located 240 yards and 65 feet of elevation from the back tee, shots not solidly struck will roll to the right and backwards rather than gain a kick forward to run closer to the green. A similar challenge awaits the 190-210 yard driver of the ball from the member's tees. The brilliance of the design creates a dilemma wherein a solid tee shot gaining a good degree of roll will often leave the golfer with an awkward distance to a punchbowl green with a very small and repelling front portion of the green. It can often be very difficult to get the ball close to the pin on a hole that from the card suggests a spoon-wedge play. The greensite which is benched against the hill has an additional slope that is often very difficult to see.

Hole 15

Hole 15: Left is Right 369 yards

The observant reader will have already noticed that the card yardage for fourteen and fifteen read exactly the same. These holes do not resemble each other beyond that. The green at number 15 is very unforgiving if the correct angle of approach is not negotiated. Many lies in the left rough are preferable to lies in the right half of the fairway. The front of this green is so narrow that being short of the putting surface is preferable to challenging the pin position. The slope of the green and contours of the bunkers create a potential for very defensive play on this seemingly simple hole. One must drive the ball far enough to garner the correct position and angle of attack to this green.

If one is long enough there is an advantage to carrying the bunker complex on the right, but not if you just do so, you must carry enough to get to at leaast teh middle of the fairway. The green is flipped up on the right side where the greenside bunkers are fast to the surface yielding significantly downhill rolls when exiting those two bunkers. Personally, this is probably in my top three holes on the course, it has interesting and variable strategy, yields to the thinking, planning golfer and is hard to bully.

Hole 16

Hole 16: Short 177 yards

The shortest hole on the golf course, it generally is demanding as it seems to always play a little longer than it appears. bunkers await most sides and over the back a downhill shot awaits as the green slopes fairly sharply from back to front and less demonstrably left to right. Obviously front left is the low point of the green, but is not as difficult a pin position as one might first guess. The (all too) many trees block the wind (And sun as well - leading to one of the more problematic agronomic spots on the course) and make judging distance all the more challenging. Still, probably a good birdie chance for most.

The photos show the three pine trees to the left of the green which are as good an example as can ever be seen of ill-placed "protective trees" keeping the players on three tee "safe". The fallacy of that is that shots rarely would reach said tee and the pines just add to the difficulty of getting light to the green in the morning when it is so welcome. There is also a "safety" hardwood near teh foorward tees on three that complete the curtain for the morning sun.

Hole 17

Hole 17: Valley 416 yards

Drives that are long enough are able to reach the bottom of the hill on this hole and perhaps one will have an uneven lie on some of the nicest natural fairway contours on any hole at Lehigh Country club. This green is best attacked from the right side of the fairway when the pin is on the left and vice versa. The number two handicap hole provides the player getting strokes a last chance. See my essay for the scoop on slope, stroke ratings and handicapping of holes - all misunderstood concepts.

This is a hole that would do well to have fairway cut all the way up to the right greenside bunkers as misses right of this green find long clumpy grass lies and uninteresting shots as it currently exists. Short grass will add immeausureably to the interest of such a recovery shot if restored or implemented. Again the front of the green is the low point and shots hit short or too swiftly past the hole will find the fairway below. How far depends on how much it has rained recently. All in all a par is good here

Hole 18

Hole 18: Clubhouse 443 yards

Long and straightforward with the lagerst simplest green on the course this hole is still not a pushover. The tee shot is very interesting due to the same fairway contours that exist starting in the left third of this fairway and continuing across the 17th fairway (Passing through Die Schwartzwald) and culminating in the magnificent humps and hollows of the second fairway. Just seen in the far right of the photo above is the bases of three of the 8 conifers that make up The Black Forest (Die Schwartzwald) between 17 and 18 fairway. It is home to gnarled exposed roots exposed by years of erosion and complete lack of sunshine to this area - another poster piece for tree management. Elimination of these would allow 17 green to be visible from the terace of the clubhouse, prevent organic matter from keeping soggy the lovely contours of 17 fairway and help maintain great turf conditions.

This green is ever so slightly sloped back to front, has the right one-third elevated in an uncharacteristic shelf (for Flynn) and is at grade. All-in-all, a bit of a letdown architecturally other than the at grade positioning which makes distance perception difficult for the golfer (Certainly a bad thing for some, but in my view a clever trick on the player.

Personally, I find Flynn's original concept for this green and its bunkering much more interesting than into what it has somehow evolved.

When all is said and done, Lehigh Country Club certainly is easily the most interesting classic (or modern) golf course in the Lehigh Valley. Still, an extremely aggressive conifer removal program is desperately needed as is institution of aggressive maintenance practices to firm the course about three orders of magnitude from its current state. However as it stands, it has no peer until one reaches Scranton or the main line for architectural merit and is deserving of study and care. In its current state, Lehigh Country Club is not in the process of proceeding with a new master plan as of March, 2008. Expansion of the clubhouse in tough economic times has been deemed more important at this time. Therefore in its current hybrid state of coincident English Garden, Arboretum and Golf Course, teh golf course lingers awaiting a chainsaw, the deep tine aerator and truckloads of fine quality sand.

Yet, in spite of all of that, Lehigh Country Club in the Lehigh Valley is a great gem of classic American Golf architecture. I love her as she is but she sadly could be and especially play much more excitingly and deserves to be so.

Also see articles on types of golf courses, target groups for architects and pitfalls of American golf evolution as they appear on this site alluded to in this course description.

Hole 19: Bye 165 yards

Already appearing in the 1941 aerial accompanying the commemoration of the first Ace of hole number seven, the 19th or more properly "Bye" hole is not clearly defined in the club's history as to creator and origin. The green is seemingly Flynn or Flynn inspired and well-done. It often is used when a hole is otherwise taken out of play for maintenance or vandalism and not so often used to settle matches as a proper Bye is intended. A modern resurgence has been seen in Bye holes at Forest Creek in North Carolina by Fazio, Old Sandwich in Massachusettts (Accessed after #9 AND #18 - unique in my experience), as seen at some older courses such as George Thomas's Stanford University course. They are a clever and pleasant addition to any course and the one at Lehigh is truly fun to play.

redanman.com

- Defining Golf as somewhere between a religion and a disease for over 20 years.