Poconos Golf Weekend
TravelGolf.com
From Travelgolf.com article:
By Darryl Berger, Staff Writer
The Poconos have courses from such widely known and highly regarded architects as Donald Ross, A.W. Tillinghast, Robert Trent Jones and Jack Nicklaus.
From late spring (after things warm up a little) to the fall, the cool mountain air creates a fantastic environment for golf. The polish may be worn on some of the older resorts, but there is no shortage of accommodations if you planning a golf getaway.
Some of the older resort courses are not as 'amenity rich' as newer resort courses, but it doesn't detract from the quality of the golf. If you know which mountain to look behind, you can find a treasure trove of great golf in the Poconos.
Must Plays
Great Bear Golf and Country Club
The Jack Nicklaus signature course is one of the best in the region. There are no parallel fairways and the course winds over gently rolling terrain. For a course in the mountains, the elevation changes are fairly tame. The course has a great finishing hole. The par-5 18th is a sweeping dogleg and the approach must be hit over marshland to an island green. The owners have been threatening to take the course private since it opened in 1996, but membership roles have yet to reach point where that has happened. The course is in Marshall's Creek, north of East Stroudsburg. [Fat Guy Note: I believe Great Bear has gone private since this article was written. See my review for contact info to be sure.]
Shawnee Golf Resort
It's one of the grand old resorts of the region and boasts a grand old golf course. Most of the 27 holes sit on an island in the Delaware River. Two holes require shots across the river from tee to green. Shawnee was the first course laid out by legendary architect A.W. Tillinghast and it retains the feeling of a bygone era. Tons of history here. Paul Runyan upset Sam Snead to win the 1938 PGA title there. In 1967, a young college golfer named Hale Irwin won the NCAA championship at Shawnee. The course is located at Shawnee-On-The-Delaware, north of East Stroudsburg.
Buck Hill Falls Golf Club
This is another course that's stood the test of time. Donald Ross laid out 18 of the 27 holes in 1921. The course is the essence of mountain golf with holes playing up and down. Not a lot of frills at Buck Hill Falls, but plenty of golfing thrills. And as you might suspect from the name, lots of deer roaming the courses as well. The course is in the village of Buck Hill Falls, about 20 miles southeast of Scranton.
The Country Club at Woodloch Springs
The course is outside of the small town of Hawley which is about 35 miles east of Scranton. Play is limited to guests of the Woodloch Pines Resort. This is a "country club for day" experience. The course has all the amenities and a challenging design as well. It opened in 1992 and sports the modern target golf design. There are plenty of forced carries and it is one of the more demanding courses in the Pocono region.
Hideaway Hills Golf and Country Club
The course is in Kresgeville about 30 miles north of Allentown. The course boasts a solid collection of holes that play up and down some steep terrain. Tee Boxes at Nos. 7 and 10 are perched high on the sides of hills making for dramatic shots. The course provides a number of vistas that are quite stunning.
The Best of the Rest
Skytop Lodge is a regal resort with an outstanding old course. Tamiment Resort features a Robert Trent Jones course that plays more than 6,600 yards from the white tees. Pocono Manor Golf Resort has 36 holes. Donald Ross designed the older course. The newer layout was built in the 1960s and designed by George Fazio. Water Gap Country Club was built in the 1920s and long ago hosted a PGA tour stop called the Eastern Open. Walter Hagen's 64 remains the course record. Mount Airy Resort Golf Course opened in 1980 with a layout based on a book that described the '18 best' holes in golf.
Stay and Play
The region offers a wide range of accommodations from economy to all-inclusive resorts. The Pocono Mountain Vacation Bureau can out line stay and play options at their Web site www.800poconos.com.
Or, the legendary Tannersville Inn has been serving travelers for more than 170 years.
Fat Guy Note: The kids will love the indoor water park at Great Wolf Lodge (www.greatwolflodge.com). Acres of 84 degree wet fun all year round, and ski packages available at nearby Camelback Mountain. '08 standard rooms start at $279/night (2 night min plus $15 pp for waterpark access). Romantic whirlpool fireplace suites @ $379/night. Top-of-the-line Great Bear Suites @ $500/night. My buddy Dave N. says it's not quite worth the money, not a great value and the water park isn't quite as big as they make it look on the website.