As someone who proudly calls the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania my home, I was super excited to get out and play at Hershey Country Club.
Pulling up, you’re greeted by the iconic Hershey Kiss sign, and I knew that this was going to be a fun day. The East Course had recently aerated, so a buddy and I were going to be heading out on the West Course for a nice late-morning round.
I arrived a little over an hour early, so had plenty of time to head to the range and work out the swing a little bit. You’re greeted by some excellent facilities, that have a nice look to them. That’s always a help for getting a round off to a nice start.
We teed up on #1, both knocking out great drives, and just like that – we were off.
I’ll put this out right away – you’re going to see a ton of elevated greens here on the West Course. And from the 1st green, you realize that these puppies are going to be tricky. They weren’t the fastest greens, although they were quick quick. They rolled beautifully – but boy do they slide. I really enjoyed them, but again, will reiterate that they have the ability to eat you up quickly. Our round seemed to have some exceptionally difficult pin positions for the day, so that made it even tougher 🤣
My favorite stretch of holes was the run back to the Clubhouse, with 16, 17 and 18 really catching my eye. The classic ending holes consisting of a par 5, 4 and 3 really makes sense to me. Mix in a little water and some great views, and it makes for a great finish to a really fun round.
The course was in fantastic shape, and I thoroughly enjoyed my round here. Pace of Play was also wonderful – as my buddy and I cruised through the round in around 2 hours and 40 minutes. I can say that I’m excited to get back here and try out the East Course. A full 36 at both courses would make for a quite memorable day.
Nestled back at the Clubhouse, you have the option to enjoy a frosty beverage overlooking that finishing stretch of holes, and it really puts a nice cap to the end of an afternoon!
Course Name and Location: White Deer Golf Course (Vintage course) in Montgomery, PA (10 minutes south of Williamsport)
Type of Course: Public
Course Designer: Kenneth J. Polakowski (1988)
TLDR: The White Deer Golf Complex has two courses (Vintage & Heritage). The Vintage is the shorter, easier, and (in my opinion) slightly less exciting of the two. The course is tucked away, with views of nature and the ridges in the distance throughout the course. The conditions were excellent for this time of year. Staff is always friendly, and I always leave a round here having really enjoyed the course.
While out for a round a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a sign at the clubhouse for a 2-man scramble coming up. I took the chance to call up a buddy and get us entered.
The forecast was calling for rain in the afternoon, so I had my fingers crossed that we’d be able to make it through the day before the weather rolled in.
Check-in was easy, and John and I rolled some balls before heading off to the range to loosen up. The practice green was on the slower sign, but rolling pretty true.
At 10:00am, the tournament kicked off and we headed out to the 154-yard par 3 17th (we were playing from the whites). The team we were paired up against had a couple fellas that would be playing the golds and reds.
It’s always a little tough starting out on a par 3, and we turned what should have been an easy one into a situation that we had to go up and down. Luckily, we did some handy work from just off the green to leave ourselves with a short two-footer for par.
Hole 18 brings you back to the Clubhouse, as an uphill par 5, playing dead into the wind. Neither of us had really found the driver yet, and we were left with 230 to the hole with a little tree trouble. We chose a green-side bunker, and found out quickly that the sand was wet and dense. Squandered a scoring chance and left with par.
Hole 2 was another of the many doglegs that you’ll find on the Vintage course. It was a fun and very scoreable par five, with water along the right side. We played this hole well, missed a long eagle putt and made our way off the green with our first birdie of the day.
The third hole is a short par 4, with a green that is protected by water. This is certainly a fun hole, and a normal round would leave you with some choices as to how to play it.
We started finding our form on the round and made another birdie.
Hole 5 is a short, downhill dogleg left which plays 372 from the blue tees. You’ve got a nice look out to the ridge in the distance (see below), and everything about his hole screams birdie. It was a fun hole, but left with another par.
As you keep playing your way through the front nine, you’ll get to hole 8 which is a short dogleg right. As long as you keep your drive in the short stuff, this hole should be one to keep your round going well.
Hole nine is another dogleg right, flanked by trees that were just in the thick of their early bloom. Pretty hole for sure.
Hole 10 greets you with a reminder of some of the rules of golf, and we’re back to swinging away 😂
It’s another dogleg left, and I think you’re starting to see a theme here. We’re putting together a middle-of-the-road round, with a few birdies and couple bogies mixed in here.
Hole 11 is a longer par four that can really be a tricky hole. As you look out at it, you’re not exactly sure what the best aggressive angle to take is. Seems like a nice drawing 3-wood would be the play, and we play one beautifully here. Even with that, the look at the green isn’t an overly easy one.
Hole 13 is a short par 3 with water on the right. You just really need to pretend that it’s not there. Look straight ahead and fire away at a flat green 🎯
Hole 15 is a par 5 with a relatively thin fairway. We both went right, but got the ball pretty well out there. We were left with the shot above, 211 yards from the green with tall trees in front of us. The hole was playing downwind, so we wanted to get something high enough into the breeze and see if we could carry it there. We both went 7 iron, and I hit a nice one right to the edge of the fringe.
The pin was in the back of this green on a ridge, and both our chips left something to be desired. We missed a 10-footer, and left with a highly disappointing par.
On the drive off 15, this fella greeted up – a nice sized snapping turtle 🐢
We approached 16, which would be the last hole of our day at 2 under. We figured we were well off the lead, but had a side bet with another group on the course, so figured that every shot would still count.
I hit the drive of the day for me on this hole, and the look above was what we had left. Nice to pump one 300+ into the wind, hah.
We chipped to 10 feet, and my partner drained the putt with a center cut stroke to bring us into the Clubhouse at -3.
The Team at White Deer was awesome, and a simple but tasty lunch of burgers and hot dogs was waiting for us. We didn’t take home any hardware for long drives or closest to the pins. They started to announce the winners, with a 3-way tie for first place at… wait for it…. 4 under!
So we were 1 stroke off the winners, and felt like we definitely left a few out there.
All in all, a really fun round. Since I only live around 25 minutes away, I plan on making it a point to bring a group here one day this summer for a morning and afternoon round, with one at each course!
Course Name and Location: Philadelphia Cricket Club (Militia Hill course) in Plymouth Meeting, PA (15 miles north of Philadelphia)
Type of Course: Private (I played with a benefit outing)
Course Designer: Dr. Michael Hurdzan & Dana Frye (2002)
TLDR: Sister course to Philadelphia Cricket Club’s well-known gem, Wissahickon. The course was in phenomenal shape, with greens that rolled incredibly true. A fun layout that included some really gettable holes from the III tees we played with the outing (6,313 yards playing to a 125 slope). Capped off with a beautiful clubhouse steeped in history, I’d race to play either of these courses any chance I got.
When a buddy called up saying that he needed a 4th to round out his team for an upcoming charity tournament for a great cause it was an easy yes. The fact that I’d be going down to play a Philadelphia-area gem that I’ve had my eye on since moving to Pennsylvania in 2017 was just icing on the cake. The format was to be a Shamble – one of my favorites (everyone tees off, choose the best drive, and then everyone plays their own ball from that spot).
To get to Philadelphia Cricket Club, you wind your way through a beautiful neighborhood, and you can feel the history of the course from the moment you arrive. At the main Clubhouse at the Wissahickon course shown above, you get a great view of 1 and 18 – which is always nice to get to see folks finishing their matches as you enjoy a nice frosty beverage.
After a nice bite to eat (Chef Ben certainly knows a thing or two about fried chicken), we hit the range and putting green to loosen up. A wide open range greeted us with plenty of targets, and a QR code system to easily see yardages in case you didn’t bring your shooter. After rolling a few on the putting green I could tell this was going to be a fun day.
And just like that, we were off and playing. The first green confirmed what the practice area had suggested – these surfaces were going to be pure!!
Throughout my Blog I’ll mention some of the holes that stood out most to me. It might be design elements, or just how they played for me that day…
After an easy birdie on 1, hole 2 left an uphill approach to a great with a significant amount of crowning. You could tell here that downhill putts were going to be quick.
Hole 3, shown above, was one of my favorites of the day. A very reachable par 5 (538 from the tips, and only playing 479 with the outing), you’re faced with water all the way up the left side of the fairway. Long hitters have the chance to really get it out there, and we were left with a nice smooth 165 yard approach from a great angle. I had a really nice chance at a flat 20 footer to get the day started hot, but my putt hit the pin and popped out 🤦♂️ … Only the second time I’ve ever hit a putt that I think would have dropped if the pin were pulled. Oh well, can’t be mad about a tap-in birdie.
We made our way through the front nine, enjoying the course and conditions. Holes 6 and 7 kind of had a way of going back and forth a bit, but the wonderful conditions hid any monotony.
The look above is from the patio at the Militia Hill clubhouse. Great place to enjoy a pre or post-round beverage, but we were making the turn for the back nine. Hole 10 kicks off as a nice, easy uphill par four. I failed to convert a birdie, and we moved on.
12 is a short par four (397 from the tips, but only 362 from the III tees). Today it was playing downwind, and the breeze really started kicking up. We stepped up to the tee feeling like the ball was definitely going to fly. I sprayed my drive a bit wide, but still really got into it. Luckily, one of playing partners hit the drive of the day, catching the downslope and rolling right to the green – leaving us with a very makeable 15 footer. Can’t believe that we ALL left this putt short, but somehow we did. Another tap-in birdie.
Hole 14 was one of my favorites. Another short par five, this hole has a creek splitting the middle of the fairway, and an elevated green to hit into. It’s pretty straight-forward, but just a great looking hole, to a bit of a tricky green. And like every hole we played here at Militia Hill, in absolutely gorgeous shape.
I birdied 16 and 17, helped out by some great starting positions for our team. 18 is a great ender, playing to an uphill green. We left ourselves 120 out, in a nice position to have one last scoring chance before ending the day. Cleaned up a 7-footer to end the day with par and move on to the 19th hole 🍺
Posting my scorecard below, but remember, this was a Shamble. I had the help of some great drives by my teammates, so it was definitely friendly to be playing from position A all day. I’m currently an 8 handicapper, whose goal is always to go out and break 80 (which I do now and again)…
After the round we stuck around for a dinner (food was great) and some chatting with our fellow competitors.
Since the course is around 3 hours from my home in Lewisburg, I thought it’d be easiest to stay the night. Booked the Holiday Inn & Suites in Fort Washington (<10 minutes away) and took the opportunity to meet up with an old friend here in town. We headed to a bar named Magerks, just a hop away from the hotel. Fun spot to catch some sports and grab some more nibbles, so we enjoyed a pint or two more.
Recap: I had a fantastic time playing Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Militia Hill course. The biggest standout feature of the course were its overall conditions. In particular, the greens here were some of the best that I’ve played in years. I had such a blast putting on them, as the rolled incredibly true. The course was interesting, service was excellent, and I’ll race back to play any chance I get.
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