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Golf at Penn State University: Overview by Kyle Harris May, 2005
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 End |
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