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.

This 1939 rendering best shows the original bunkering and features of
the original White Course.

Harrison & Garbin – 1970

372 Yards

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.

The heavily bunkered opening green from the left side of the fairway.

Harrison & Garbin – 1970

Ault & Clark – 1994

370 Yards

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.

A well executed tee shot near the fairway bunker should leave a straightfoward, but semi-blind approach.

Harrison & Garbin – 1970

Ault & Clark – 1994

526 Yards

After walking across the 18^th hole to get to three (and noting the hole location on the 18^th 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.

Harrison & Garbin – 1970

Ault & Clark – 1994

330 Yards

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.

Harrison & Garbin – 1970

Mike Ward – 2005

210 Yards

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.

A new tee box leaves a tricky semi-blind tee shot into this fifth green.

Willie Park, Jr. – 1922

Frank James – 1949

Ault & Clark – 1994

Mike Ward – 2005

440 Yards

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.

The ideal line off the new tee is at or slightly left of the bunkers. The trees to the
left of the hole are slated to be removed by 2007.

Seventh Hole

Willie Park, Jr. – 1922

Frank James – 1949

176 Yards

The uphill 7^th 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.

Shots not reaching the flag are liable to run off the extended false front of this horizon green.

Willie Park, Jr. – 1922

Frank James – 1949

350 Yards

One of the three complete Park par fours on the course, the 8^th 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.

Willie Park, Jr. – 1922

Frank James – 1949

356 Yards

The 9^th 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.

The push up ninth green from the right side of the fairway, showing the trouble
a golfer can find with a sliced or pushed drive.

The drastic fall away on three sides of the ninth green is shown in this picture from the left of the green,
placing an even larger premium on an accurate approach. The front of
the green will kick balls onto the putting surface, however.

Willie Park, Jr. – 1922

Frank James – 1949

462 Yards

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.

The 10th green is the most undulating on the course witha deep swale running through the middle
of the multi-tiered green. Note the back tier and the location of the golfer, a good three feet
higher than the hole.

Eleventh Hole

Willie Park, Jr. – 1922

Mike Ward - 2005

370 Yards

A much needed new back tee was added to the 11^th 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.

Harrison & Garbin – 1970

Ault & Clark – 1994

Mike Ward - 2002

170 Yards

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.

The site of the original first tee box from the 1922 routing is directly behind the
sign in the middle of the interesection on Rt. 322!

Willie Park, Jr. – 1922

555 Yards

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.

The long thirteenth hole at dusk, showing how much size the greens have lost. The original green stretched
out to the edges of the green pad, which drops off twenty feet over the back and left.

Fourteenth Hole

Willie Park, Jr. – 1922

Frank James – 1949

200 Yards

The 14^th 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.

The downhill 14th hole from behind the green, showing the banked fairway and green contours.
Missing long is double bogey territory.

PSU Golf Team – 1994

323 Yards

The 15^th 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.

PSU Golf Team – 1994

198 Yards

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 15^th green, this green is large, flat and fast.

Ault & Clark – 1994

329 Yards

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.

Harrison & Garbin – 1970

Mike Ward – 2005

510 Yards

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.

On the new par five 18th hole, going for the green in two is compounded by these fairway bunkers and
a narrow, deep green. Golfer laying up will see a premium placed on accuracy as the
contours around the green will kick the ball away.

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

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