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A fledgling new nine: Fast-rising Birdsfoot Golf Club to unleash full course soon
Opened: July, 2002.
Designers: Ault Clark & Associates.
Holes: 9, currently. Back 9 will open next week.
Green fees: "Sneak Peek" spring special, $20 for 9 holes, $15 for re-round. After that, $39 weekdays, $48 weekends. Carts not mandatory.
Tee times: 1-877-295-3656.
Bill Beckner Jr. can be reached via e-mail or at 724-224-2696.
The unique, daily-fee course located in South Buffalo just off Route 28, already has been featured in Golf Magazine and has received resounding reviews from Pennsylvania Golfer Magazine.
The parkland- and links-style layout, perched on 185 acres of rolling land above the Buffalo Creek Valley, is the Alle-Kiski Valley's newest gem. But it is quickly gaining momentum on a much broader scale as it gets set to open its second nine holes on May 16.
But even with the rave reviews, this puppy of a golf course wags its tail, but remains humble.
"We're reluctant to rank the course," said course operations manager Travis Lindsay. "But I feel we have the potential to be one of the top courses in western Pennsylvania. Maybe further."
Birdsfoot, which was only a thought a few years ago, will be in full bloom this summer.
The full 18 holes' potential will be realized soon. Lindsay said the course is not making a major deal out of opening day, rather focusing more on a "grand opening season."
He said more extensive festivities may be planned for June to celebrate the opening. By that time, a driving range and putting green will be up and running.
For now, the course opens its arms and welcomes golfers seeking something different, something new and something potentially spectacular.
"People say we have tremendous potential, but that is because of the people we have on the project," Lindsay said.
The course was designed by Ault Clark & Associates, who also helped in projects spearheaded by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
Brian Ault and Tom Clark will return to the course in late May for the first time since the fall to observe the course's maturity and rise in popularity.
There is no signature hole chosen yet, but the course will no doubt ask for nominations. Lindsay likes the par-5 2nd, which plays 602 yards from the back tees, 467 from the reds.
The par-3 17th, which ranges from 78 to 186 yards, may be a candidate. The green is surrounded by deep depressions in the rough, so anything right or left of it is trouble.
The split-teed 18th also is interesting, as golfers can choose which side they wish to position their approach. The right side runs out of fairway about 265 yards out, while the left side is longer, but demands more precision.
Birdsfoot opened in July and has given players a preview of some of the new holes already with its "Sneak Peek" special, which will end after the full course opens.
"Sixteen of the holes were nearly playable last fall when winter set in," Lindsay said. "The back nine had a chance to grow in all last year."
Along with placing new signs and tee markers, Lindsay said the grounds crew has been busy working behind the scenes to make the new nine -- particularly the greens -- as playable as the front side.
"They have been working on green heights in an attempt to make the back nine as close to the front as possible," Lindsay said. "We want the greens to roll the same."
Getting the new nine, which will total 3,515 yards from the back tees, in shape by the play deadline has been a challenge for the crew. But, Lindsay said the weather has offered relief.
"Once golfers get out on the course, there is no turning back," he said. "We have to be ready to go when we open.
"These are critical weeks in the growing season. People ask 'Is there a difference between May 9 and May 16?' Yes, there's a big difference."
The offseason also helped the growing process.
"We're really pleased with how the course has weathered over the winter," Lindsay said. "The blanket of snow really helped to insulate and protect the ground from the harsh winter weather. That's not to mention what it did for the moisture in-ground. We've really been blessed."
So has the land the course was built on, which design director Elwood Williard has called "no less than a perfect setting for a golf course."
"It's going to have a flare you haven't seen anywhere else," Williard said.
Williard has been involved in renovation projects at Augusta National Golf Club and various other well-known courses.
He also was involved in building Totteridge Golf Club in Greensburg.
Birdsfoot is affordable, playable and walkable. Riding carts are not mandatory.
The course also boasts large, undulating greens and has five sets of tees, ranging from about 5,000 to just more than 7,000 yards.
Its serene setting makes for a tranquil round of golf, but shot-making still is at a premium due to some blind spots.
As the family-owned and operated course matures, it is getting more play, but the full layout will be a challenge.
Lindsay said the back nine will not disappoint. He said 110 feet of elevation change will enhance the back side.
"We wanted to give area golfers a taste of what Birdsfoot was all about," Lindsay said, referring to the drastic shifts in land shape and size.
Some of Birdsfoot's unique features include its vista views, mounded fairways and intrinsic tree carvings. Local artist Paul Shutters has some interesting shapes etched onto the bark of the club's many trees.
His next carving may be a seal of approval.
