Taking Your "Sleeper" Course Nominations
There is no getting around it, I'm a big fan of muni's. I love the "charm" of a course that is free of pretension, even if it is a little rough around the edges, and I really enjoy the characters that frequent these layouts. You won't find them on any Top 10 list. They haven't printed any shiny promotional brochures (not that there's anything wrong with that!) And for some reason, the more obscure the course is, the more I tend to like it. I love lacing up my spikes in the parking lot, handing over my green fee to the pro/gm/snack bar attendant, then being blown away by the architecture, the history, or the atmosphere of the place that nobody ever talks about.
Bamberger is a local writer who has penned several good golf books, including one called This Golfing Life. In it, he wrote about an obscure Reading-area course, Green Hills, which has a wonderful history and is a lot of fun to play. You can find an exerpt online here.
When I first played it, the course didn't have a website. It does now, and you can read more about its history, with links to its beer baron creator, Max Hassel, here.
After everything greens up, I plan to get out there again and take some pictures for you. Meantime, please use the comment button to tell me about your favorite off-the-beaten path gem. I want to check out as many as I can this season and we'll let everyone in on the best ones.
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Ed Abrams anchors mornings on KYW Newsradio, and you can hear his Golf Reports there on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. He has also created a new website at www.DealTrackerGolf.com, a resource for golfers seeking the best bargains on clubs, apparel and everything golf.
