Edgewood Country Club's 18th hole features classic design and proper test | The Elite 18

The 18th hole at Edgewood Country Club is one that features a classic design and offers a proper test as a finishing hole.

When you think of golf courses in the Pittsburgh area that were designed by the famed Donald Ross, Edgewood Country Club in Churchill is one that definitely stands out, particularly with its 18th hole.

"No. 18 is hard," said Edgewood CC head golf professional Pete Micklewright.  "No other way to say it. Long hole, up the hill, wind is predominantly into us."

The 18th hole features a classic element that many Donald Ross-designed courses have -- a false front green.

"We're fortunate to be one of the few Donald Ross courses in western Pennsylvania," Micklewright said. 

Edgewood's 18th hole can play up to 420 yards, mostly uphill, and usually into the wind. 

With Churchill Road off to the right and trees to the left, accuracy from the tee is of top priority.

The 18th isn't considered the most difficult hole at Edgewood, but Arnold Palmer might disagree. 

"One of the last western Pennsylvania events that Arnold Palmer played was the 1959 West Penn Open here," Micklewright said. "He was up two coming into this last hole, hit two balls out of bounds, ended up making eight and losing the tournament."

From the tee, the left center of the fairway is an ideal landing spot, which helps take the out of bounds area to the right out of play.

"You don't want to ruin the score on the last hole" Micklewright said.

The green's drastic false front will send shots that come up short rolling back to the fairway, so more club is recommended on fairway approach shots.

"A challenging green, a sloped green, so really, distance control is critical," Micklewright said.

Putts will be slick on the severely sloped green, making for birdies on the challenging finishing hole difficult to come by. 

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Edgewood Country Club

Founded: 1898

Public or Private: Private

Location: 100 Churchill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15235

Phone Number: 412-823-7300

Website: https://eccgolf.com/

Course Designer: Donald Ross

Par: 71

Yardages, Course Rating, and Slope Rating:

• Blue - 6,620 yards - 72.7/133
• White - 6,252 yards - 71.1/131
• Gold - 5,456 yards - 67.5/124
• Red - 5,179 yards - 66.3/121