The 15th hole at Green Oaks CC offers a view of the club's famous tree | The Elite 18
The 15th hole at Green Oaks Country Club outside of Verona is one of the best in the Pittsburgh area and it offers a great view of the course's famous tree.
Green Oaks Country Club is one of the few courses in the Pittsburgh area that were designed by famed golf architect Donald Ross.
The course originally opened in 1905 with Ross finishing the final 18-hole layout in 1914.
One of the best holes on the property is the 15th, a narrow par 5 that features a dogleg right and offers a view of the course's famous tree in the distance.
"We have a tee shot here that sets up nice to the eye, but we have a subtle but sneaky slope to the right," said Green Oaks head golf professional Jason Hammel.
The sloped landscape will often send tee shots to the right side of the fairway, but being too far to the right in the trees can present big problems.
"Left rough is perfectly fine," Hammel said, noting that it's a pretty open tee shot.
Maxing out at around 505 yards, the 15th hole is reachable in two shots for some players.
The famous, but altered tree that is known as the club's logo comes into view on approach shots from the fairway.
"The tree got struck by lightning last year," Hammel said. "It was a huge limb that fell out and took the wholeness out of it."
Approach shots into the green can be lined up using the large tree as an aiming point, picking a gap between the club calls the "logo tree" and other trees lining the fairway.
Once on the slick putting surface, players taking advantage of the gettable par 5 will be happy to walk away with a birdie.
Green Oaks Country Club
Founded: 1905
Public or Private: Private
Location: 5741 3rd Street, Verona, PA 15147
Phone Number: 412-793-2000
Website: https://greenoakscc.com/
Par: 71
Yardages, Course Rating, and Slope Rating:
- Black - 5,384 yards - 71.7/131
- Blue - 6,274 yards - 71.3/129
- White - 6,035 yards - 70.2/128
- Green - 5,119 yards - 65.7/119
- Forward - 3,879 yards - 61.1/114