Steel made Bethlehem. But the town forged one of the nation’s top
hidden jewels, Saucon Valley Country Club.
Bethlehem Steel was founded in 1904 by Charles M. Schwab, a
longtime associate of Andrew Carnegie. Schwab had a strong steel background and
was a superb salesman, and when he needed an equal in management and production,
he turned to a man named Eugene Grace, who liked nothing better than trade his
steel for hickory—ironically, steel shafts wouldn’t arrive until years after
Grace helped found Saucon Valley in 1920.
Grace and the other founding fathers wanted a true family-style
country club for the upper-level employees of Bethlehem Steel. From the
beginning, that’s exactly what they achieved. Members, wives and children worked
weekends clearing stones, dismantling pigsties and chicken coops, digging a
swimming pool and converting a 200-year-old farmhouse into the clubhouse. Tennis
courts, horseshoe pits and croquet lawns were all in place before the first golf
shot was struck.
Now, Saucon Valley has 60 holes—Old, Grace, Weyhill and a
six-holer for beginners. Designed by Herbert Strong, Old dates to 1922 and is a
wonderful parkland treat: nicely wooded, but hardly claustrophobic. Stretching
to 6,799 yards with room to maneuver the ball, Old is not difficult. What it
possesses—in abundance—is character, from the wide variety of looks to the
superbly crafted putting surfaces. Finesse, putting and chipping are at a
premium on the Old.
Opening the Old is a solid par 5 of 558 yards that features a
“saddleback” fairway at 290 yards out. As with every hole on the Old, the first
is gently rolling, with a classic cigar-shaped fairway lined with punishing
rough, evergreens, hardwoods and large bunkers, culminating in a medium-size
green pushed up only slightly from the existing fairway grade.
The 6th underscores the variety to be found on the Old. A par 5
measuring 582 yards, the hole turns gently to the right. On the second shot, a
“Sahara” sand and scrub complex must be carried, but the play must also favor
the fairway’s left side, as a shot too far right will be blocked by trees on the
third.
Among the back nine favorites are the downhill 172-yard 11th,
called “Turtleback,” the 574-yard 12th, the third of the Old’s untouchable par
5s, and the 18th, a shortish par 4 of 345 yards that calls for a drive over a
pond, taking care to avoid four large ovals of sand down the left side, followed
by an uphill pitch over more bunkers to a green that sits atop a knoll, with the
clubhouse looming impressively in the background.
Architects William and David Gordon designed nine holes of the
Grace in 1953, the other nine in 1958. The Grace is long and strong, a big
hitters’ paradise spearheaded by a trio of stout finishing par 4s, among which
the shortest is the 437-yard 17th.
Designed by the Gordons in 1967, Weyhill was the private domain of
Bethlehem Steel until the club acquired it in the ’90s. Weyhill bridges the gap
between the Old and the Grace, including a stunning set of quarry holes on
dramatic terrain, paced by the 176-yard, all-carry 14th and the rugged 377-yard
15th, which reminds many of the 2nd hole at Pine Valley.
For the enthusiastic members of Saucon Valley, I suppose this is
standard grillroom talk, but what a luxurious dilemma: On which of your three
courses would you host an Open? Old may be the acknowledged “classic,” but the
Grace and Weyhill help complete the a stirring triple play. Somewhere, Eugene
Grace is smiling.
