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Hole 1

Hole Name

From The Tee The first hole is a par five that currently plays 485 yards from the members tee.

From The Fairway

On The Green Allison designed this hole to serve as an easy warm-up hole. Most golfers can get close to the green in two wood shots. This hole has been changed very little since 1927.

Hole 2

Hole Name

From The Tee When the golf course opened, this was a 476 yard par four. The hole plays with the prevailing wind.

From The Fairway

On The Green The driving area is better suited to accept drives from the forward championship tees. The hole has three bunkers that challenge the player to position his second shot. Players have to contend with a deep bunker front right, a shallower bunker left of the green and a green that sharply falls off in the back into long rough.

Hole 3

Hole Name

From The Tee The third hole is a classic “risk and reward” hole. With four bunkers down the left hand side the player can choose to take an aggressive line or make a “safer” play to the right.

From The Fairway The third hole has one of the biggest fairways on the golf course. The approach, with water on the right, made the shot much more difficult than it is presently.

On The Green This is a difficult green to read with subtle breaks and a sharp fall off in the back left.

Hole 4

Hole Name

From The Tee The fourth hole requires a drive over the creek and is a slight dogleg to the right.

From The Fairway

On The Green The hole is essentially unchanged from the inception of the Park Club. Pines have been added down the left side to protect play on the parallel 5th hole. The original cross-bunker is about fifty yards short and left of the green. It presents little challenge to the second shots of today. A deep bunker front right guards the green. The green slopes sharply from right to left.

Hole 5

Hole Name

From The Tee From the members tee, the hole plays 210 yards. From the championship tees, at 228 yards, the fifth hole could be one of the hardest par threes in New York State.

From The Fairway

On The Green The entire right side is guarded by Ellicott Creek. A bunker protects the left side of the green. On the left and over the green was at one time a water hazard. Willow trees were planted, and the area filled. The fifth hole is one of the best uses of Ellicott Creek on the Golf Course.

Hole 6

Hole Name

From The Tee The sixth hole is essentially unchanged from the original design. It is a dogleg left that requires a drive and mid iron for most members.

From The Fairway

On The Green The more skilled players and those with the most advanced technology can carry the left fairway bunker. This leaves those golfers little more than a flip wedge to a well sloped and well bunkered green.

Hole 7

Hole Name

From The Tee This straightaway par four was called a “drive and pitch” hole in the 1934 PGA Championship manual.

From The Fairway

On The Green Presently, trees are beginning to mature on the left which is increasing the difficulty. The green is guarded by a deep bunker some 25 yards short left of the green and three shallow bunkers right of the green. The green is one of the most undulating on the golf course. An accurate second shot is required if the player wishes to keep the ball below the hole for his birdie putt.

Hole 8

Hole Name

From The Tee The eighth is considered the easiest hole on the course and affords the player a good chance to make a birdie.

From The Fairway

On The Green Three front bunkers and one back right bunker guard a large, flat, inviting green. The green depth and tee placement can change the club selection up to three clubs. The wind comes from the players right and cannot easily be deciphered when standing on the tee. The only variance from the original design is that three front bunkers have replaced one expansive bunker.

Hole 9

Hole Name

From The Tee The ninth hole plays back toward the clubhouse and slightly downhill. The design has two bunkers in the landing area, which puts a premium on the tee shot.

From The Fairway

On The Green The tee could be expanded to make the hole consistent for all players. This is definitely a three shot hole for the members. Depending upon tee location, advanced players can reach the green in two. The green is bunkered on the right and left and has a huge berm in the back center that impacts shots beyond the pin.

Hole 10

Hole Name

From The Tee The tenth hole is unchanged from the original design, an uphill, into the wind, par three that can be just as difficult as the fifth.

From The Fairway

On The Green The plateau green is guarded in the front by a cavernous bunker that is not easily escaped once entered. The green can be very tricky when putting from above the pin, as is often the case as approaches and bunker shots seem to run well past the pin.

Hole 11

Hole Name

From The Tee A straightaway par five from the member’s tee and a slight dogleg left from the relatively new championship tee.

From The Fairway

On The Green The driving area is guarded on the left by a deep bunker. The lay-up area is guarded with a long shallow bunker on the right hand side. The intent was to leave a short third shot to the green. The left side of the green is protected by two bunkers. A mound center divides the difficult green and makes accuracy of approach shots vital.

Hole 12

Hole Name

From The Tee Played as a par five when opened, the hole was changed to a par four for the 1934 PGA Championship. Six bunkers originally guarded the hole.

From The Fairway

On The Green Two were on either side of the driving area, three in the lay-up area right and left, and one greenside. The hole is one of the hardest par fours on the golf course. A huge green with a false front lends itself to three-putting. The green is some forty yards deep and makes for difficult club selection on the second or third shot. A par here is hard earned.

Hole 13

Hole Name

From The Tee A downhill short par three essentially unchanged from the original design. It has large bunkers on the left and front and a small “pot bunker” on the right. Ellicott Creek winds in front of the hole but does not really come into play with the exception of a front right pin placement or an errant tee shot. One of only a few birdie opportunities on the back nine.

From The Fairway

On The Green

Hole 14

Hole Name

From The Tee The 14th was designed to be played along the crest of the hill. Bunkers on the crest were the ultimate in risk-reward. The architect’s original intent was to offer players of all abilities to play as aggressively as they dared. Shots with insufficient carry would either be bunkered or roll down the hill toward or into Ellicott Creek.

From The Fairway The fairway allowed the player to approach the green directly. A row of spruces lining the crest of the hill were among 2,400 such trees planted in 1948 and 1949.

On The Green

Hole 15

Hole Name

From The Tee

From The Fairway A downhill dogleg left par four can be played with a fairway wood and wedge by many players.

On The Green The second shot must be placed accurately on the green. Any shot long of the pin can run over the green and down a slope from which it is extremely difficult to recover. This is the last real birdie opportunity before the closing holes.

Hole 16

Hole Name

From The Tee During the 1934 PGA Championship, This hole is a 426 yard par four from the member tees and 453 from the championship tees.

From The Fairway

On The Green The sixteenth is the first of three difficult finishing holes. It is lined on both sides by trees. The green is guarded on the right by a deep sand bunker, and on the front left by a deep cross bunker. A narrow opening allows accurate long second shots to run up. Most skilled players can reach the hole with a driver and a mid iron. Par is a great score on the sixteenth.

Hole 17

Hole Name

From The Tee While the card only reads 364 yards, the seventeenth plays uphill and into the prevailing wind. Once again,

From The Fairway there are no fairway bunkers to navigate, but trees on both sides require a very accurate drive. The green slopes severely from left to right.

On The Green Any shot above the pin can almost guarantee a three putt. A deep front left bunker and two shallow bunkers on the right guard the green. Most members will play the hole with a drive and mid-iron.

Hole 18

Hole Name

From The Tee Essentially unchanged other than the addition of trees on the left hand side of

From The Fairway the fairway. Ellicott Creek fronts the green 375 yards from the tee. Members must decide whether to “go for it” on their second shot or play safe and wedge onto the green with their third.

On The Green This hole was voted the number one hole in Western New York in 1988. The difficult three-tiered green has decided many matches over the years. The clubhouse and terrace towers over the recently renovated green