My friend and I found some lunch after our round at the Old Course and then checked out a nearby nine hole course, Bedford Elks Country Club. From the town of Bedford you actually drive right past Bedford Elks on your way to the Omni! We had a 3:15pm tee time but got there about a half hour late after stuffing ourselves at Landmark Restaurant. If coconut cream pie is your thing then you might want to stop over at Landmark! Before I get any hate mail, we did call over to the course to let them know that we would be late!
Most times when I play two new courses in a day I need to manage my expectations because one course can be so much different than another! My morning round at the Old Course was on a perfectly maintained course that is rich with design history and one of Pennsylvania’s finest. Bedford Elks, on the other hand, is about as opposite as you can get. And, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing!
Bedford Elks is also an older design (built in 1925) and it shares much of same scenery as the Old Course, but the two courses have completely different target markets. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot at Bedford Elks we got a locals and beginners vibe. A dad and his family were teeing off as my friend and I put on our golf shoes and walked into the proshop. Then, once we got to the 6th hole we noticed another kid out, walking behind us. One big plus is that Bedford Elks fits into the budget of the middle class golfer! It is $20 to ride nine holes and only $12 to walk.
We opted to ride although Bedford Elks would not have be a bad walk for someone in decent shape. Most of the course is flat as it plays along Shobers Run. The 5th hole heads into a hillside before the 6th hole drops back down to the flat land. The course is more of an open, parkland layout and not a mountain course, like you might expect given the surrounding terrain.
Most of the holes at Bedford Elks have a similar look. They are fairly straight with small greens. My favorite hole on the course was the par-3 5th. It is 150 yards and heads into the side of a mountain. It is about a club uphill and once you get to the green you have a great view of the area.
Something odd about Bedford Elks is that the 6th and 8th holes can be played as par-4’s or par-5’s! I’ve starred at the scorecard for way too long and I still don’t fully understand the proper way to play those holes. We played the 6th as a par-5 but now I’m not so sure we didn’t play the par-4 setup! The 6th is listed as a 503 yard par-5 and a 432 yard par-4. I only saw one set of tees and now that I’m looking at the satellite image of the hole, I see two greens. I saw another green out there when playing but figured that was a chipping green! The 8th is listed as a 485 yard par-4 and a 485 yard par-5. We played that one as a beefy par-4. Depending on how you play these two holes (and the 7th) the course is either 3,263 or 3,357 yards from the blue tees. Par can be 35 or 36. The rating would be 71.7 and the slope 127, if you went around twice.
The conditions at Bedford Elks were alright, nothing that couldn’t be overlooked for the $12 green fee. Since the course is in a flat area with mountains all around, the course collects water. And, after such a rainy month there was no shortage of standing water. The staff looked to be working on the drainage around the 6th green so hopefully that will help things. There was some noticeable winter damage to the fairways and rough. The greens were slower, however they rolled fine.
Bedford Elks is a course that serves the local community, and golf needs those courses! It is a non-judgmental place to enjoy the game with a relaxed atmosphere.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):