I made a quick trip to Pennsylvania this weekend to attend a wedding. It was an afternoon/evening event on Saturday so that left me time to find a round somewhere beforehand. I was looking for a course not too far from my hotel, around Reading or the west side of Allentown. I hoped that if I left Charlottesville early enough I could golf, check in early and then head over to the wedding. Berkleigh Golf Club was directly along the route I was taking so it seemed like a good choice.

I left Charlottesville around 4:30 AM and made it up to the course a little after 9 AM. The proshop was very friendly and let me head out early. I played through a fivesome early in the round and then caught up with a foursome. I could tell there were other groups in front of the foursome so I didn’t press them. The round was about four hours which got me over to the hotel for an early check in, perfect.

I knew a bit about the course before teeing it up, but what I knew apparently only scratched the surface of Berkleigh’s intrigue. I knew that Berkleigh was a private course years ago and that it hosted a LPGA Tour event. What I didn’t know is that Berkleigh was founded by Jews in the 1920’s. The founders were looking for a club of their own because they were being discriminated against by other clubs. Also, Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner has strong ties to the course.

From everything that I’ve read, the course is a shell of its former self today. The dated and unused facilities tipped me off to that while I was there. The LPGA Tour’s Betsy King Classic left in 2004, the course was renamed from “country club” to “golf club” and ownership has changed multiple times since 2007. These days, the course is open to the public for somewhere around $50. I ended up paying an off-season rate of $40 to ride.

As you probably can tell, one of the most interesting things about Berkleigh is the course’s troubled past. I’m sure that those folks who played the course during its peak are now disappointed, and understandably so. However, I walked away impressed. The course is located out in the rolling farmland, between Reading and Allentown. Mature trees line the holes and the course reminded me of one that would be found in the Pacific Northwest. There aren’t any homes nearby and the course makes good use of the land. There is a mix of downhill and uphill shots, some blind landing areas and a pesky creek that can come into play if you aren’t careful.

One of the strengths of Berkleigh is how the land influences the shot choice. Because the course is so old you end up with all sorts of natural humps and bumps in the fairways. Likely, you’ll just have to hit whatever shot shape the land gives you. For example, my drive didn’t make it to the top of the hill on the 14th hole. So, that left with me with a hook lie and I had to start the ball out to the right and just let it come back. Another thing that makes Berkleigh so good are the green complexes! The greens are guarded by classic bunkering and every green complex was beautiful.

I played the blue tees which are 72.1/137/6729. The bulk of the yardage is on the front nine, which by most accounts is the better nine. It plays as a par-37 with three of the four par-5’s and has more land available for it to sprawl out. The par-3 3rd was probably my favorite hole on the front. It is 157 yards and is located on a quiet part of the property. The green is slightly elevated and bunkers hide portions of the surface.

The back nine is closer to a major road and closes with three short, somewhat boring par-4’s. It isn’t the strongest finish, but the back nine still has some good golf holes. The 10th is a short par-4 with options off the tee and a devilish green with a small, back tier. The green slopes off if you miss so it isn’t as easy a par as it would seem. The 15th is a 208 yard par-3 and one of the prettiest holes at Berkleigh. It plays about half a club downhill and over some water.

The conditions were fine, not pristine. Like most of the region, Berkleigh has taken on a lot of water. And, all that wet turf made it tough to catch it solid. The fairways and rough had a decent amount of grass, but the ball tended to settle down. The tees were full and the greens were in the final stages of recovery from aeration. They rolled well and at a medium pace. The sand was solid, without any rocks.

I thought Berkleigh turned out to be a fantastic find. If you are considering playing here, I say do it as the course is playable, challenging and has some history. If the area has any sort of a decent winter, I’d think the course will be looking good next spring.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):