Valley Country Club

The course was in excellent condition. Greens are well-maintained and fast. Would not hesitate playing again.

a must play, the course plays short but dont be fooled with fast greens and heavy rough

When we saw VCC show up in GolfNow...we jumped at the opportunity to play a new (to us), private club 20 minutes from Mountain Top. What we found when we got there was a friendly, scenic and immaculately maintained golf course that exceeded our expectations. While tee-to-green VCC is a pretty short course (only 6,200 from the back tees)...the real challenge doesn't start until you get to the greens. Perfectly manicured, fast & undulating and heavily gaurded by bunkers...the VCC green complexes make the round. Be sure to bring your short game!!! An overall fantastic find thanks to GolfNow, if you play golf in the Wilkes Barre/Hazleton area. Don't miss it!!

I jumped at the opportunity to play at a private course and didn't mind driving two hours to get there on a beautiful Sunday. By the time I parked my car, a staff member already pulled up with a cart and offered to put my bags on. When I checked in at the pro shop, I was greeted with a warm welcome, was allowed to tee off earlier than my original tee time, but was warned that the course was packed with a few groups ahead and it might be slow. Fortunately, the groups ahead were all playing forward tees and managed to complete a round just under four hours, which is already slow by their own standards.

As far as course conditions go, the greens were super fast and smooth. Everything was well maintained. Even the members do a good job of replacing ball marks and divots on the greens and fairways, and dutifully rake the sand bunkers. The four-inch rough surrounding the greens were penal for my taste, but perhaps that's how they defend their greens on a short course (only 6,218 yards from the tips).

In terms of course layout, it's a pretty tight course with several holes adjacent to each other. Since the course sits on a hill, there are a few blind shots when shooting uphill. Several fairway bunkers are strategically placed that force you to be accurate on your drives. This course places a premium on an accurate short game, as the most challenging part include all the bunkers and undulating terrain that guard the greens, and greens that have a sharp edge. If you aren't accurate with your putts and chips (especially since the greens are lightning fast), the ball will easily roll off the green. Most greens slope towards the fairway, so always try to place the ball below the pin.

Notable holes:
- Hole 3: A short 314 yard downhill par 4 that calls for laying up 100 yards from the green, since the green is protected by an L shaped water pond that cuts halfway into the fairway.
- Hole 16: Long uphill par 3 where you only see the top half of the flag.
- Hole 17: Goes all the way uphill for 456 yards (yet classified as par 5). The front third of the green severely slopes down, and when the pin is placed near the cliff, you are better off chipping up than lobbing the ball. And once you are on the green, make sure it doesn't fall off!
- Hole 18: With the clubhouse and mountain in the background, you are required to hit a slight fade to land on the fairway.

I was approached a few times by members asking if I was a new member. They were all friendly people who took an interest in you, since the club needs more members. The atmosphere around the clubhouse and pool were definitely jovial, exactly what I expected a private club to be.