Ambassador at Hickory Valley Golf Club

Love this course. Several very tight holes. greens are perfect, although lots of undulation. should do better next time now knowing the course a little better.

Over a 15-yr span, I played the Presidential course approximately 10 times per year, back when the 16th was a par 4 and the 17th was a par 5.

The staff was friendly enough and it always felt like the area's."hidden" gem, especially after the construction of Bella Vista and Raven's Claw, two tracks that in my view, pale in comparison.

I stopped going there about 5 years ago because they'd "lost" a few greens and it seemed like they'd given up on her. As an aside, and in the interest of full disclosure, they also used to send me a voucher for a free round on my birthday and it bothered me that they stopped that practice because it always felt good and kickstarted my season.

Still, a buddy claimed she was once again respectable, so I gave her a look.

As I turned into the parking lot, it felt like I was visiting an old friend I hadn't seen in years, but I didn't have any expectations.

The staff was certainly friendly enough but to my surprise, the conditions are indeed back. Assuming you play from the fairways, you'll find them in good shape and the greens are beautiful. Here's hoping folks take care of both by repairing their divots. Like wearing a mask thru a pandemic, it's the easiest thing in the world to do and it makes life better for everyone.

As for the layout, if you drive the ball 285+ (be honest with yourself) *and* you like hitting your driver, I suggest you play from the black tees. From the white tees, bombers can't, or at least shouldn't hit driver on 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 or 18. You probably shouldn't hit it on 17 either, unless you can carry it 260 with a cut or fade. Because of the many doglegs, trees, and other trouble, even the longest and straightest of drives will leave in you in peril as I found out when I hit my tee shot on the par 5 4th into the high grass, which is just beyond the fairway, about 295 from the tee.

Nevertheless, the old girl is in good shape and the staff is nice enough. It's a good value and a good time.

Both courses at Hickory Valley are well maintained, challenging & fun. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. The Presidential course is the better of the 2 but either delivers good value for the money!

Could play there everyday.. Perfect condition. Great staff!

Really enjoyed Hickory Valley golf course but I have to say don’t go through golf now. Originally had three people to play one broke a rib and could not play. Called golf now and would not refund my money because I did it through hot deals. Have to say it was in a hot deal only saved two dollars. Don’t waste your time or money on golf now. Just booked a teatime online through the golf course.

They doubled charged me for a round and I can’t get through to anyone

I typically play Hickory Valley 4/5 times a year but haven’t played it in a couple of years. I was pleasantly surprised with the course conditions. For a public access course the conditions were very good. The tee boxes, fairways and rough were all very full and the turf was in great shape. Divots were perfect not the exploding type of poor turf conditions. The greens were the best I’ve played them. They were also very lush and were running faster than I’ve ever played them. They usually don’t break as much as they look but when we played, the breaks were much more prevalent than usual. The bunkers all had an appropriate amount of sand and the fairway bunkers were a bit firmer than the green side bunkers as they should be.

We played the 6,290 white tees. Two golfers had 7 handicaps other two are struggling to break 100.

This is a tough course for beginners or the higher handicap golfers because there are numerous forces carries. A “penalty area” formerly a hazard, comes into play on 7 of the front nine holes. The tee shot landing areas on the front side are generous but longer hitters need to be careful on their lines and distances on 1,2,6,7 and 9. Holes 2,4,5,7,8 and 9 have approach / tee (par 3’s) shot carries over a penalty area to the green. The greens on the front side are very large so hitting them in the proper place is key to scoring.

The back side is much tighter than the front and starts with a fairly long dogleg right par 4 into a tight green that is well bunkered with a lateral on both sides. Pull or push your approach and you’ll pay the price. 12 is a really tight driving hole that do legs slightly left with a lateral down the right side and trees on the left. You need to get far enough down the fairway or stay to the right or your approach is blocked. The par 5 14th is a benign tee shot. Pretty open but the left side is OB. There is a large set of trees on the right side up by the green about 60 yards out. Makes you thing about going for the green in two and where to place your approach shot. The green is pretty small and well bunkered. They changed around the pars on the 16th and 17th holes and I don’t think this is a good change. 16 is now a very short and tight par 5 From what used to be a par 4. It was hard to par this hole because on top of it being tight, the green is elevated. A well struck drive results in a mid to long iron to the elevated well bunkered green. (The back black tee on this hole is nearly impossible. It is 490 yards). The now par 4 17 is about the same yardage as the 16th. The problem is it is a slight dogleg right with a water hazard running across the fairway at about 260 yards from the tee. The forces you to hit a three wood or a long iron / hybrid Off the tee to come up short of the hazard leaving you with a 220 plus approach into the green and if you are in the right rough or even the right side of the fairway, you are left without a shot. It doesn’t matter relative to the overall par but they should change this back.

7 handicappers shot 80 and 82 with two lost balls each. The higher handicappers lost about two sleeves each

Overall the superintendent and his crew are doing a great job with what I’m sure is a limited budget. Due to Covid-19, we had little interaction with the staff but they are usually very friendly.

Nice course and always a fun round. Water always in play or OB. Tight fairways and hilly greens which play slow. A good iron player is suited best. Staff was great and accommodated as my playing partner showed up 30 mins late and threw us in right away, thanks guys!

Early Season first time playing this we were really surprised at how nice the fairways and greens were for this time of year.

18 in under 4 hours, not in bad shape considering it's near the end of winter

The staff was very pleasant and helpful...first time playing the course would recommend to my friends.

Lots of water holes. We will be back to play the President course soon.

A few weeks ago I tried out Hickory Valley for the first time. One time playing the ambassador and the other on the presidential. Now these are completely different courses. While I liked the Ambassador for the challenging narrow fairways and approach shots, the Presidential offers exceptional golf for many reasons.

For the public courses in the Philly area, the front nine of the Pres. is some of the funnest golf you can find. The first few holes show off the wide fairways but don’t make them easy. Multiple dog legs, lay up shots, and water keep you on your toes throughout the whole front nine. Beautiful scenery especially in the fall. After playing 3 times in the last few weeks, #5 has become one of the my favorite par 3s of any course.

The back nine plays long and narrows up a bit. Hitting low ball flight, well placed tee shots is the key to playing well. A bad tee shot will be punishing on the back, there isn’t much room for error and if caught in the trees or even the rough, your second shot will not offer much other than a punch shot to the fairway.

The conditions were also excellent. Of the three times, the fairways were lush and soft and the greens rolled well. One round was after heavy rain the day before and the fairways were drained well and the greens still held up. Other than aeration on one day, the course couldn’t have been better.

The only down side to this course is that it is heavily surrounded by large trees. While that makes the course beautiful in the fall, be prepared to lose a large amount of balls if in the rough this time of year. It’s nearly impossible to find your ball. I appreciated the grounds crew trying to blow out and manage the leaves, but there’s only so much you can do about them!

I’d recommend anyone to get out here and play this course. It offers fair prices (especially on weekdays) and is totally worth the extra buck to play over the ambassador (while that course is still fun). Just an all around fun time and it’s become one of my favorites of the 50+ public courses in the SE PA area.

Course was in good shape but the greens were recently aerated.