Pilgrim's Oak Golf Course

Walk onto this golf course and you’ll find the outside world fading quickly. What lies beyond Pilgrim’s Oak, though, are mainly farms, and the ones adjacent to the course create a serene, rural mood that should help any golfer’s concentration.

Today, playing this lush, well-manicured course brought back spring-green memories for my son and I, having played here, twice, two Aprils ago.

Though no dunes appear anywhere, the feel of Pilgrim’s Oak is links-like openness; trees are a bit sparse on most holes though a few are wood-lined, mostly on one side. The landforms seem natural but surely have been shaped here and there into distinctive configurations: mounds, hollows, rolling fairways, plateaus, small depressions, considerable borrow on all the greens, and undulations everywhere. The course is peppered, too, with enough hazards (six water; a few man-made, with numerous fairway, grass, and greenside bunkers) to keep things lively. Or explosive, if your swing is faltering.

Still, another aspect here amplifies the layout’s setting and beauty: the design is terrific. Dr. Michael Hurdzan is one of the few modern architects who can craft a course that will rival, hole for hole, the work of a Ross or Raynor. His meticulous layouts reflect a seemingly iron determination to sculpt balanced, varied, and visually striking courses that appeal to all handicap levels and yet challenge better players.

Perhaps the finest hole is the third, a modest downhill par-4 of 382. From the tee, the first sight may suggest an open hole that’s no more capable of inflicting harm than a butterfly. Yet that is a deception. In fact, an overdrawn tee shot will scamper into the woods, while a big fade, conversely, will leave a tough second shot: the lone freestanding tree on the right becomes a clear obstacle into the green. Then there’s the small pond set near the middle of the fairway. The rest of the hole continues to obstruct any easy path to a par.

Doubtless the signature twelfth is a great hole, with its fortress-like, left-side rock wall awaiting to fend off weak tee shots. But equally impressive is the 204-yard downhill eighth. Here, tree limbs jut out over the green’s left side, but it’s the forced carry over a frontal pond that intimidates. A small landing area lies to the left-front of the green for bail-outs.

This pair of par-threes is part of a tide of challenging holes (seven through thirteen) that comes in during the middle of the round; it doesn’t ebb until the nearly routine par-5 at thirteen.

The others in this stretch are the following:

SEVEN: The #3 index, and 423 yards of tee-to-green turmoil. The double-tiered green may be nightmarish.

NINE: Another impressive hole and covering 548 yards, the ninth travels uphill to three big landing tiers and moves higher all the way to the cup. Its sheer size and shape gives it the resistance of a steamroller, and all but your best efforts to reach in regulation may be crushed.

TEN: A straightaway par-4 that eases up a bit, but it’s still 423.

ELEVEN: Index 4, right behind the seventh in difficulty. Big uphill climb from tee to green. If you can hit the surface in regulation, you’ve got a chance at four.

THIRTEEN: Ingenious short par-4 of 364 with a narrow green (especially in the back) that may leave you gnashing your teeth. Wedge play around this green is dicey.

BEST FOUR-PAR: FIFTEEN: The drive at this 434-yarder has no tricks, but the approach into a two-tiered, elevated green may ambush you. Falloff on both sides of this surface puts accuracy at a premium, and you’ll need a sharp wedge game to recover after a miss. Strategic players may use the slope on tier two as a ‘backboard’ for incoming second shots.

BEST FIVE-PAR: The sixth typifies Hurdzan’s emphasis on angles to allow strategic play. Here, on the second shot, the bolder line of play is across the pond--a tighter and riskier flight path--to gain an advantage for a closer third shot into the green. The green, guarded by high mounds, is a deceptively tough two-putt.

Dr. Hurdzan has designed classical holes that blend enough creative and offbeat touches to strike the imagination. Could anyone be bored here? It seems unlikely.

We drive an over an hour each way to play this place every year. The layout is fun, with huge hills and lots of elevation changes, and the course is always in good or great shape. The had aerated the greens less than three weeks ago, and they were already all the way back. Throw on top of this that it is one of the most inexpensive places around, and this place is a no-brainer.

Greens are slow today. Hopefully, they are better when i return in a couple of weeks.

Love the course it’s a secret diamond. No bars, food or really anything around it at all. Staff is unfriendly which is a big downside. Other then that the course it’s self is beautiful.

Love pilgrims oak beautiful course love hole 12 par 3 but there all fantastic can’t get enough

Pilgrim's Oak was in very nice shape on 11/10. We had a great day on the course. The flagsticks were put in some incredibly hard places on the very undulating greens. Even on short par 4s, the difficulty of judging of your 2nd shot even with a wedge in your hand was quite hard. The stretch of holes starting on 7 through 12, are really tough and can blow your scorecard to shreds. The fairways are wide on most holes and this course is a 2nd shot course. 18 is a great finishing hole with water left and right. The value to play here is the best. This course would cost twice the price if it was located closer to the city. It's well worth the drive.

Nice course in great shape. Greens were perfect for this time of year and rolled nicely. Fairways and rough were full and lush. Can't be the quality for the price. I enjoyed the layout. Par 3's require perfection. A good mix of scorable and difficult.

Well maintained open scenic course must play will play again !

It doesn’t know what kinda course it wants to be.. Half links half parkland.. Greens are medium sized the par 3 over water is a little much. Tee boxes were torn up. Fairways were good greens were nice but Pin position was that of a US open Sunday.. very rolling hills and not to many flat spots.. fun to play not worth $60