Birdsfoot Golf Club

Course has really gone down hill since playing it 2 years ago.

After everything we've been through in the last year I hate writing something less than a glowing review of one of my favorite courses but today was one of those rounds that just can't happen.

Took 4:15 to play 14 holes today. There are no rangers on the course to monitor pace of play and not enough people policing themselves to make this work. Had people hitting into us the entire back nine while the two foresomes ahead of us played at a horrendously slow pace and refused to allow anyone to play through.

Course is in early season shape, not watered at all and in places too hard to take a divot. .

Great course a links course that does not feel like a links course great setup and greens. All around very good 2nd best links course in PA and top 20 that I have played and I have played over 90 in PA.

This course is a little bit of a drive from Pittsburgh (about 45 minutes), but this is an excellent course. A lot of interesting holes with some being tough (8 and 14 come to mind) and some good risk-reward holes (#6 and #16).

Fairways were in really good shape. Greens were recently punched but they healed really well when I played. A couple bumps here and there. It wasn't enough though to really ruin your putting. Pace of play only held up a couple times near the end but really didn't have to wait on holes for the group ahead. I did see a ranger out there twice mostly on the back 9 as groups were getting a little stacked up.

Overall, this is an excellent course and probably one of the top 5 public ones in the Pittsburgh area.

One of my favorite golf courses in Western PA!

Course is in fair shape considering what we have been through but the greens are late season bumpy already. They were consistent speed but early season slow.

The good news is that the adjustment in starting times is keeping people from playing into each other and the bunkers are in the best shape they have been for years.

Just get the greens rolling.

I usually love playing birdsfoot. That was not the case this time. Although it was a beautiful day, I don’t appreciate putting on a practice green which is lightning fast and well manicured and then getting out on the course and finding that all greens have been aerated and are slow and bumpy.. I understand the need to aerate the greens,, but players should at least be warned and prices should be docked a couple of bucks anyway just to encourage people to play anyway. Disappointing, to say the least. Other than that In Greenwich need more sand,the course was in great shape.

Grounds crew has done a great job making the sand more playable since my last round here. There is still some gravel in it but its no longer like hitting out of cement culvert.

The greens need to be rolled. They tend to get spiked up late in the season and they are now to a frustrating degree. It was hard to keep a putt on a good line today.

Birdsfoot remains one of the best public courses in Western PA. Despite heavy rains last night the course was in excellent shape. Some of the greens were spiked up and several of them might need to be rolled soon.

This is an honest test of golf at a reasonable price.

For such a highly rated Pittsburgh area course it was nothing more than average, below average especially for the price. Bumpy greens, crap sand, gravel bumpy cart paths. Doesn't seem like they have enough carts. There were none for us to take and had to wait about 10 min for two to come in. Your choice of food in the small farmhouse/clubhouse is a plain reg. or bun length hot dog($4.75), breakfast sandwich or cold sandwich from the fridge. Slow play, took a little over 5 hrs to finish the round. No one in my group has played here before and will not drive the hour it took to get here to play it again. Could have stayed close to home and played better for less.

Probably one of the most scenic courses I have ever played. Course conditions were great, although there were only a few greens that had just been aerated so putting was a little inconsistent between those but not a major concern. Pace was terrible, a ladies outing of 12 wouldn't let anyone play though but other than that I was thoroughly satisfied with the round.

The one advantage of our every Friday rain is that courses like Birdsfoot that can get beat up a bit later in the summer hold their condition for most of the season.

Normally in August the greens here are hard and spiked up but this year they are not. They are rolling true and fair.

Despite the rain the traps have held up well and are playable.

This course is a 45 minute drive from downtown Pittsburgh, and is worth every second of the trip.

Situated on an old farmstead the course has dramatic elevation changes, forced carries, blind shots and honest greens. #17 is postcard perfect late in the season from the cart path leading to the 18th tee.

While the course can dry out its firm. lush and green this season without the usual August greens that are dried out and spiked up.

Problems with the traps have been solved from last season and although they are still using contractor grade sand they are and honest play.

Love it. Can be as challenging as needed, most holes are tough.

Pick your time to play if in a hurry. As most courses, peak time can and will be slow. Get out early on weekends to zoom around. Use the tee time scheduler on their website, will help you gauge how busy they are.

Owners are great, and they care. Sign up for text mail alerts, when tee sheets are not filled you can get a discount.

This is one of my favorite courses in Western PA but some recent storms have left the owners with some challenges.

Two lines of severe storms in the last 10 days have all but washed out every trap on the golf course. Some still have hard packed sand in them but others have no sand at all to the lip of the trap and several inches of standing water in the base of them. For all intents and purposes they have become unplayable lies.

Several cart paths have become damaged as well, most notably the path on #9, a portion of the path on #12, an area near the tee boxes on #7.

Its late in the season to be pouring large sums of money into the course, but we can only hope that management can take care of these matters before spring and return this course to its fun and well maintained self.

Was very surprised at the poor green conditions. Surfaces were uneven with many, many scars and poorly repaired ball marks. Putts would not roll true. And, I found these conditions to be the same as what I experienced at this course in early June.

Even though this course is an hour's drive from my house it remains worth the drive and one of the best daily fee courses in Western PA.

This is a typical uphill/downhill Western PA layout that will make you think twice over the yardage book (or app). The greens can get a bit bumpy this time of year but they roll mostly true with less break than you think you are reading.

Pace of play on a weekday got us around the course in right about four hours even with someone in the foresome who is a 20+ handicap. (Editors note: I seldom play on weekends at public courses any more. The pace of play everywhere on Saturday and Sunday in the US is absurd).

The only drawbacks to the place are the cart paths which are cratered in a few more places this season and the sand traps. Most of them on the course are well thought out and are penal but all of them are filled with contractors grade sand. If you are playing right after a rain or on a very humid morning it makes them an odd play.

While many hate the clubhouse I find the converted farm house quaint and with one of the more interesting bars attached to a public courses (Note: If you are a Budweiser/Coors/Miller Lite drinker this is not for you).

The only reason I don't have a membership here is the drive.

Course has turned into a joke. 51/2 hour round on a Saturday. When I question one of the many rangers about pace of play, he said we were only 6 minutes behind after 4 holes. I said we should be 15 minutes ahead if we did not have to wait on every shot for the group in front of us that was two holes behind by the 6th hole. Then, they send some guy out from the "Hurricane Tour" who proceeds to reset tee boxes for the tournament that was teeing off in an hour and a half. He moves the white tees behind the blue tees. I question him and he says that management said it was ok to do this early, even though the paying customers both ahead and behind us were still playing. Keep in mind, $60 to play in these conditions. Stay away, play elsewhere, and do be sucked in by their marketing ploys. They are completely mismanaged, including the shape of the course.

I'm going to be real about Birdsfoot in this review. And it's not to put it down, because it was and IS a special place. But I hope to inspire the ownership to turn this place around!

When Birdsfoot first opened, it was a head turner. It was a bit of a ride to get there, but man was it special. Course layout/conditions were second to none. To be able to play a daily fee golf course like this was really special. Somethings you cannot deny, the views are spectacular. The "links" feel of it is really amazing.

But as the years have gone by, it has become frustratingly average. If i'm paying $50+ there are some certain expectations. Ill split this up to give a little structure.

Pre Round/Clubhouse/Parking lot/Practice Area:

Upscale is how this course is marketed. With upscale, I expect some care to be given to entryway/clubhouse area. Here we just get a gravel parking lot w/ zero landscaping. The clubhouse is an the original farmhouse, which is a cool concept, but for the purposes of a busy golf course, its awful. Again, no TLC given anywhere to indicate that you are on an upscale property. Carts are stored outside and are dirty and beat up. No real signs of ever being cleaned. The driving range had potential to be nice, but its been neglected, the hitting surface is a real mess and the short game area is under utilized. Its simply a place to hit a few warm up balls. Nothing more.

The Course:

The layout and "style" is extremely above average. The course can play fair or difficult depending on which tees you play. The views and elevation changes are magnificent.

The actual conditions, again, frustratingly average. The greens/fairways are probably the best asset for sure, but are honestly just OK. Comparable course in the area are just as well conditioned. Cart paths are bordering on dangerous in places.

The tees are OK, but are really showing a lot of wear and tear and mis-management of daily tee box placement.

The rough is worse than the average persons yard. Often difficult to find grass for the ball to sit on. Just weeds and dandelions. Again, not something you expect from an upscale property.

The bunkers are unplayable. 99% of the time. They are well placed and often times add to the beauty of the hole, but are never playable. The 11th hole has a bunker surrounding the green, an very cool/unique feature, but again, has never been playable in my estimation. Even on weekends, I seldom see any effort made to have the bunkers even be half playable. Its sad because they COULD really add to the experience.

Pace of Play:

Starter does a great job of managing the flow of the first tee. He has an I-pad so he knows when people have checked in. They do have rangers that roam the course, which is much better than some other places in the area. But they are famous for having afternoon outings, squeezing people out on the back, etc making cart and course availability sketchy sometimes. numerous times, ive been in the first group for the day, only to make the turn on 10 and come to a complete standstill for the back 9.

Price/Value:

I will never play for full rack rate at Birdsfoot. Weekends are 63, which is a little outlandish. Thankfully there are enough deals out there that you should never have to pay full rate. They have a ton of really great deals that they sell in the off season that usually never expire. Im talking REALLY good deals. So if you live in the area, sign up for their mailing list. They also have a number of great events. 8 in cup tournamnts, Beer Tasting related events, all of which are great fun and they give away some great prizes to boot!

Unfortunately, years have caught up with Birdsfoot. They really need to consider a pretty big re-grading/overseeding project, major tee box renovations, drainage construction on 12 in front of the green, pave cart paths/parking lot. Build a clubhouse guys. The farm house is cute, but you have out grown it. Nothing too extravagant, but its time. You have great food/beer ideas going on, but just no real ability to execute anything. You are far enough out in the country, you have people there by the hundreds. If you had a restaurant there, people would likely stay and spend more money on lunch/dinner.

If you want to be an "upscale" daily fee facility, you have to spend some money on upkeep, and on the little detail things. There are so many other options nearer to Pittsburgh that are better value for your money. The Foot has potential to be a special place, no doubt about it. And even still is to some extent. I make it a point to play out there once a year for sure because it is a really neat place.

If you got six hours to kill on a weekend for a round of golf, this is the course. Rangers do nothing to keep the pace of play moving. They try to run the place like a country club, but far from it. This course has a great layout, but has been on a downward spiral with up keep. The greens and bunkers are just terrible. It's a shame because when this course first opened it was amazing, it's a shame to see a track like this go downhill. Lots of hacks out there. If the pace of play wasn't so bad, maybe the other short comings would be tolerable.

I didn't have to use the Fall time "leaf rule" once!