Penn National Golf Club & Inn - Founders Course

Fayetteville, Pennsylvania

During the 1800s, iron ore was mined from the land that is now Penn National. When that ore ran out, the land was farmed until the 1960s, when agriculture gave way to golf course development. In 1966, prolific course designer Edmund Ault was hired to lay out the Founders course as a classic, Northeastern-style masterpiece with large contoured greens and tree-lined fairways. The Founders Course opened in 1968 and was updated in 2006 with an extensive bunker and tee renovation. With trees lining most of the holes, Founders can be demanding off the tee but everything is there in front of you--nothing is blind or tricked-up--you know what you have to do, but can you pull it off? A 7-acre lake comes into play and makes things interesting on several holes on the front and back sides. As with all well-laid-out traditional courses, Ault turns up the heat at the end, saving the best and the toughest for the 5-hole stretch starting at the par-5 14th! Golf Digest rates the Founders Course 4-Stars, Zagat rates it 27 points. (Note: Bethpage Black is Zagat's highest-rated Northeast course w/ 30 pts)