At the tippy top of Montgomery County in Barto (or the Northern corner for those that prefer directions) lies one of the more interesting public golf courses in the county. I could call Butter Valley Golf Course quirky, but that makes it sound gimmicky or eccentric. No, the course has a solid layout and no trick shots are required. Perhaps, if they incorporated a green on the airplane landing strip, it would be quirky. Yes folks, there is an airstrip in the middle of Butter Valley Golf Course, and that is interesting to me.
I have never actually seen a plan take off or land while playing, but there are several planes parked on the property. While the airstrip is the most memorable aspect of the course, it does not take away from the playability and challenge of the course. Butter Valley is a standard 18 hole par 72 course covering 5600 yards from the white tees. It is challenging, but not so hard to be frustrating. If you’re on your game, you can come away feeling pretty good about yourself.
One of my favorite things about Butter Valley is that they name each hole, and the names are creative. Honestly, every golf course should be required to name their golf holes. Augusta National names their holes after flowers, trees and shrubbery, and it is iconic. Butter Valley isn’t that romantic, but their names have character and mystery, like “Eliminator” and “Granny’s Rocker”. If there are any golf course owners reading this I highly recommend you start naming your holes. You could name holes after your favorite bands, or beers, or pet names. Playing holes named “Duffer’s Bluff” and “Kennamakit” is simply more enjoyable than playing “Hole 8”.
Another great aspect of Butter Valley is the bucolic surroundings of farmland and undisturbed rolling hills. There are no homes or apartments bordering every hole for you to slice a ball into. Butter Valley was dairy farm land as far back as 1788 when the Gehman family first owned the land. 8th, 9th and 10th generations of Gehmans are still on the property running the course.
But what came first…the golf course or the airstrip? It isn’t a mystery. In 1946, then owner, John B. Gehman, learned to fly and built an airstrip separating pasture from cornfields. On Memorial Day in 1969, the family opened a nine-hole golf course onto the property while maintaining the airstrip. Since then the course has made additions and changes, acquired property and rebuilt greens to achieve its current state. Butter Valley is still family owned, run by John B’s son John Gehman and his wife Joan.
One of my favorite holes at Butter Valley is number 13, “Die Steiger” or The Climber in German. It is a sharp dog leg left that dips down into a valley and then turns left up, up, up the top of a steep hill, thus The Climber. At 340 yards, big hitters will be tempted to cut the corner, especially because there are no trees to block you. But beware, a miss-hit left, or short, will put you into long, heavy rough, and hitting it too far will put you in the woods. A slice will make your approach long and up a steep hill. Exhausting, even if you’re in a cart.
Another fantastic hole is number 6, or “Ruhig Tal” whatever that means. It is short but narrow and the hardest hole on the course. Hit it left, and you are in a creek or into the woods left of the creek. Go right, and you hit a steep embankment with trees blocking your way. If you go right, and you’re lucky, you may get a nice bounce back onto the fairway, but don’t count on it. The green is narrow and also heavily protected by bunkers. It isn’t long, only 270 yards from the whites, but difficult holes can come in small packages.
There is no better way to finish a round of golf than playing a hole called “Eliminator”. The 18th hole is a monster par 3 typically 200 yards from the whites. The scorecard says 170 yards, but I have yet to play from those tees. It is slightly downhill over a valley, but the green goes back up a hill and is protected by a massive bunker in front, trees to the left, and the driveway just behind the hole if you’re even able to go long. Even during a scramble, a par is an accomplishment.
You’ll have to come up to Butter Valley to see the rest of the holes and the names of those holes. Also, just because there is a landing strip, it doesn’t mean you have to fly there to play. A car will get you there just as well.
(The Back Nine is a biweekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Edward Levine. The views expressed are his own and are not representative of North Penn Now or Montgomery County.)
