At Summit Golf Course in Poland, all 14 holes offer something completely different.
POLAND – There are no pretensions at Summit Golf Course.
Patrons are allowed to wear shirts without collars. Metal golf spikes are still allowed, and if it’s pleasant post-round banter that you want, well there’s plenty of that to go around, too.
Summit is a rarity. It is neither an 18-hole course (although it will be “within five years”) nor a nine-hole course. There are 14 holes at Summit, and each one of them offers golfers something different.
“It’s very relaxed out here,” said owner Bill Leonard Jr. “It’s the people that make this course. There are some people that golf here that have golfed here since 1962.”
That is the year that Leonard’s father began running the course, with just seven holes. Seven years later, there were nine, and then he began adding new holes, one at a time.
“By doing things one hole at a time, we’ve been able to keep the cost down for our golfers,” said Leonard. “Some courses have made all of these nice improvements, and they look great, but they’ve priced themselves out of the market for a lot of local, average golfers. It’s helped with our membership though. That’s gone up.”
The front nine is walkable, though carts are available. From the clubhouse, and from various points throughout the front nine, picturesque views of the White Mountains are common. Wide open, the front is very forgiving for errant golfers, but the small to medium-sized greens makes approaching the putting surface more difficult. On the back, golfers are faced with an even bigger challenge.
“It’s basically target golf back here,” said Leonard. “You have to be careful.”
The 10th hole is a sharp dogleg to the right, and forces golfers to play it as a true par-5 because of the pond just past a short landing area. The 11th is short but ends at a tiny green surrounded by trees, and the 12th hole bends sharply to the left. The 13th hole is a par-3 entirely surrounded by the trees, and the 14th, which after expansion is complete will become the 18th, leads golfers back to the clubhouse. To play a full 18 at Summit, golfers currently play the first, second, third and ninth holes over again, but that will change soon enough.
“I would hope it doesn’t take as long as five years,” said Leonard, who explained that most of the green on the front side would be redone after Labor Day.
“We should be all set and ready to go next spring, if the weather cooperates,” said Leonard.
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