Greens worth envy
FRANKLIN TWP — Smooth greens and versatility.
That's what Lake Arthur Golf Club is all about.
The facility has a finished outside deck just off the ballroom and a refurbished patio just outside of the clubhouse. It offers foot-golf on Saturdays, one of only three golf courses in the region to do so.
“We close the first tee at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and keep the back nine open for traditional golf,” Lake Arthur general manager Scott Choura said. “That way, we can serve everybody.”
Foot-golf is played with a soccer ball and the holes are obviously much bigger to accommodate it. The foot-golf course is also 18 holes, but takes up only half of the golf course as the longest hole is approximately 200 yards.
Choura said the age range of 10 to 25 generally comprises the people who play the game.
“We get a lot of high school and youth soccer plays out,” he said. “I've played the game and you do feel it in your legs after kicking the ball around that much.
“It's muscles that I'm just not that used to using that rigorously.”
The ballroom and deck remain a popular site for weddings. Golf tournaments also use that area for registrations, silent auctions, etc.
And if it's regular golf you want, Lake Arthur's course can match anybody's.
Mike Masterson has been superintendent of the course for eight years and has 30 years of experience working on golf courses. He had served as superintendent of a pair of private courses in western New York.
“We love Pittsburgh and wanted to move to western Pennsylvania,” Masterson said. “Working on this course has been great. It's one of the flatter courses around and we've been doing some upgrades.”
Those upgrades include the cart paths, planning new sand traps and improving the drainage on the course.
Choura pointed out that the improved drainage system isn't something easily noticeable to the golfers.“A hole that may have been soggy for two or three days after a heavy rain, now it's only that way for a day,” he said. “But a golfer's not going to pick up on that.“This course bounces back from wet weather much better than it used to.”Masterson is out working on the course eight to 10 hours a day. The greens are groomed daily and the rough is mowed every day. The fairways and tees are trimmed three times a week.“We roll these greens four times a week,” Masterson said. “They are smooth and true, among the best in the county.“That's the golfers talking, not us.”Choura agreed.“Not many courses around here have the equipment to roll greens,” he said. “It's a difference-maker for us.”The shortest hole at Lake Arthur is the par-3 No. 17, which plays 135 yards from the white tee. The longest hole is the par-5 No. 16, which plays 531 yards from the whites.Lake Arthur has back-to-back par-5's, as No. 15 is 499 yards.“No. 127 is one of my favorite holes here because it's a short shot that plays uphill. It's tricky,” Masterson said.Choura favors the 303-yard par-4 No. 10 hole.“Water plays on both sides. It's a risk-reward shot,” he said.Lake Arthur offers an early bird special, a cut in rates for golfers who tee off before 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. The course still offers its Family Night feature on Friday nights after 4 p.m. An adult can play nine holes for $7, his or her child can play for $5.“It's a good way for youths to learn the game,” Choura said. “If a young child gets tired of playing and quits after four holes, the parent isn't out a lot of money.”Golfers can walk Lake Arthur for $20 on weekdays, $26 on weekends. Play with a cart costs $32 on weekdays, $39 on weekends. Tee times are recommended.Lake Arthur is home to 13 leagues — mostly in the evening — though the Wednesday A.M. Ladies League has played there for more than 50 years.
