HOSTING THE OTHER OPEN
By Drew Markol
There are plenty of reasons why the USGA seems to continually knock on Saucon Valley Country Club’s door when it wants to  hold one of its championships in this part of the country. The course, of course, is the main reason and Saucon Valley’s Old Course is simply excellent.
It’s a fixture on all the different top 100 lists and has been the centerpiece of what will be the third USGA Championships held on it in 17 years when the 64th U.S. Women’s Open is contested in early July.
The U.S. Senior Open came in 1992 and returned eight years later. Now, the ladies will give the Old Course a go.
Previously, the U.S. Amateur (1951), the U.S. Junior Amateur (1983) and the U.S. Senior Amateur (1987) champions had to prove their mettle hard by the Saucon Creek on the Old Course.
And a seventh hosting for the venerable layout may not be far off.
“There’s a reason we keep coming back here as often as we have,” says Mike Davis, the USGA’s Senior Director of Rules and Competitions. “It’s because it’s such a great golf course and the membership and the whole Lehigh Valley get involved and are such a big part of it. I don’t think it will be too long before we’re back again.”
There’s another reason to return in this day and age of “corporate” golf.
Saucon Valley is huge. The USGA holds its events on the Old Course, but Saucon Valley also has two other excellent layouts, the Grace Course (opened in 1958) and the Weyhill (1967). Having 850 acres to work with allows for plenty of corporate hospitality tents and TV trucks.
So, when the pros are using the Old Course, the members can still play golf.
Both the Old Course and the Grace Course grace many top 100 lists. Only Baltusrol and Winged Foot can make the same claim.
“We’ve been told by the USGA that any of our three courses could hold one of their events,” says longtime Saucon Valley general manager and director of golf Gene Mattare.
“Logistically, the Old Course works best because it’s the closest to the clubhouse. All three courses are very unique.
“The Old Course is a beautiful parkland design that wraps around the clubhouse and the Grace Course is big and long, a championship layout. And the Weyhill has great elevation changes that make it a real test and beautiful to look at.”
The 1,000-plus Saucon Valley members (across many categories) seems to prefer the Old Course, which gets about 20,000 rounds a year. The Grace and Weyhill average about 10,000 each yearly.
 “Everybody has an opinion on which one they like best,” says Saucon Valley assistant professional Andrew Bradley. “The Old Course, especially after the renovations, is more difficult.”
Tom Fazio’s group, spearheaded by Tom Marzolf, gave the Old Course a facelift a few years ago by redoing bunkers, adding new teeing areas and moving some greens. The redesign won awards in 2008..
At the start, the word was that Saucon Valley would only be a nine-holer, but Eugene G. Grace — the president of Bethlehem Steel and an avid golfer — wasn’t going to go for that.
He hired prominent designer Herbert Strong to fashion the course and Strong worked his magic through the corn and wheat fields, and also incorporated Saucon Creek on five of the holes.
When finished, Strong had created a masterpiece.
“The golf courses here are unbelievable,” Bradley says. “I can’t think of another club with three fantastic courses like this. The members can walk out of the clubhouse and have their pick and can’t go wrong.”
Not only does Saucon Valley continually draw the USGA to the grounds, other, furry critters, also seem to like it.
So much so, that the club is a certified Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary – one of only 500 golf facilities worldwide to hold that distinction.
“Every time I come in the main drive I slow down,” says Mattare, who has been the general manager for 19 years.
“You just want to look around and enjoy the surroundings. It’s just such a stunning place.”
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