So, a friend of mine, my father and my brother-in-law are planning a trip for late May to the Poconos area for two rounds of golf. We figure we'll leave early Friday morning, get in an afternoon round, then grab some dinner and get a hotel. Then wake up in the morning, and head to another course. We'll be coming from the Long Island/NYC area.

The courses we're looking at so far are Tamiment and Jack Frost National.

Anyone have any experience with those courses? Or recommendations for other courses in the area?

Shawnee Inn, awesome Tillinghast course (one of only 2 public coursesdesigned by him)....

Go here:

http://poconosgolf.com/

Oh, awesome. Thanks for the heads-up. That's actually one of the others we were looking at. Would you say Shawnee is better than either/both of the other two I mentioned?

you should check out split rock golf course and also great bear golf club. it went semiprivate a few years back and imo one of the best in the poconos. they play a nationwide qualifier there. i think jack frost needs to mature a bit, and i have never played tamiment. also shawnee on the delaware is an old classic by a.w. tilinghast, his first golf course. hope this helps.

got caught up feeding my new born so my post was delayed. but, if you need any help getting on shawnee my head pro at my club used to be the pro at shawnee so if can assist in any way just let me know.

I have a house in Pocono Pines and I am a member at Pinecrest Lakes out in the Poconos. I played Jack Frost National last year and it is not a bad layout, but was in awful shape when I played it. The course is new and they opened it too early. Also, bring a range finder with you if you play there since the yardages are way off on the plates and the tees.

Can't really go wrong with either Split Rock or Tamiment since both are nice courses. Would avoid Pocono Manor since it is a dog track at best.

A bit in the future, but when Mt. Airy re-opens it is going to be an awesome layout. Another suggestion that is about an hour from the Poconos is Stone Hedge, one of the best layouts in NE PA.

Shoot me a PM if you have any questions.

I've played Tamiment a good 10+ times. When the course is in great shape, it is a gem. I think it was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. However the past few years there have been lots of change in management, therefore the course has suffered. Basically Tamiment was a resort that was faltering. Someone bought the place, and razed most of the buildings in the establishment. The golf course wasn't taken care of very well. Some of the greens were dead, with lots of clovers and other unattractive grasses. They also had temporary greens in the heart of the season.

Despite all of the negatives, Tamiment is a great place to play. It is long and the holes are challenging (not just straight and wide).

If the resort's prospects are on the upswing, I would check it out. I haven't been there in over a year.

Hope this helped.

Oh, I think Tamiment at its best is better than shawnee. Just my opinion!

Also check out Country Club of the Poconos. It is a semi private club (I think) nestled in a residential development. It is near Tamiment (on rt. 209) in east stroudsburg/bushkill area. Another good course.

Me and some buddies did the same type of trip in September and played Center Valley and The Architects courses over the two days. The courses were pretty nice with The Architects being the better course. They are both close to Allentown, PA and the drive wasn't too bad from LI.

I would agree with you that Architect's is better than Center Valley. CV is a nice layout, but I think the greens are a bit over the top.

My only gripe about Architect's is that the par 3's are very similar and not very spectacular.

I also would second the vote about Great Bear. Just a solid track from 1 to 18.

How about Buck Hill Falls and Water Gap CC? 2 old school layouts???