Avalon at Buhl Park

Avalon at Buhl Park in Hermitage, Pennsylvania is one of the hidden architectural gems on the Penn-Ohio Trail, a Tom Bendelow original that has been in continuous operation for over 100 years, making it one of the older surviving Bendelow designs in the Mid-Atlantic. The 18-hole par-70 course stretches from 5,450 to 6,369 yards across five tee sets, plenty of variety for the skill range that shows up at a muni-access course. The signature hole is the par-3 18th, a picturesque closer surrounded by water that stretches to 220 yards from the back tees, the kind of Golden-Age finisher that Bendelow used to punctuate his routings before the modern obsession with 'signature par-3 #17' took hold. Lush fairways and some of the fastest, well-guarded greens in the region define the conditioning standard; Avalon Golf & Country Club operates the course as part of their multi-property portfolio. Over a century of championship-level play means some of the world's greatest golfers have teed it up here, Bendelow's 'Johnny Appleseed of American Golf' imprint at its most quietly-preserved.