(4.305 Rating) A 27 hole, par 100 layout, that will entertain just about every veteran player in the game.
- UNIQUENESS - The hole to hole variety at Harmon Hills is almost unparalleled. Up shots, down shots, left hooks, right hooks, valleys, ridges, sinkholes and mounds. Heavily wooded and open and everything in between. The way the layout uses the mix of open fields abutted to heavily wooded areas is wonderful. Several tee shots start out wooded and play into an open field only to dive back into a wooded portion. Hole (6) does just this and it's also a 720 foot double dogleg par 5. This is the only time I've ever played a double dogleg par 5 out of 4,326 unique holes I've experienced. In addition, hole (6) starts with a down tee shot, then the next shot is up and the approach shot is back down again. Ie V\ , what an amazing hole. Hole (27) is another monster par 5 that's a 135 degree left turning hole. That's not a typo. The tee shot is down and then it levels at the middle portion only to rise up again. The hole is a continuous tunnel play and it's littered with large rock elements. The hole is only 636 feet long for a par 5, but making a 3 here has probably been attained by less than a handful of players. Harmon Hills will require the use of every shot in a player's arsenal including thumbers and tomahawks to get up the high inclines or to get out the woods from a bad ricochet. The only missing element on this 27 hole layout is water. There are some gouging creek beds on a few holes, most notably on hole (12), but it appears that they are all headwater creeks as every creek bed was dry on my appearance.
- SIGNATURE HOLES - Picking my favorite hole out here is like deciding on which hundred dollar bill to choose out of a stack of them. Between playing and posting this review, my favorite has already changed twice. Right now it's hole (17), but I also loved (1), (3), (6), (7), (11), (12), (14), (19), (24) (25) and (27). Yeah I know, it's a lot. As for holes I didn't care for, (8), (13), (22) which all have a bit of a hokey pokey element to them. All this stated, none of the holes have "blow you away" looks with epic elevation or killer water or amazing backdrop views. In my spreadsheet of my favorite 100 holes, I have hole (17) at 53rd.
- RAW BEAUTY - Piling on the before mentioned pro, the overall beauty is top tier. I can count the number of course I've personally ranked higher on these terms on one hand. I came to Harmon Hills about two weeks too early. The tree buds were just starting to pop on a few tree species. For those that love beautiful courses, I would recommend showing up during the first week of May. I'm not sure when peak fall foliage is in these parts, but that would be another ideal time to show up.
- CHALLENGING - This course requires a great mix of power, precision and shot shaping. Course management is also major key in shooting low. Players that continually go balls to wall, will be punished. I had a goal of shooting an even par 100 as an intermediate level player, but I finished +1 on all three 9 hole loops for a total score of 103, with a couple mullies. There are some definite birdie holes for players at the intermediate level. The third nine reads as the most difficult where the par 3s average 370 feet and these holes are nearly fully wooded. To shoot well out here, a player has to have a complete game. I think that a balanced 950 rated advanced player should average around par out here.
- CHARACTER - Some good stuff but also some work to be done. Seeing brand new color signage for the front 18 was a surprise. Unfortunately they are the vinyl temporary type so they probably won't last thru the year. Most tees are shaded from the elements. If I recall correctly, there was seating on every hole. The baskets were adequate MachVs on the first 18. (Not sure what happened, several recent reviews noted Prodigy). The final 9 woods portion were DISCatchers. There's a practice basket, although located too close to the parking area. The scorecards have a course map on them and they were a life saver for navigation. These are located at tee (1). There's a fridge on the house deck with cold water and there's a porta potty. As for missing items, proper tees and signage for the final 9.
- MAINTENANCE - The front 18 was trash free and completely mowed.
- LOCATION - Although a ways from every city of size, the course is less than 10 minutes from the interstate 81.
- DONATIONS WELCOMED - Harmon Hills is not a pay to play private course. However, anyone that plays here and doesn't throw at least a few bucks into the donation bucket is not a person I'd want to throw with. It's remarkable what the owners have done here without a park's department budget to work with. Please do what you can to support and thank them for their efforts.