Bedford Springs Golf Course

About the club

Bedford Springs was one of the country's first golf courses, having opened in the late 1800s, and it is now a National Historic Landmark. Three famous designers had a hand in shaping the layout, namely Spencer Oldham, A. W. Tillinghast and Donald Ross. Ross, who created an additional nine, seems to have placed his stamp most firmly here: eleven of the routings are his, while Tillinghast is responsible for four and Oldham for three (the 2nd, 3rd and 15th). Tillinghast's signature contribution is the downhill par 3 14th, which has been copied by numerous other designers. Ron Forse carried out relatively recent refurbishment. The layout takes advantage of shifts in the topography amid the level ground beside the river. The club takes its name from a concentration of more than half a dozen springs were frequented by the early colonists of Pennsylvania and that are now part of the Springs Eternal Spa.