Pittsburgh Golf Courses: Grand View Golf Club

Grand View Golf Club's # 9 overlooking the Edgar Thomson Steel Works

Nestled atop the hills of North Braddock, PA sits the Grand View Golf Club. This 18 hole course is challenging to both amateur and veteran golfers alike. Grand View has quickly become the Blast Furnace's favorite Pittsburgh area golf destination. The course offers spectacular views of the first and last major steel mill in Western Pennsylvania, Edgar Thomson Steel Works, Kennywood Park, the Mon Valley, and off in the distance the skyscrapers of Downtown Pittsburgh.

The front nine features seven par 4's and two par 3's. The distance is manageable, however there are very awkward lies and narrow fairways that emphasize accuracy and careful club selection. It is very easy to drive a ball into an adjacent fairway or over a hillside. Highlights of the front 9 include the views of the Edgar Thomson steel mill and Kennywood Park as previously mentioned and the two par threes, # 5 and # 9, which require precision tee shots due to the heavily vegetated rough in front of the holes and wooded areas behind the green.

Hole # 3

The back nine overlooks the residential areas of East Pittsburgh and while the view is not as stunning as the front nine the holes are some of my favorites. The back nine consists of two par 3's and two par 5's. Hole # 14 is the most intriguing as the 154 yard distance is deceptive due to the 90 foot drop in elevation. One must play this hole like a 110 yard shot so a pitching wedge or nine iron is optimal. Golfers must make solid contact off the tee or the ball will be lost in the unplayable wooded brush in the foreground. Hole # 15 is the most beautiful hole on the course. The 350 yard par 4 is the flattest hole on the course and lies at the bottom of a valley. The green is slightly elevated with a sand trap located directly in front. The course ends with a challenging 540 yard par five. Two lakes are located to the left of the uphill fairway and the green is blind off to the left making a second shot difficult to aim and gauge distance. Make sure you choose your club carefully on your approach shot since the parking lot is behind the green. The clubhouse overlooks the 18th green and makes for a nice place to relax after a challenging round of golf. The clubhouse offers a wide variety of food and drinks and is nicer than most others in the Pittsburgh area.

Picturesque hole # 15

Grand View is affordable and comparable to other quality public courses. The greens, fairways, and tee boxes are usually in pretty good shape when we play. The greens are not overly difficult considering the landscape. Par for the course is 70 and has a rating of 67.5 (silver tee). Recommendations:

• Bring a lot of balls with you due to the topography of the course.
• Take a cart, I recommend not walking the hilly terrain.
• Be very careful driving the carts, the turns are tight and paths are steep.

Grand View is a place we try to play at least once a year and seem to always have fun despite our abysmal scores. This is a must play golf course in Western PA.