Birdsfoot Golf Club's 18th hole offers an intriguing risk-reward opportunity

SOUTH BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) -- Life is full of difficult choices and playing the 18th hole at Birdsfoot Golf Club is no different.

Located just 35 miles north of Pittsburgh, Birdsfoot Golf Club is one of the nicest public courses in all of Pennsylvania.

The charming, links style course offers breathtaking views and a challenging layout that will test every club in a players' bag.

The 18th hole at Birdsfoot is a great finishing hole that requires attention from start to finish as well as a difficult decision from the tee box.

"You have to make a choice on the tee as to where you're going to hit it," said Birdsfoot Golf Club General Manager Travis Lindsay. "And you have to be precise with your shot."

The 18th at Birdsfoot can play up to 460 yards and it's called The Dilemma because you have a choice to make, deciding whether to go right or left of the deep traps in the middle.

"The right side, what you're going to get is you have a bunker that guards the second half of the fairway," Lindsay said. "There is a little bit of a saddle there that you can jump through if you hug the right side of the fairway that's gonna shoot you through past all the trouble. On the left side, there's not much trouble to get into "

When trying to score, the risk-reward shot is to try and aim up the right side of the fairway.

A downhill approach into the green presents a new challenge, with an ideal aiming position being to the front edge of the green, dead center of the approach.

Depending on hole placements, some shots left in the center of the green can funnel to a left pin, where putts will also fall away to the left edge of the green.

Birdsfoot Golf Club

Founded: 2002

Public or Private: Public

Location: 225 Furnace Run Road, Freeport, PA 16229

Phone Number : 877-295-3656

Website: www.Birdsfoot.com

Course Designer: Ault, Clark and Associates

Par: 72

Yardages, Course Rating, and Slope Rating:

• Gold - 7,044 yards - 74.4/137
• Black - 6,703 yards - 72/134
  
• Blue - 6,106 yards - 69.2/132
• White - 5,611 yards - 66.4/112
  
• Red - 4,800 yards - 68.5/123