Golf fans coming here next week to watch the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club may want to play a little golf themselves. Pittsburgh has plenty of unique options.
Here are my four top choices — in no particular order — for memorable public golf.
GRAND VIEW GOLF CLUB
The name says it all. This 1997 vintage course is 25 minutes south of Oakmont in Braddock and has breathtaking views of the sprawling Monongahela River Valley, the city skyline and Kennywood Park, which is just across the river and one of only two amusement parks designated as a National Historic Landmark.
This hilltop 18-hole track, nicknamed The Monster on the Mon, was shoe-horned onto a mere 88 acres. Grand View is not a monster for its length. It is only 6,090 yards, par 70, but carries a 130 slope rating because of an assortment of sharp doglegs, blind landing areas and intimidating elevation changes. You have to see the 14th, a 150-yard par 3 with a 160-foot drop to a green that can only partially be seen from the tee. The ninth and 18th holes are serious uphill par-5 holes. Grand View is better the second time around once you know where to lay up on the doglegs.
Come for the views, but also stay for the food at Asti’s Italian Steakhouse, an outstanding restaurant in the clubhouse. The 14-ounce ribeye or Nonna’s lasagna? Hint: Both answers are correct.
Online: PittsburghGolf.com
Fees: $37 daily; $47 weekend.
BOB O’CONNER GOLF COURSE
Few cities have urban golf but this track is located just east of downtown in beautiful Schenley Park, adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh campus and the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Pittsburgh golf was born here in 1897 as a nine-hole layout that later expanded to 18 holes and became one of America’s earliest municipal courses, a track so popular that it recorded 50,000 rounds a year in the 1920s.
Due to modern distance gains, the course, now affectionately known as The Bob, got a much-needed renovation in 2021. The layout was reduced from 18 to nine holes so it now crosses the park road only once instead of seven times. The Arnold Palmer Learning Center for First Tee was added along with a popular three-hole short course, the Palmer Loop. The Bob is executive-course length at 2,400 yards with a par of 34. Its tee shot at the third hole aims a player directly at the university’s 535-foot Cathedral of Learning, the world’s second-tallest education building. The sixth green offers a wonderful view of the city.
Enjoy the serenity, the scenery and — maybe, just maybe — shoot your low round of the year. More