The Phoenix at Buffalo Valley

Buffalo Golf Course is a good basic public course northeast of Pittsburgh by 40 minutes on the Allegheny Valley Expressway. The course has been around since the 1960's, closed in 2007 and recently reopened with a new name. It's a short, but enjoyable layout that's only 6,300 yards from the back tees, 69.7, 120 slope. Very affordable but prone to slow play, well-maintained, pleasant staff. Some interesting holes, and about as unpretentious a golf experience as you'll ever find. It's a largely wide open layout that's forgiving, there's several holes that require good course management to score. Otherwise, they're really cleaned up the course by removing trees and vegetation, the fairway sand traps removed, and overall made it more playable. Generally in OK shape, the greens roll true and consistent over all 18 holes. The only problem we ever have here is the league play, which is heavy and frequent, call before you come out. The clubhouse has the biggest display of golf course pencils from around the world glued into wood cases, kind of unusual, but interesting.