In recent years, the conventional wisdom in the golf industry has been that to grow the game, you’ve got to "think outside the box."

 

Say hello to Heritage Creek Golf Club.

 

"Thinking outside the box" was not the plan back in 2007, when the Mignatti Companies began developing Golf Club Estates at Heritage Creek in Warwick, Bucks County.  The plan then was for Kelly Blake Moran to design a 6,500-yard 18-hole course that would be the recreational centerpiece of a luxury residential development and a 55-and-older community with 550 units.

 

As fate and Wall Street would have it would have it, Moran (Lederach GC, The Club at Morgan Hill, Hawk Pointe) managed to get six holes built before the economy tanked and the bottom fell out of the housing market, putting completion of the course on hold.   What comes next ...well, we’re all still trying to figure that out.

 

What is known for now is that in a matter of days, construction will resume on three more holes at Heritage Creek, to complete at least nine.  That construction should be finished by the end of summer and the three new holes grown in for an opening in spring 2012.  The timetable for the second nine holes remains dependent on the recovery of the housing market.

 

Anyway, when life hands you lemons, you can feel sorry for yourself or you can set about making lemonade.  Magnatti is opting to make lemonade, promoting the existing six-hole course at Heritage Creek as an alternative to the same old, same old 18-hole round.  You know, save time, save money.

 

Although the original six holes have been open for daily fee play for the past two years, since spring 2008, Heritage Creek has existed largely beneath the radar of many area golfers. 

 

The strategy now is for Mignatti and Heritage Creek to attract a variety of daily fee golfers -- seniors, juniors, women, families with young kids and anybody else seeking something other than the usual five-hour, 18-hole round.

 

"Most people play 12 holes here – that’s the norm -- but we also get a fair amount of six-hole rounds," said Ryan Woodard, Heritage Creek’s superintendent and jack-of-all-trades.

 

To add a little variety and spice to the 12-hole rounds, each of the very sizable greens at Heritage Creek have two pin locations, giving the front and back loops a different looks.

 

Besides seniors, for whom six or 12 holes seems to be just right, Woodard is seeing more golfers pop in after work.  "Just the other day, a guy told me he can stop by on his way home from work, get in six holes and his wife never knows a thing," said Woodward.

 

Last summer, it was not uncommon to see groups of 10- and 12-year-olds walking the course.  "Moms drop them off," said Woodward, adding that one mom told him it was cheaper than a half-day at day camp.

 

The price is right.  Walking six holes (walking is unrestricted) can be as inexpensive as $8; the top weekend rate for 18 holes with cart is $32. Green fee rates; there are also specials and discounts.

 

Heritage Creek is no par 3 course.  Of the existing six holes, three par 4s (365 yards, 435 yards, 405 yards), two par 3s (185 yards, 180 yards) and one par 5 (485 yards).

 

Neither is Heritage Creek overly long or arduous to walk. Three loops around from the back tees (there are four sets) add up to only 6,165 yards.  One nice touch is that Woodard maintains junior tees on every hole, enabling youngsters to play the par 4s and par 5 from 150 to 170 yards and the par 3s from 110 yards.

 

(Aerial overview rendering of Heritage Creek.  Existing holes have yellow stars; holes under construction have red stars.)  Photo gallery of existing holes. Full course tour. Moran’s diary of course construction at Heritage Creek.)

 

Because it’s still very much a work-in-progress, it is impossible to speculate where Heritage Creek will rank among daily fee courses in the region once the full 18 are completed.  For now, many golfers will find the current six holes make for a pleasant and challenging round for all but low single-digit handicappers .

 

Heritage Creek begins at what will eventually be No. 6 on the finished course, a straightaway par 4 that measures 365 yards.  Trees line both sides of the fairway, and there is a bit of mounding in front of the green.  It is probably the blandest of the existing holes. Photo from tee; photo of green.

 

No. 2, or the future No. 7, is a 185-yard par 3 with a slightly elevated green that is protected by a giant bunker in the front and another on the left side. Photo.

 

No. 3 (Future No. 8) is a 435-yard par 4 with a yawning boomerang-shaped waste area that bites into the landing area from the left, and sizable fairway bunker on the left side, just short of the green.  Nice hole.  Photo. Photo.

 

No. 4 (Future No. 9) is another par 4, 405 yards, straightaway, with mounding in the fairway and large bunker short of the green on the right.  The green is three clubs deep and undulating.  Photo. Photo.

 

Heritage Creek finishes with a flurry.  The penultimate hole is the only par 5, 485 yards.  Off the tee, a large tear-drop shaped lake runs alongside right side of the fairway; about 50 yards father up the fairway, a waste area pinches from the right.  The final approach to the green is a narrow throat, perhaps 25 yards wide.  Photo.  Photo.

 

The most memorable hole at Heritage Creek is the closing par 3, 180 yards from the elevated back tee.  The tee shot plays down hill, over fescue and over a large bunker fronting the green, but the most distinctive feature of the hole by far is the green itself.    It is enormous, with a large lower front tier and a treacherous upper back right tier.  The pin position(s) completely determine the personality and complexity of the hole.  It is a beast of a shot from the back tee to a back right pin position.  Photo.

 

When the three holes under construction open next spring, Heritage Creek will have two more par 4s – one short, the other a dogleg – and a par 3 that plays over Neshaminy Creek.

 

At the same time they open the new three holes, Heritage Creek will also open a small driving range and move the pro shop from its cramped temporary quarters to a permanent clubhouse with a grill room and restaurant.

 

Meanwhile, the focus is on turning on more golfer to Heritage Creek, where 80 to 100 six-hole rounds a day is normal.

 

ÔWith six holes, this place can go from empty to full in a hurry," said Woodward.