When Chuck McIntyre and his wife, Martha, of Bethlehem, purchased the former State College Elks Country Club in Boalsburg in 2012, one of the key items of interest for the new owners was the layout of the 18-hole golf course.
Now named Mountain View Country Club, management has continued to make major on-course changes to the 18-hole layout.
“When we purchased the property we started right away to make renovations and have been very busy doing everything,” says Chuck McIntyre, whose wife is a State College native. “It’s a whole new look at what we feel will be one of the best country clubs in the area, and has a landscaping view that no other country club has.”
“The changes came about after the owners played the course,” says the club’s PGA golf professional, Jack Brennan. “They really did not like hole No. 5, the birdhouse hole where your drive had to go left of the birdhouse. That was the beginning of the changes. To make the point clear, there was no single reason why these (changes) all happened. The changes were rumored, because we are now open to the public, that we were going to make the course easier.
“Well, the handicaps indicate that the course is not much easier, but it did make play maybe a stroke easier now,” says Brennan. “However, we are making some changes to the back nine on hole No. 12 where we are going to lengthen No. 12, make it a semi-island green and look for it to be a signature hole.”
The changes all started because of the fifth hole, the birdhouse hole, and the seventh hole, which was was a par 4 uphill, making it practically impossible for all levels of golfers. Because the green was sloped, it was not receptive to a long iron, mid-iron, a hybrid or fairway wood, and was only designed for a short iron and a short club.
“Just to stress that these changes weren’t created just to make changes to the golf course,” says Brennan. “The changes were made to better the golf course. Do we think we have done that? Yes, we do. Does everybody agree? No. Some people do not agree, but we think we have a more fair, more playable and still-challenging golf course. And, by the looks at the scores being posted, we have been able to maintain a challenging golf course.”
The changes that have already been made are to the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holes. The upcoming changes are to the 12th and 13th holes. When it’s all said and done, Mountain View is going to have changed a third or more of its course.
“(On) No. 13, and for anyone in Centre County that has played that hole understands, the green is a very difficult green and I’m sure anyone that has played it and has three-, four- or five-putted will understand why we will level the green out,” says Brennan. “The green was severely sloped and almost became unplayable over the years, and with the huge green there were only a few spots where you could put the pin.
“So, last fall we leveled the No. 13 green, so that is an exciting change,” adds Brennan. “The green hasn’t healed as of yet, but we are hoping for around May 1 that the green would be playable. We think this is going to be a great change for everybody. So now, anyone that plays here will be able to putt No. 13.”
“Others holes we are still looking at for future changes are No. 3. With the way the pond is designed it makes it very hard for the average golfer because you have to lay up to a 160- to 180-yard shot into a green on a par 5 and it’s very unfair. We are looking at that down the line.
“We are eliminating hole No. 18 (par-3, 194-yards),” says Brennan. “What we found is that we need a larger driving range, and since the course is pretty much set we don’t have many options to build a new range without getting into a whole redesign of the golf course.
“So, the main goal is to increase the size of the driving range, make the driving range larger,” continues Brennan. “The bad thing about that is that we are losing No. 18. That will be going away and that’s unfortunate because it is a good golfing hole, but our options are limited for the demand of a range.
“The members demand a range, the public is demanding a range,” says Brennan. “Their spare time is more limited so they have time to hit some golf balls, but not necessarily have time to play 18 holes of golf. So, the range is much bigger for practicing.”
The construction disrupted play very little for members and guests playing Mountain View, and play will continue while construction on the remaining holes continues.
“So, we are in the middle of construction right now,” says Brennan. “It started last year and we are building a new par 3 that will be between No. 15 and existing No. 16, so that will be our new No. 16 hole, and our current No. 16 will be No. 17, and our current No. 17 will be the 18th hole, which is pretty good because No. 16 and 17 are really strong holes here and will be really good finishing holes.
The new par 3 will be exciting, in my opinion, because it’s up against the trees that set back along No. 12 and will play approximately 175 yards from the white tees, about 190 from the blue tees and probably 130 from the red tees.
“We plan on finishing (construction) this year and hope to have the changes in play by September or no later than Oct. 1,” continues Brennan.
“Again, unfortunately No. 18 is going away, but we are not only going to increase our range but we are also going to have No. 18 for short game practice area which we do not have here now,” says Brennan. “We have a very poor chipping green behind the pro shop and it’s just a small green on a steep angle slope and it’s not really good for anything other than to loosen up.
“But now, we are going to have a real nice short game area so the members can pitch, putt, chip, sand shots and short game shots that everybody will be able to practice, so we think in the long run it’s going to be a major improvement to the course.”
