Spring Valley Golf Club

Getting To Know: Spring Valley Golf Club and Lodge

An Insightful Interview With Robert Mills, Superintendant

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Robert Mills who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Spring Valley Golf Club and Lodge is an 18 hole public golf course, located near the small town of Mercer, in Western Pa. Spring Valley's all included "stay and play" golf packages offer unlimited golf with cart, fabulous food at the Hell's Hollow Bar and Grill, and unique lodging at "the only golf course in Mercer County with onsite accommodations". A variety of terrain awaits you at each distinctive hole, built mostly by Mother Nature, you'll want to play Spring Valley over and over. The resort also offers many amenities, so if you are looking for a great adventure for a day or for a weekend, this is the place to be. Discover all we have to offer at Spring Valley Golf Club and Lodge.

"STAY and PLAY" golf packages offer unlimited golf with cart, overnight accommodations, fabulous home-cooked dinners and hot breakfast buffets. Spring Valley can accommodate 4 golfers to 44 golfers, and packages can be specialized to suit any group. Just park your car until it's time to head home. The lodge is located in the upper barn in the clubhouse, which is a restored 1870's dairy barn. Each room in the rustic lodge is equipped with 2 beds, private bath and AC. Rooms surround an open common area great for gatherings to play cards, socialize, or just to watch TV. There are two suites in the lodge each with sitting rooms and 2 bedrooms.
The "eagles nest" is the perfect spot for smaller groups. A screened in porch with a private entry way houses 4 new rooms located next to the lodge. The restored 1870's farmhouse is another option for groups of 12 or less. This unique house has 6 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, which looks out onto #1 fairway, and a full kitchen. The back yard has a great fire pit with fire wood provided to enjoy your evenings around a campfire.
Enjoy the new, spacious sundeck surrounding the heated swimming pool and hot tub. Located right outside your door you can Golf, Eat, Drink, Swim and just relax.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Spring Valley is a family built and run golf course, with my family members and great staff, we are able to offer our customers a fantastic value on stay and play golf packages, including incredible food, fantastic golfing and charmingly rustic accommodations. Groups can play unlimited golf at Spring valley, stay in our restored 1870's dairy barn and never have to get back in your car until you are heading home.

There's plenty of room for all size groups from couples to 44 golfers, Spring Valley has so much more to offer, from our great golf to the Hell's hollow bar and grill, heated swimming pool, sundeck, hot tub, practice area, campfires, fishing and hiking. If you are looking for the days of friendly, personalized service and really great golf, then you have found your home away from home.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Spring valley Golf Course is a shot placement course, with adventure and beauty around each turn.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
hole #14 is the most photographed hole at Spring valley. With a sweeping view of Hell's Hollow this hole is a par 4, 387 yards. You tee up well above the fairway and a straight drive is a must to reach the pond, an easy chip over and a two put makes a par.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
The favorite hole and most hated hole at Spring valley is the par 5, 503 yard hole number 4.

There's trouble all around with your first and probably 2nd shot toward the directional then a shot over a gully to a large green 30 yards below your feet. walk away with a par and a smile...

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Hell's hollow Bar and grill has the best burgers in Mercer County, grilled to perfection and topped with anything you can think of. Wash it down with the most popular item at the bar, Yuengling Draft

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 5797
Slope: 112
Rating: 66

More Information
Spring Valley Golf Club and Lodge
496 Bestwick Rd
Mercer, PA, 16137
724-662-1999
www.golfspringvalley.com

Revised: 04/01/2014 - Article Viewed 35,574 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.