The Pines at Shenango Lake DGC, Hermitage PA

Pros:
This is a pretty fun and challenging course that plays in the land around a reservoir. I'm always out here for the natural aspects first and this course is definitely better than its' neighbor, Buhl, in that department. They made good use of the land that they had here. You play mostly through some dense Northwest PA pine forest. This plays to the course's advantage because they were able to create some tight lines with it. There is, also, the reservoir that is the heart of this park but you sadly never really get close. At one point, on the 15th Basket, you should stop and take a pause. There is a spectacular view of the water that was particularly nice on an October Saturday.

The course itself is well designed. You play a fair mixture of lengths, with ample Par 3 shots but also plenty of 4s and a few 5s sprinkled in there. The holes are of demanding length as well. There are few easy birdies here for the first time player. Most everything needs a really good drive. It's never unfair though. THe lines are tight. You're going to need to throw accurately and probably need to play a variety of backhand and forehand, but the lines are there and the greens are fair, too. The baskets are very often tucked into nooks and crannies, but never once did I feel like it was unfair for the sake of being unfair.

They do have a set of concrete tees and a sign on each hole.

Cons:
I'll start with navigation. I play with UDisc so I can most often wing my way around a course. I've played over 75 and have done just fine, but got lost twice here, including just trying to find the start of the course. There are some navigations, but generally a tiny arrow somewhere. They desperately need more directional signage especially in some of the switchbacks, which this course seems very fond of because you cross back and forth several times. They only have one set of tee signs, as well, which are on the Blue tees and are pretty generic.

There is one set of concrete White tees, which look fairly new. I'm happy to have concrete anywhere, so that's a plus, but they aren't long enough and a few of them weren't laid well enough to be level, especially the grooving that they put in, which is often so rough you can't get a proper x step. Finding the Red Tees for my wife was a challenge. Some were marked well, some had wood block tees, but many of them were pretty much find a place that looked right and throw.

As far as the course itself, it was fun but it also wasn't anything spectacular. That isn't really a criticism, but I believe in reviewing fairly. Some courses stand out and some courses are closer to average. This is the latter. Nothing wrong with that. If this was my local, I'd play the hell out of it. But in the grand scheme of courses, it's mostly forgettable. That has a lot to do with lack of elevation, which means more every hole gives you a fairly level drive opportunity. The landscape is also very similar, so the holes all start feeling "same-y" after a bit.

Other Thoughts:
There is a bathroom at the parking lot where the 1st Tee is located. There were benches along the way, as well as garbage cans. I would recommend driving down the park road and seeing the reservoir from the docks. Very pretty.

Always a nice place to have a get together. We have our annual church picnic here every year. It's nice and quiet

Awesome scenic course. New concrete tee pads were recently installed.