Hannastown Golf Club was originally founded by Thomas Jamison, who was an Oakmont member and lived in Greensburg and wanted his own private course. The initial nine holes were built in 1919 by Emil ‘Dutch’ Loeffler, the long time superintendent/professional at Oakmont Country Club. The club went for nearly 80 years as a 9-hole facility, but in 1997, Brian Ault and Tom Clark were hired to add 9 more holes. Due to the location of the clubhouse on the property and the desire to return to the clubhouse after 9, the new 9 and the old 9 had to be intermingled. The golfer today plays 2 old holes, 6 new ones, 4 old ones, 3 new ones and finishes on 3 old ones.
Given that the old 9 has old style greens that are pure poa annua and the new 9 has USGA speck greens with bent grass, it does make getting a feel for the greens somewhat of a task. Fortunately under the direction of the former superintendent Ron Pusateri (now at St. Clair) and his successors Micah Lowell (now at Edgewood) and current Superintendent Judd Pittler the greens are usually firm, fast and as consistent as can be expected.
The original 9 definitely was influenced by Loeffler’s experience at Oakmont with fall-away greens, a very long par 3 similar to # 8 at Oakmont and a final green that is tied into the practice putting green. The new 9 has smaller greens that feature some very interesting slopes and mounds in the center of the greens. These greens tend to penalize the player who tries not to short-side himself by creating difficult chips over the center mound to a green that slopes away. Frequently the player who does miss on the short side has an easier uphill chip.
The course is 6668 yards and plays to a par of 70. There are five par 3s and three par 5s in the mix. The course rating is 72.4 and the slope is 127 from the tips.
