A Tale of Two Nines
Local golf enthusiasts first met in 1922 with a dream to build a golf course on a bluff just outside Ebensburg, PA. In 1923, that dream became a reality as Ebensburg Country Club began to welcome members and guests to its newly completed nine-hole golf club. Over 75 years later, a second dream was fulfilled as the Ebensburg Country club became a “tale of two nines.”
The second nine is the creation of noted golf course architect Ed Beidel. Soon after Biedel unveiled his new creation, it became apparent that the new nine was the perfect complement to the original course. Today, the original group who met in 1922 would be proud of what has evolved at the Ebensburg Country Club. With gently rolling fairways, great greens and scenic mountain views; this is what golf is supposed to be.
COURSE ARCHITECT
Ed Beidel, the Golf Architect of the Ebensburg Country Club Golf Course, has been involved in golf architecture and landscape architecture since graduating from Penn State in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture. Ed has worked on projects throughout the eastern United States and the Caribbean. Ed is licensed as a landscape architect in Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina and has been affiliated with the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) since 1988 and served on the ASGCA Board of Governors 2009-2011 and the Membership Committee from 2008- 2013. He is also a full member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Ed has been the lead or solo designer on more than 240 golf / planning projects in his career, stretching from New York to South Carolina to Bermuda to Puerto Rico. Other courses designed by Ed Beidel in Eastern Pennsylvania are Five Ponds Golf Club in Warminster Township, Montgomery County (2018 Course of the Year by PA Golf Owners Assn); The Highlands of Donegal Golf Course in Mount Joy, Lancaster County; and the 2nd Nine at Ebensburg Country Club in Ebensburg, Cambria County.
On the golf component side, Ed was introduced to the game of golf at an early age while caddying at the Fox Chapel Golf Club, Pittsburgh Field Club and Oakmont Country Club in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ed is a strong proponent of “affordable/practical golf”, “family golf” and “growing the game” and has spoken at several state and regional golf conferences and seminars. He has also authored numerous golf design related articles that have appeared in various golf course superintendent association newsletters and industry publications. Beidel Design Associates’ golf courses are neither standardized nor manufactured in appearance. Beidel’s landscape architectural perspective allows him to blend a distinctive course into the natural environs of the host community. Designs are generally traditional and site-specific, with the existing site features strongly influencing the routing, appearance and character of the golf course. The courses are then refined to meet the client’s objectives and the golfing abilities of the intended users. Golf holes are designed to be more than photogenic. They are playable, easily maintained, environmentally sensitive and offer diversity. The finished products are aesthetic, fun and challenging, but fair, layouts.
