Cliff Park Golf Course

Cliff Park Golf Course is a Public 9 hole golf course located in Milford, Pennsylvania.

The Cliff Park Golf Course first opened for play in 1913. The course was the first course designed by a women. The designer was Annie R. Buchanan. The course was built on the family homestead. She built the course because she wanted to try playing golf and at the time, women weren't allowed on American courses.

The entire property is now part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area, thanks to the generosity of Harry Buchanan, who has passed but will always be remembered. With no homes encroaching on the fairways, this golf course is laid out for the best enjoyment of Pocono Mountains golf among the scenic and natural beauty of the National Park. A straightforward 9 hole course on rolling terrain with fairly wide fairways. There are no bunkers or serious water hazards.

Par for the course is 35. The course plays to 3115 yards. The longest hole on the course is # 7, a par-5 that plays to 547 yards. The shortest hole on the course is # 8, a par-3 that plays to 172 yards from the back tees.

Watch out for # 7, a 547 yard par-5 challenge and the #1 handicap hole on the course. The easiest hole is # 8, a 172 yard par-3.

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By Beth Brelje, Pocono Record Writer, http://www.poconorecord.com

September 13, 2013

The Cliff Park Golf Course, located near Milford in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, may be open before the end of the season.

The National Park Service signed a 10-year lease Thursday with Joe Stead of Milford to operate the course. He hopes to open the course in October.

Stead is a PGA golf professional with 20 years of experience and is the director of golf at Lynx River Bend Golf Club in Deer Park, N.Y.

He will pay the park service 9 percent of the course's gross profits.

A temporary building will provide a place for golfers to check in, a pro shop and refreshments.

Golfers may walk the course or use one of the new carts that Stead will provide.

This summer (2013), while the course was closed, two park service workers volunteered their time to mow and maintain the course.

Now that it is set to open, the course will offer affordable memberships for individuals and families and also offer golf leagues. Details on pricing will soon be available online atcliffparkgolf.com.

"The Cliff Park Golf Course is a wonderful property and it is near and dear to my family," Stead said. "I played there as a child and started my golf career there."

Stead graduated from Delaware Valley High School in 1989. He was on the golf team that played at Cliff Park.

The course is challenging enough to be playable for advanced golfers yet it's suitable for beginners, Stead said. That is why the course is perfect for families.

Stead has invested in new equipment to maintain the course including greens, fairway and rough mowers.

He intends to rehabilitate the course and re-establish relationships with the Professional Golfers Association and the United States Golf Association.

The Cliff Park Inn and Restaurant closed abruptly in October 2011 when the former lease holder separated from the park service.

The inn needed significant repair, including a new roof and septic system.

The park service searched for a lease holder who would pay for the repairs and then operate the inn and golf course, but found no viable operators.

This year, the park service sought someone to run the golf course only.

The inn and restaurant will remain closed.

The park service is in the process of doing a complete assessment of the entire site, Deputy Superintendent Bill Leonard said of the inn. "It's one of the important cultural resources in the park."

The park service will repair the inn's septic system and then decide how to address the rest of the building.