MONTCO Golf: Bella Vista Golf Course’s 6,474 Yards are Worth the Drive

By Ken Knickerbocker

Published: 12:06 pm EDT August 17, 2020Published: August 17, 2020Updated: 2:10 pm EDT August 17, 2020

By Rick Woelfel

In relatively short order, the Bella Vista Golf Course has become renowned as one of the area’s top destinations for public-course golfers, a course you’d drive an extra half hour to play.

Architect Jim Blaukovitch laid out the golf course in 2002 over rolling terrain in Gilbertsville, Montgomery County, six miles northeast of Pottstown.

Liked golf facilities everywhere the club had to devise and execute COVID-19 related protocol but Kyle Ruane, Bella Vista’s director of golf, is proud of the way his team has been dealing with the pandemic.

Click Here for your free guide to
public golf courses in Montgomery County!

“I think we’ve done a fantastic job,’ he said. “It’s a lot of extra work for the staff. We were one of the last courses to shut down (prior to the state mandated shutown in March) and we were very well set up in advance.”

Over the Fourth of July weekend the club began allowing players to share carts once more. The club’s present list of protocols can be found here.

The layout plays to 6,474 yards from the deepest of four sets of tees with a par of 70. Most visitors will play from 6,056 yards with additional tees at 5,500 and 4,786 yards to allow golfers of all ability/experience levels to feel comfortable.

Bella Vista’s 14th hole features an island green.

The most memorable hole here is the 14^th, a par three that plays to anywhere from 118 to 152 years and features an island green.

“It’s very reflective of the (17^th hole at TPC Sawgrass),” Ruane said. “Not quite the same square footage, but a similar type of shot.”

Ruane is also a fan of the eighth hole, a par four that maxes out at 370 yards and features a blind tee shot that sets up aa downhill approach to a green protected by water front left and a bunker back right.

The round concludes with the 18^th, a 194-yard downhill par three that calls for a challenging carry over a creek. There is a pond to the left and bunkers to the right.

To book a tee time, arrange for a lesson, or for other updated information, check the club’s web site or call 610-705-1855.

The Bella Vista Golf Course is accessible from several directions:

From King of Prussia (27 minutes):
Take 422 W to the Limerick/Linfield exit. At the bottom of the ramp, turn right on to Lewis Rd. Take Lewis Rd. north to Ridge Pike. Turn right on Ridge Pike. The next left (500 ft.) is Swamp Pike. Turn left and follow Swamp Pike approximately 4 miles to Fagleysville Rd. Turn right and Golf Course Entrance is .3 miles on the left.

From Plymouth Meeting (44 minutes):
Take the NE Extension to the Quakertown Exit #44 (old exit #32). After exit toll, take a right onto Route 663 South. Follow Route 663 South for approx 11 miles at which point Rte 663 intersects with Rte 73. You will turn right onto Rte 73 and drive about 3/4 of a block and then make a left to continue back on Route 663 South. Follow 663 South for another 1.4 miles to the 1st traffic light, which is Swamp Pike. Make a left onto Swamp Pike and proceed 2 miles to Wagner Road. (Wagner Road is just after a traffic light at New Hanover Square Road) Turn Left onto Wagner Road. Turn Left at first stop sign, Fagleysville Road, Course in on the left hand side, immediately.

From Route 73 West (39 Minutes):
Take Route 73 West through Skippack & Schwenksville. Route 73 and Route 29 split, Bear Left and continue on Route 73. Make a left turn onto Fagleysville Road and follow for approximately 2 miles, Bella Vista Golf Course will be on your right.

From Exton (40 minutes):
Take Route 100 north to the Gilbertsville Exit. Turn onto Philadelphia Avenue or Route 73 East, and continue straight for 2.1 miles. After 2.1 miles, you will reach an intersection where Route 73 splits with Swamp Pike (Norco/Jeep Dealership is on your left). Stay straight at the intersection which is Swamp Pike. Continue on Swamp Pike for 3.6 miles. After traffic light for New Hanover Square Road, make your next left onto Wagner Road. Wagner Road dead-ends at Fagleysville Road, turn Left onto Fagleysville Road and make the first left turn, into driveway.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR