Longue Vue Club

Longue Vue was founded in 1920 at Verona, north-east of Pittsburgh, and its board commissioned Robert White to build the course in April 1922. The first official round was played in May 1923; the clubhouse followed, in use by 1924 and finished in 1925. A. W. Tillinghast made recommendations and reworked parts of the layout in 1935.

White is the reason this page is worth reading. Born in St Andrews in 1874 and in America from 1894, he built the first putting green on the White House lawn, was among the first to design and manufacture clubs in the United States, laid out more than a hundred courses, and brought golf to the Grand Strand at Myrtle Beach. He was also the first president of the PGA of America.

What it asks of you

Par 70 over 6,563 yards on ground that falls away from the clubhouse in several directions. Western Pennsylvania is not flat, and a course of this age here was routed across the hillsides rather than cut into them: expect side-hill lies as the normal condition rather than the exception.

That changes what a good drive is. The flat lie, not the long one, is the target, and on several holes the shorter club off the tee finds it. A ball above or below the feet on an approach to a small green is where the strokes go.

Tillinghast’s 1935 pass is visible mostly around the greens. Where he worked, the bunkering asks a question of the approach rather than merely catching a poor one.

What players say about it

This is a private club, so the public record comes from guest accounts, regional coverage and architecture writing. The points below summarise what recurs. These are other people’s opinions, not ours: we have not played the course, and we name and quote no one.

What comes up in its favor

• The White design is treated as a good surviving example of his work, which is scarcer than his output would suggest.
• The views over the Allegheny valley are what visitors mention first, and the club’s name reflects them.
• The clubhouse is architecturally notable in its own right and appears in heritage surveys.
• Conditioning is reported as good.

What comes up against

• Access is closed: private club, play by invitation.
• The terrain makes the round hard work on foot.
• At 6,563 yards and par 70 there is little for a long hitter to attack.
• Public material is thin, and any summary, including this one, rests on a narrow base.

Getting there and when to go

The club is at Verona, about twenty-five minutes north-east of downtown Pittsburgh, above the Allegheny.

The season runs roughly from April to October. June and September give the best conditions; the hillsides drain well but spring is wet. Play is by invitation of a member.

Green fees

Guest conditions are set by the club. See the club’s own site.

How this page was made

The factual frame comes from public sources: OpenStreetMap for the location, the club’s published history, encyclopaedic entries and Pennsylvania heritage surveys for the founding, the commission of 1922, the first round, the clubhouse and Tillinghast’s 1935 work, and public course records for par and length. The opinion section summarises public reviews and guest accounts read in September 2026; we report recurring themes rather than individual voices, and we reproduce no quotations.

We have not played this course, and this page is no substitute for a round. The club has not paid for this page, has not seen it before publication and has no say over its content. If you know the course and something here is wrong or out of date, write to us and we will correct it.