The Lehigh Valley area of eastern Pennsylvania is fast becoming well known for something very special, especially where golfers are concerned.

  The Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau is offering a fantastic deal that is attracting players from all over the Tri-State area. The Bureau has a stay and play package that gets you overnight accommodations, breakfast and daily golf at as many as seven of the best courses in the region. The packages start at $119 per person per night.

  “What’s cool about this package is that it includes so much,” said Tracey Werner, director of public relations for the Bureau. “It’s overnight accommodations at a participating property, breakfast in the morning and 18 holes of golf at a course of your choice.” The affordable deal includes greens fees, cart and all taxes. “You have seven courses to pick from so that you aren’t stuck with one or two courses like some packages.”

  The courses participating in the package include some of the finest layouts in the area, such as the acclaimed Architect’s Club, The Club at Morgan Hill, Riverview Country Club, Allentown Municipal Golf Course, Center Valley Club, Southmore Golf Course and Olde Homestead Golf Course. Seven hotels are taking part in the offer, including a Holiday Inn and a Hilton Garden facility. Golf is arranged through the hotel a person chooses to stay at.

  Said Werner, “All you have to do is contact the concierge and tell him or her which one of the golf courses you would like to play in the morning and the hotel arranges tee times. It’s one stop shopping.”
  “It’s actually been one of our better selling packages,” said Werner.

  There’s lots to do after golf, such as visiting a water park, the Crayola factory in Easton, the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Schnecksville, the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, taking a trek on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail or catching a show at one of the area’s theaters.
  Here’s a look at the courses taking part in this fabulous offer:
  The Club at Morgan Hill in Easton, a masterful Kelly Moran creation, has been hailed as one of the top courses in the region since it opened in 2004. Management has taken steps during the last year to make this challenging track a bit more playable for the average golfer.

  Some fairway bunkers have been removed and areas around the greens softened up so that players can get up and down easier if they miss the putting surfaces.

  The routing and conditioning at The Club at Morgan Hill have never been in question. And an 8,000-square-foot clubhouse, a top restaurant and wonderful views of the hills and valleys of the Easton area don’t hurt business either.

  The par-71, 6,749-yard course (there are three other sets of tees), offers expansive views of the Delaware River, the towns of Easton and Phillipsburg, and has numerous natural hazards, rolling fairways and testy greens.

  The tee on the 12th hole, a 196-yard par-three, sits high above the putting surface and affords views of Easton in the distance. There’s a bunker in the front of the green with a steep slope diving down into the putting surface, which has a ridge in the middle.
  Riverview Country Club in Easton, a Jim Blaukovitch design, opened in 2004, has already become known as a true test of golf and one very nice playing experience.

  The course’s operators have invested time and money into making Riverview one of the best-conditioned tracks in the eastern Pennsylvania-western New Jersey market. The course has some rather dramatic elevation changes, and combines an “American Links” front nine with a more traditional Northeast woodland back nine. The results have the customers raving.
  The 6,505-yard Riverview has two types of bent grass in the fairway landing areas and first cut of rough that serve to frame the holes and present ideal visual targets off the tee.

  Riverview is full of interesting and challenging holes. The best may be the 585-yard, par-five 13th, which has out of bounds on both sides, water and sand protecting the lay up area, and a pond in front of the green.

  The superb 17th hole, a 385-yard par-four, can be daunting, for the approach shot is over water that completely surrounds the green.

  The Architects Golf Club in Lopatcong, N.J. boasts a spectacular grand ballroom in addition to a tasteful restaurant, pro shop, lounges and men’s and women’s locker rooms. Outside, there is a 5,000-square-foot bluestone patio for dining and buffets, all overlooking the golf course and the surrounding rolling hills of the area.

  The Architects Golf Club pays homage to the great course designers of the game, such as A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross and Alister MacKenzie.

  The immaculate, 6,863-yard, par-71 layout has won numerous awards for its routing and conditioning. It was designed by noted modern day architect Stephen Kay and Golf Digest Magazine writer and course reviewer Ron Whitten.

  The pair created a course that honors the great course architects of the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, not copy them. While each hole recognizes an individual designer and incorporates their concepts, the holes are unique and present their own set of challenges and enjoyment.

  The first hole, a 509-yard, par-four, honors Old Tom Morris, who liked to retain existing features of the land, such as rock walls, as hazards. The seventh hole, a 412-yard par-four, pays homage to Tillinghast with bunkering reminiscent of Bethpage Black, San Francisco Country Club and Winged Foot.

  The 15th honors Donald Ross, who designed so many Northeast courses. It’s a monstrous, 473-yard par-four that displays Ross’ belief in the mastery of the long iron for the second shot. The 18th is a fitting way to end a memorable round. The hole honors Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and the architect’s favor for long tees, enormous greens and heavy use of bunkers is in evidence as well as his theory of “hard par, easy bogey,” design.

  Allentown Municipal Golf Course has long had the reputation as a true test of golf. The track plays 6,845 yards from the tips and is rated 72.4 with a slope of 132. Those numbers tell you a little about the challenge you’ll find here.
  Water comes into play on a number of holes, such as the 179-yard par-three 11th that demands a full carry over a pond. The prior hole, the 415-yard par-four 10th, has water to the left of the putting surface, which makes approaches on this demanding hole dicey.

  A stream dissects four holes on the front side and runs along the right side of the 425-yard 14th hole. There is a nice mix of long par-fours, short- to mid-length par-fives and tough par-threes, such as the 220-yard 16th.

  Southmore Golf Course in Bath is a pleasingly eclectic layout that plays only 6,193 yards from the back markers. But don’t let the length fool you, this is a shot maker’s course that demands proper club selection off the tee and to the greens. It’s also a risk/reward design, with several par-fours under 300 yards that beg the player to go for the green with a driver, and short par-fives that can be reached in two by longballers.

  Center Valley Golf Club in Allentown has two distinct nines. The front side is what one would call a “Scottish Links” design, with fairways that appear wide open but are in fact dotted with hidden bunkers and mounds that protect both the fairway landing areas and the putting surfaces. Both par-fives on the front, the third and sixth holes, are reachable in two shots and the par-three second and eighth holes call for shots across lakes that guard the front and left side of the greens.

  The back nine on the 6,916-yard track is a traditional “North American” design with the holes routed through trees and past several lakes. It’s a bit more challenging than the front side, but if you can keep the ball straight off the tee you can score.
  Olde Homstead Golf Club in New Tripoli, which plays 6,800 yards from the tips, is a delightful routing that is links in character, but a track that also offers a wide array of shot values. The Jim Blaukovitch creation opened in 1995 and has five tee boxes, which allows players to enjoy the track according to their abilities.

  The rye-grass fairways are rather expansive and trees are not usually in play, which keeps even high-handicappers in the holes. The greens are kept at a medium speed and there are a number of greenside bunkers to catch errant shots.

  Water comes into play on 10 holes and the fairways are lined with deep bunkers and rough that grows fairly high in the summertime. Thus, an emphasis is placed on accuracy off the tee and to the greens.

  The 178-yard par-three fourth hole is across a stream and wetlands, while the 10th and 11th holes, 365-yard and 350-yard par-fours respectively, were skillfully designed so as to dare the player to shorten the doglegs and risk getting wet in water to the right of both holes.

  For further information about the stay and play package, call 800-747-0561 or visit www.lehighvalleypa.org.