Golf Course Overview: Pennyrile Forest State Park By Brian Weis

Golf Course Overview: Pennyrile Forest State Park

Insights From An Insider With Jeffery Jennings, Pro Shop Manager

By Brian Weis

Local and traveling golfers love to research courses before playing them, whether it is to gain some local knowledge or to set an expectation before their upcoming round. Below is an interview with Jeffery Jennings who shares some valuable insight about the property, its most talked about holes and the signature dish/drink to consume at the 19th hole.

How Does Your Course Differ From The Others In The Area?
Our course consist of two different layouts. Our bottom nine is cut through the valley and has a creek running throughout several of the holes. It is a bit more narrow also but shorter than the top nine. Accuracy on holes 1 - 9 is most important.

Our Back or Upper nine holes is cut through the forest on the property above the lower nine. Built almost 20 years ago, it is the newer nine holes. It plays a little longer than the bottom, but is wider. The holes also seem to roll along through the forest. The two par fives are beautifully laid out and the closing hole (#18) is a picture of beauty.

So to answer the original question. Our course differs as the two nines are completely different, as one is tighter and flat while the other is more rolling and wider.

For someone who has not played the course in awhile, has there been any new changes/renovations to the course or property?
For those who haven't been to Pennyrile sine before the year 2000 or so, we have built a back nine. We also welcomed a brand new fleet of carts in October of 2020.

What is your course's answer to Amen Corner? (Describe your best/hardest 3 back/back/back holes)
From the 1 or 2 tees, Numbers 13, 14, 15 provide a test.

13 is a par 3 that plays 198 from the 1's or 168 from the 2's. The layout of the hole sometimes makes it difficult to line up your tee shot. The green is quite large and being around the hole will of course make this one easier.

14 is a long par 4 but gives the golfer plenty of room off the tee. There is some trouble to the right if a tee shot strays that direction. While it plays mostly straight away, a longer second shot into a smaller green that is all carry over a low area in front plus a bunker. If you are going to miss, miss right and rely on your short game to get up and down.

15 is a beautiful par 5 that dog legs right from the tee box and gently slopes down a gradual grade until the final approach shot will be up to a raised green. There is forest to the right if you try and take off to much of the corner. A tee ball pulled long can also make this hole play tough. Reaching in 2 shots requires 2 well hit balls and laying up to the bottom of the slope is usually the safer play. The green is large and reaching in regulation makes par much easier.

What is your course's claim to fame, or is there a little known fact that golfers should know about the property?
While it isn't talked about as much anymore, LPGA Pro Golfer, Emma Talley played several rounds of golf out here at Pennyrile when she was in high school.

What tournaments/events have you (recently) hosted or will be hosting? Or any recent awards?
We usually host the local high schools tournament in early August with 16 to 20 teams attending. We also have a Senior scramble every Tuesday morning and a Two Person Scramble on Thursday afternoon.

Besides golf, what other amenities do you offer if a golfer wants to spend most of the day at your facility?
Our park offers one of the best beaches in Kentucky. We also have a dining room at the lodge for the hungry golfer after their round.

For the traveling golfer, do you have lodging onsite or partner with any area hotels?
We do offer lodging here at the park. Our front desk staff would be happy to set golfers up with a stay and play package. We offer both cottages and rooms.

What is your signature dish, sandwich or drink at the turn or restaurant?
Our dining room and kitchen offers the world famous Kentucky Hot Brown and they also grill a pretty good Burger also!

Contact Course
Pennyrile Forest State Park
20781 Pennyrile Lodge Rd
Dawson Springs, Kentucky, 42408
270-797-7888

Revised: 07/08/2021 - Article Viewed 8,045 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.