h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hershey, Pennsylvania has an insane amount of golf courses per capita. Three courses with 18 holes and two 9-hole courses.

Two of the 18-holes are associated with the Hershey Country Club and are not open to the public unless you are a guest at the Hotel Hershey or are invited by a member. The Hershey Open is held there every summer as part of the buy.com tour and the professionals say it is one of the most difficult courses on their tour.

I really enjoy the 18-hole Parkview Golf Course located next to Hersheypark (an Disney-style amusement park). There's a creek running through the middle of the course which seems to come into play just about every time I hit the ball.

There's also lots of elevation changes with this course and it really provides challenges for just about every level of player.

When I don't have time for a full 18, I like to slip away to one of the two 9-hole courses in town. I personally like the Spring Creek Golf Course more than I like the Executive Golf Course at the Hotel Hershey.

Spring Creek is located up stream from Parkview and was orignially set up as a juvenile course for the kids of Country Club members and for caddies, but it's a really fun course. Lots of crossings of the creek and several breath-taking elevation changes.... Since it's only 9 holes, there are no par 5s, just par 4s and 3s, but it really is a great way to spend the afternoon if you're playing hookey from work. The only drawback is that the parking lot is located right along the road so your boss *might* spot your car...

Which is why the Hotel's Executive Course is so appealling, it's out of the way and isolated. Many people forget that it's even there. But for $13, it's another great way to spend the afternoon.

Since the Hotel Hershey is built atop a hill, many of the fairways have a bit of slope which can quickly put your ball out of bounds even if you're in the middle of the fairway. It's even more difficult in the middle of summer when the ground is dry and hard, because then you're almost hitting to the uphill side of the fairway and hoping your ball will stop rolling before it gets out-of-bounds. Again, since it's a 9 hole course there are no par 5s, but it is still a good challenge...