Golf in Bethlehem

Bethlehem straddles the Lehigh River in the heart of the Lehigh Valley, defined by two legacies that could hardly be more different: Moravian missionaries who founded the city in 1741 and built the austere stone architecture still visible in the historic district, and Bethlehem Steel, which became one of the largest steel producers in the world and whose hulking plant dominated the south side of the city for a century. The steel is gone, replaced by SteelStacks, an arts and entertainment campus built around the preserved blast furnaces — a transformation that has become a national model for industrial heritage reuse. Golfers know Bethlehem partly through Saucon Valley Country Club in neighboring Hellertown, which has hosted multiple US Senior Opens and US Amateurs on its demanding layouts. The Lehigh Valley's wide corridor between South Mountain and the Kittatinny ridge creates a favorable climate and generous open land for golf.