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Welcome, all, to inNOVAtion: the lure of NEPA is strong

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At SPCA, Luzerne County residents focus on their pet projects

<p>DORRANCE TWP. &#8212; It can&#8217;t always be about baseball for some of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Sometimes they need to concentrate on another white ball.</p><p>Golf is popular among the RailRiders, and Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club in the Dorrance Township section of Mountain Top is among their favorite courses.</p><p>&#8220;Blue Ridge, that&#8217;s another good track,&#8221; pitcher Brady Lail said. &#8220;A bunch of us like to golf and get away from the game. Kind of get mad at another sport. A lot of the adjustments you can make in golf you can make in baseball. It&#8217;s just fun to get out and enjoy golf around the town and still be associated with the RailRiders.&#8221;</p><p>Others agree with the RailRiders players. Blue Ridge was chosen as <a href="http://www.golfadvisor.com/courses/20682-ridge-trail-at-blue-ridge-trail-golf-club/" target="_blank">the top course in the state </a>in 2015 by golfadvisor.com, receiving 4.5 out of 5 stars from 97 reviewers. It also was <a href="https://www.golfnow.com/courses/1041094-blue-ridge-trail-golf-club-details" target="_blank">recommended by 92 percent of the golfers</a> on golfnow.com.</p><p>Blue Ridge Trail is the only 27-hole course in Luzerne County and one of a few 27-hole layouts in Pennsylvania. Most are located in the western part of state.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a 27-hole facility with three nine-hole loops,&#8221; said Duane Schell, general manager and golf course superintendent at Blue Ridge Trail. &#8220;We have the Blue, the Ridge and the Trail nine. The tees are set up to use all three nines. Some courses will be an 18-hole course and maybe a nine-hole executive. But we have three full nine-hole loops.&#8221;</p><p>The course started as a nine-hole layout and was known as Alberdeen Golf Course until it was purchased in 1997 by local businessman Robert Tambur. The name was changed and the course added nine holes. A $3.8 million expansion in 2006 bumped the size to 27 holes.</p><p>&#8220;One thing nice about the course is it&#8217;s all cut out through the trees, so you&#8217;re on your own individual hole,&#8221; Schell said. &#8220;When you&#8217;re out on these holes, it&#8217;s kind of private and secluded.&#8221;</p><p>There&#8217;s plenty of diversity to the course, which includes a 605-yard par-5 hole. Schell, though, said the course plays well for both experienced and novice golfers.</p><p>&#8220;Players of all levels can play here,&#8221; Schell said. &#8220;We have the pro tees in the back, so it&#8217;s a great test for golf if you want to challenge yourself with something longer. It&#8217;s over 7,000 yards from the back. We have five sets of tees. We have forward tees for the ladies, we have senior tees. It attracts players of all levels.&#8221;</p><p>The course and others in the area remind Lail of those he played in his home state of Utah.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re really similar,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Mountain courses. A lot of up and downs. That&#8217;s how I&#8217;ve grown up playing golf, out there in the elevation change. So it brings me back to home.&#8221;</p><p>Former RailRiders pitcher Johnny Barbato, a native of Miami, said he enjoyed Blue Ridge and other similar courses because they don&#8217;t resemble home.</p><p>&#8220;Blue Ridge is nice,&#8221; said Barbato, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates last week. &#8220;They&#8217;re all nice because of the trees and the scenery. Me being from Miami, it&#8217;s all flat and nothing to it.&#8221;</p><p>The RailRiders aren&#8217;t the only professional athletes who have tried to conquer Blue Ridge Trail. Former NASCAR driver Todd Bodine held his Onion Slice Open there for several years. Several NASCAR drivers took part in the tournament, a charity event for pediatric patients with brain injuries and neurological impairments.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Duane Schell, general manager and course superintendent at Blue Ridge Golf Club in Dorrance Township, has worked at the course for nearly two decades. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_blue_ridge2_faa-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Duane Schell, general manager and course superintendent at Blue Ridge Golf Club in Dorrance Township, has worked at the course for nearly two decades. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_blue_ridge3_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Duane Schell, general manager and course superintendent, and John Kluck, assistant general manager, had the start date for the 2017 season bumped back a bit due to the mid-March snowstorm in the area. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_blue_ridge3_faa-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Duane Schell, general manager and course superintendent, and John Kluck, assistant general manager, had the start date for the 2017 season bumped back a bit due to the mid-March snowstorm in the area. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Todd-Bodine-mug-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bodine </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Todd-Bodine-mug-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Bodine </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Brady-Lail-mug-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lail </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Brady-Lail-mug-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Lail </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_blue_ridge1_faa-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">John Kluck, assistant general manager, and Duane Schell, general manager and course superintendent, are part of the staff at the 27-hole Blue Ridge Golf Club in Dorrance Township. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_blue_ridge1_faa-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>John Kluck, assistant general manager, and Duane Schell, general manager and course superintendent, are part of the staff at the 27-hole Blue Ridge Golf Club in Dorrance Township. </caption4><photoCredit4>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>BLUE RIDGE TRAIL</strong></p><p><strong> GOLF CLUB</strong></p><p>&#8226; <strong>Year opened</strong>: 1997 (formerly known as Alberdeen Golf Course)</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Address</strong>: 260 Country Club Drive, Dorrance Township (Mountain Top)</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Phone</strong>: 570-868-4653</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Website</strong>: <a href="http://blueridgetrail.com/" target="_blank">blueridgetrail.com</a></p><p>&#8226; <strong>Course lengths</strong>: Blue course, 9 holes, 3,548 yards, par 36; Ridge course, 9 holes, 3,547 yards, par 36; Trail course, 9 holes, 3,417 yards, par 36.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Greens fees</strong>: Weekdays &#8212; nine holes, $16 ($24 with cart rental); 18 holes, $22 ($38 with cart); weekends &#8212; nine holes, $18 ($26 with cart); 18 holes, $31 ($47 with cart). Carts recommended.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Notable</strong>: The course covers over 200 acres.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

At Blue Ridge Golf Course, 27 holes and time away