Rittswood Golf Club

Rittswood Golf Club sits in Valencia, a community in Butler County north of Pittsburgh, where rolling Pennsylvania terrain provides natural movement for golf. The course was designed by James Harrison and Ferdinand Garbin, architects who worked primarily in the western Pennsylvania region during the mid-twentieth century. Their collaborations typically emphasized strategic use of existing topography rather than dramatic earth-moving, fitting golf into the landscape's natural contours. The routing at Rittswood moves through wooded corridors and open meadow areas characteristic of the region's transition between dense forest and cleared farmland. Elevation changes create variety in shot requirements and sightlines, with doglegs and approach angles shaped by the property's ridges and valleys. The design reflects the period's emphasis on playability for a range of skill levels while maintaining strategic interest through green complexes and hazard placement. Rittswood functions as a private club serving the northern Pittsburgh suburbs, part of the area's network of member-owned facilities that developed as communities expanded beyond the city center in the postwar decades. The club provides a traditional country club experience with golf as the central amenity, complemented by social and dining programs typical of regional private clubs from this era.