New sit-down bar set to open inside Penn State Golf Courses’ Walker Clubhouse
The snack bar inside Penn State Golf Courses’ Walker Clubhouse is getting a serious upgrade.
A 17- to 18-seat sit-down bar with three TVs — with additional seating for about 40 — is under construction in Ferguson Township and is set to open around mid- or late May. The snack bar previously served cans of beer, which many golfers simply took out on the course, but the new bar will also feature a half-dozen beers on tap in addition to canned/bottled beer, wine and mixed drinks.
Food will also be served there — the previous kitchen from the snack bar will remain mostly unchanged — although the menu is still being finalized.
“This is a project that had been discussed and had a design started in 2019, as we knew it would be a great way to enhance our customer experience and services available,” said Kris Petersen, Penn State’s senior associate athletics director for communications and content. “However with the COVID pandemic, the project was shelved until this past fall when funding was available.”
No tuition dollars or other fees from the university are being used. The upgrades are funded by Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, Petersen said.
According to Petersen, the hours of operation remain under discussion but are tentatively listed as 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. year-round. (The golf simulators next to the bar will also remain open during the offseason.)
Although renderings feature the name of the bar as the “Nineteenth Hole” — the same name as the previous snack bar — the final name has not yet been decided.
Walker Clubhouse, which will house the bar, is a 6,000-square-foot facility that mostly consists of a golf shop with equipment and merchandise. It serves as the home base of sorts for two public golf courses, four practice putting greens, 32 artificial driving range stalls and a chipping green with sand bunker.
The clubhouse is located less than 2 miles from the intersection of Atherton Street and College Avenue.
