Golf course designer Bill Love takes great pride in the accolades that the Cranberry Highlands Golf Course he designed continues to receive. It is repeatedly ranked among the top municipal courses in the country and has been deemed the best municipal course in Pennsylvania by Golf Digest. But as he prepares to return to Cranberry later this month, Love looks forward to hearing the comments from those whose opinions he values the most — the local golfers who play the course on a regular basis. “That is the fun part of what we do,� Love said. “I love hearing from the folks who play the course.� To mark the 15th anniversary of the course's opening, Love will be the featured guest at Cranberry's next Coffee and Conversation event, to be held at Cranberry Highlands beginning at 7 p.m. on Sept. 27. He will join township Manager Jerry Andree and board of supervisors Chairman Dick Hadley to discuss how the vision for Cranberry Highlands came together and what the future of the course might hold. According to Andree, Hadley was the driving force behind the idea of transforming an unused former wastewater sludge disposal site into a highly rated golf course. “Dick Hadley was the mover and shaker on this project, no question,� Andree said. “This was a typical Cranberry process. We held public hearings and gathered as much public input as we could. We determined that this was something that would be a great benefit to the community.� Love said his company, Love and Kington Golf Course Design of College Park, Md., believes in taking an environmental approach to course planning and development, and that approach fit well with what township officials envisioned for Cranberry Highlands. “We didn't have the biggest piece of ground to work with, and there were a lot of different things going on there,� Love said. “We wanted to route the course in such a way that it took advantage of the natural terrain and provided an enjoyable but challenging round of golf. “I think we were able to do that.� Love credits the course construction company, Frontier Golf of Jones Mills, Pa., with transforming his design into a reality, and is hopeful the company president and CEO Nick Scigliano or another representative will be able to attend the Sept. 27 event. Pete Horrell served as construction superintendent for the project. “They are the ones who actually moved the earth and shaped the course into what it has become,� Love said. Love also gives a great deal of credit to Dave Barber, who has served as course superintendent at Cranberry Highlands since the outset, and his staff for maintaining the course's design and reputation. “I can't tell you how good of a job those guys do,� Love said. “You can have a great design, but if the course is not maintained properly, it's not going to come across that way.� Andree said bringing in Barber early in the process has been a key to the course's success. “We actually brought Mike in during the design process, so he knows the course as well as anybody,� Andree said. “He and his staff do a phenomenal job of keeping the course in shape.� The course has remained true to its environmentally friendly roots, several times being named a Certified Audubon Cooperative Initiative by Audubon International. The 332-acre site includes a nature trail and nesting boxes for a variety of bird species, and the course has been honored for its use of environmentally sensitive pest control methods and water conservation efforts that include making use of treated water from the Brush Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant for irrigation purposes. Andree said that, as another golf season begins to wind down, township officials are already looking toward the future. “We are always tweaking the course a little here and there,� Andree said. “We have a dedicated group of golfers who play the course, and we're constantly seeking their input on what they would like to see.� Vince Townley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-772-6364 or vtownley@tribweb.com. Email Newsletters TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.