Architect Ed Ault came to Penn National from Washington, D.C., and laid out the Founders Course in 1966; opening day was June 1, 1968. It is an 18-hole, par-72, tree-lined parkland course at the foot of the mountains. A seven-acre lake comes into play at the 16th and 17th. The facility later added a second course, Iron Forge, which opened in 1997.