Philadelphia Country Club is a Flynn course that is a joy to play. It is one of those courses that has the kind of quality that will keep players coming back year after year.
Members include leaders in business, education, technology, law, finance, government and the arts. The Club continues to operate on its founding motto of Amor Patriae Ducit or Love of Country Leads.
The History of Country Clubs in Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Country Club is one of the oldest and most prestigious country clubs in America. The club was founded in 1890 and has hosted many notable events and guests, including the U.S. Open and the Curtis Cup. The club also has a top-rated golf course that was designed by William Flynn, tennis courts, swimming pools, dining options and other amenities.
Like most of the early clubs, the Philadelphia Country Club began life as a polo club in 1890 and it wasn’t until five years later that they created a nine-hole golf course. As golf became more popular, the club decided to expand and hired William Flynn to design a new course. The course at the club still remains one of the best in Philadelphia and it was a regular stop for golfers participating in the U.S. Open up until the time that Justin Rose won in 2013.
The golf course at Merion East is a true brute of a course and it certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. The course requires plenty of precision off the tee and a great deal of finesse around the greens as well. That is a large part of why the course has been able to host the U.S. Open and so many other top tournaments over the years.
The Philadelphia Country Club
The Philadelphia Country Club was founded in 1890 by members who wanted to socialize and play golf away from the bustle of city life. It is a private club, open to members only, and features two golf courses, tennis courts, a swimming pool, a squash facility, bowling alleys, and various dining and event facilities.
The club is also famous for its beautiful course, which has hosted numerous tournaments over the years. The 1939 U.S. Open was held here, and while Byron Nelson won the tournament that year, it is also notable for being one of Sam Snead’s only missed chances to win a U.S. Open championship.
In addition to the traditional Flynn-designed 18 holes, the club hired Tom Fazio to create another nine hole course, the “Centennial Nine,” when the club reached its 100th anniversary in 1990. These new holes add to the classic course and help make Philadelphia Country Club one of the premier country clubs in the world.
The club also has a number of dining options, including a formal dining room and a casual grille room. The restaurant menus feature seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. In addition, the club offers a number of outdoor seating areas, including a beautiful patio. The club also has several private dining rooms that can be used for intimate dinners or special events.
The Wissahickon Country Club
Philadelphia is known for its golf courses (the city’s first country club was founded in 1854; the oldest, Merion, is also one of the world’s finest) and spawned its own school of course architects—George Crump, Hugh Wilson, George Thomas, William Flynn, and most famously A.W. Tillinghast, who crafted some of America’s greatest layouts including Winged Foot, Bethpage Black, Interlachen and both courses at Baltusrol. The Wissahickon Golf Course at the Philadelphia Cricket Club is a fine example of what Tillinghast did best and exemplifies some of the key characteristics that make Philadelphia golf so special.
The course, originally built in 1922, is situated on a broad piece of rolling land in Flourtown that’s reminiscent of the more lush and green countryside of southern New Jersey. In recent years, it underwent a remarkable restoration, overseen by Keith Foster, that returned some of the course’s original width and reincorporated some of Tillinghast’s key strategies in the routing. The result is a classic American course that’s also an excellent test of skill.
One of the most impressive holes on the golf course is the eleventh. It requires a tee shot that carries the wide open space of the Wissahickon valley to a fairway that slopes from left to right. It’s a beautiful hole and a good indicator of how much the golf course has improved with the tree removal.
The Spring Mill Country Club
One of the oldest country clubs in America, the Philadelphia Country Club opened a nine hole course in 1892 and in 1925 purchased land at Gladwyne for an 18 hole golf facility that was designed by William Flynn. In 1990, to celebrate the club's 100th anniversary, architect Tom Fazio added another nine holes which were named the Centennial nine. This combination of 27 holes gives the club a superb layout. It is difficult yet friendly, and the staff is well suited to offer tips and tricks for playing your best round.
The golf course is set on very hilly ground, and the fairways and greens feature a wonderful mixture of uphill and downhill tee and approach shots. The green complexes are a delight, and the par fives include two of Philadelphia's finest holes, including the marvelous seventeenth that bends right around a dense gully and toward a cool green site that is angled steeply toward it.
In addition to the golf facilities, the Club features a modern Summer House to accommodate Members who use the Tennis, Paddle Tennis and Swimming Pool areas, as well as the shooting lodge and bowling alley. The Club also offers a variety of dining options from the Grille to the elegant and spacious Ballroom for private functions and weddings. The property is also home to Spring Mill Manor which is ideal for an elegant one of a kind Wedding.
