Merion Golf Club (East)
Architect: Hugh Wilson Year: 1896 450 Ardmore Ave, Ardmore, PA 19003 Phone: 610-642-5600 Course Access: Private https://www.meriongolfclub.com/ |
Merion Golf Club (East)
To all true golfers, the name conjures up stirring images. Merion's East Course, always on everyone's list of favorites, is a traditional golf club where history has been made time and time again.
There's no doubt that the gods of golf have smiled on Merion. The Club was founded at just the right moment in time when the game was in its infancy in this country. It was founded in a marvelously right location, where sports-minded men and women have always abounded. And it had the right golf course architect, Hugh Wilson, a gifted amateur whose maiden effort, according to USGA president Richard S. Tufts, was a "model test of golfing skill and judgment for future architects to copy." In 1910, the Merion Cricket Club Golf Committee assigned Hugh Wilson the task of creating a new golf course, since the Haskell ball had outdated the Haverford course's short length. Wilson used the Ardmore land bought from the Haverford Development Company for the East Course's current location. The course was routed, prepared and seeded by the early fall of 1911.
There are no records of Wilson taking a trip abroad prior to the spring of 1912. However, that year he spent several weeks in the British Isles. No itinerary exist, and he eventually canceled his Titanic passage to remain for a few additional days. His time in the Isles confirmed the wisdom of the East Course's routing and the eventual deceptive bunkering.
The wicker baskets' origin is a mystery to this day. There was a great deal written in 1912, and for three years thereafter, locally and nationally about this new course in Philadelphia. However, there was no mention of the soon-to-be famous wicker baskets. It could be assumed they were not there. By the summer of 1915, William Flynn, Merion's Superintendent, received patent approval for his wicker basket design. Merion had baskets that fall and from then-to-today. It could be assumed, due to lack of written proof, that Flynn convinced Wilson to use the baskets, and Merion received its "basket notoriety" the next year during the 1916 U.S. Amateur.
On September 12, 1912, the old course at Haverford was officially closed, although used for another year, and on the 14th, the new course and the clubhouse were opened to members. A report of the opening said the course was "among experts, considered the finest inland links in the country." This was an assessment that has been echoed down through the years.
If someone were to ask what ingredients make up Merion today, the recipe would include the following: one great golf course, another sporty golf course (the West), a tradition of great championships, a membership mindful of Merion's place in history and a dedicated staff.
The current condition of the course is constantly compared to early photographs, and every effort is made to ensure that people playing the course today compete on the same course as did the champions of old. For that reason, also, the course is maintained as though to hold championships daily. There is always an intermediate rough. The dunes grass and Scotch broom are other Merion traditions, as is the way that bunkers are maintained with peninsulas, islands of grass and "eyebrows.
Traditions at Merion are concerned with the playing of the game. No mulligans are permitted at the first tee. Players and caddies alike are expected to respect the course, and others on the course, by leaving each hole better than the way they found it — replacing divots, raking bunkers and fixing pitch marks — and by leaving it quickly. Slow play earns a reprimand at Merion.
Traditionally, the East Course is a walking course. The only people allowed to use golf carts are those with a medical necessity. Merion is committed to its caddie program. Caddies are trained and are expected to be able to tell players the exact yardage on any shot. There are no yardage markers anywhere on the course. In appreciation, Merion members are always around the leaders in contributions to the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Fund.
All in all, Merion is about golf. It honors history and the continuing values of the game.
The grand old course made its debut in national competition when it hosted the 1916 U.S. Amateur. The 1916 Championship also marked the first national appearance of Robert T. "Bobby" Jones, Jr., then 14 years old, who went on to win his first National Amateur at Merion in 1924. Jones closed his international career winning the 1930 U.S. Amateur on Merion's eleventh hole. This was his fourth major win of the year (U.S. and British Amateurs and Opens) completing the never-equaled Grand Slam.
Merion continues to make golf history to the present day. Georgianna Bishop, Bill Campbell, Dorothy Campbell, Gary Cowan, Olin Dutra, Chick Evans, David Graham, Leigh Anne Hardin, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Lloyd Mangrum, Buddy Marucci, Phil Mickelson, Cary Middlecoff, Johnny Miller, Edoardo Molinari, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Chris Patton, Gary Player, Mrs. Mark Porter, Jay Sigel, Sam Snead, Mrs. Henry Stetson, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose — Merion has known them all.
There's no doubt that the gods of golf have smiled on Merion. The Club was founded at just the right moment in time when the game was in its infancy in this country. It was founded in a marvelously right location, where sports-minded men and women have always abounded. And it had the right golf course architect, Hugh Wilson, a gifted amateur whose maiden effort, according to USGA president Richard S. Tufts, was a "model test of golfing skill and judgment for future architects to copy." In 1910, the Merion Cricket Club Golf Committee assigned Hugh Wilson the task of creating a new golf course, since the Haskell ball had outdated the Haverford course's short length. Wilson used the Ardmore land bought from the Haverford Development Company for the East Course's current location. The course was routed, prepared and seeded by the early fall of 1911.
There are no records of Wilson taking a trip abroad prior to the spring of 1912. However, that year he spent several weeks in the British Isles. No itinerary exist, and he eventually canceled his Titanic passage to remain for a few additional days. His time in the Isles confirmed the wisdom of the East Course's routing and the eventual deceptive bunkering.
The wicker baskets' origin is a mystery to this day. There was a great deal written in 1912, and for three years thereafter, locally and nationally about this new course in Philadelphia. However, there was no mention of the soon-to-be famous wicker baskets. It could be assumed they were not there. By the summer of 1915, William Flynn, Merion's Superintendent, received patent approval for his wicker basket design. Merion had baskets that fall and from then-to-today. It could be assumed, due to lack of written proof, that Flynn convinced Wilson to use the baskets, and Merion received its "basket notoriety" the next year during the 1916 U.S. Amateur.
On September 12, 1912, the old course at Haverford was officially closed, although used for another year, and on the 14th, the new course and the clubhouse were opened to members. A report of the opening said the course was "among experts, considered the finest inland links in the country." This was an assessment that has been echoed down through the years.
If someone were to ask what ingredients make up Merion today, the recipe would include the following: one great golf course, another sporty golf course (the West), a tradition of great championships, a membership mindful of Merion's place in history and a dedicated staff.
The current condition of the course is constantly compared to early photographs, and every effort is made to ensure that people playing the course today compete on the same course as did the champions of old. For that reason, also, the course is maintained as though to hold championships daily. There is always an intermediate rough. The dunes grass and Scotch broom are other Merion traditions, as is the way that bunkers are maintained with peninsulas, islands of grass and "eyebrows.
Traditions at Merion are concerned with the playing of the game. No mulligans are permitted at the first tee. Players and caddies alike are expected to respect the course, and others on the course, by leaving each hole better than the way they found it — replacing divots, raking bunkers and fixing pitch marks — and by leaving it quickly. Slow play earns a reprimand at Merion.
Traditionally, the East Course is a walking course. The only people allowed to use golf carts are those with a medical necessity. Merion is committed to its caddie program. Caddies are trained and are expected to be able to tell players the exact yardage on any shot. There are no yardage markers anywhere on the course. In appreciation, Merion members are always around the leaders in contributions to the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Fund.
All in all, Merion is about golf. It honors history and the continuing values of the game.
The grand old course made its debut in national competition when it hosted the 1916 U.S. Amateur. The 1916 Championship also marked the first national appearance of Robert T. "Bobby" Jones, Jr., then 14 years old, who went on to win his first National Amateur at Merion in 1924. Jones closed his international career winning the 1930 U.S. Amateur on Merion's eleventh hole. This was his fourth major win of the year (U.S. and British Amateurs and Opens) completing the never-equaled Grand Slam.
Merion continues to make golf history to the present day. Georgianna Bishop, Bill Campbell, Dorothy Campbell, Gary Cowan, Olin Dutra, Chick Evans, David Graham, Leigh Anne Hardin, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Lloyd Mangrum, Buddy Marucci, Phil Mickelson, Cary Middlecoff, Johnny Miller, Edoardo Molinari, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Chris Patton, Gary Player, Mrs. Mark Porter, Jay Sigel, Sam Snead, Mrs. Henry Stetson, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose — Merion has known them all.
Course Photos
Course Review By: Chris Mavros, Golfadelphia
Course: In Ardmore, PA, just 20 minutes southwest of Philadelphia proper is the esteemed Merion Golf Club. Merion was established in 1896 and consists of two courses, the East and West, both designed by Hugh Wilson. The East opened in 1912 while the West opened in 1914. The East is the more well known and regarded course, hosting a number of major championships and is known as one of the best courses in the world. Currently ranked 12th on Golf Magazine’s best courses in the world, Merion typifies what a strategic course should be and is the gold standard for the mantra that length is not necessarily vital for a course to be challenging. Moreover, at a scant 126 acres, Merion is almost miraculous at maximizing the land upon which it is set; at no point in time does the course feel cramped, short or contrived. By intricate routing and using the hills, ridges, and creek as adroitly as possible, each hole comes as naturally as the next without interference from the others. The majority of the par 5’s are over 500 yards, the par 3’s range from 115 to 205 yards (from the Middle tees) and there were a number of par 4’s I was hitting a longer iron, hybrid or fairway wood on the second shot. The variety of shots, the sequence of holes, the strategy required for each shot; all of it’s a remarkable accomplishment when you have all the land you can imagine, let alone a little more than 120 acres... Continue Reading
Preserved Links Member Chris Mavros:
Website: https://golfadelphia.com/
Instagram: @golfadelphia
Preserved Links Member Chris Mavros:
Website: https://golfadelphia.com/
Instagram: @golfadelphia
Preserved Links member Photos
Preserved Links Podcast: Wayne Morrison & John Capers
In this episode of the Preserved Links Podcast we meet with friends Wayne Morrison & John Capers who serve on the Archives Committee at Merion Golf Club. We discuss how the Archives was founded and evolved into one of golfs greatest historical resources. We also discuss Wayne's book on William Flynn, The Nature Faker, and Flynns roll in Philadelphia Golf. Wayne & John give tips on how you can advocate for a room dedicated to historical preservation at your club also!