Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)

Merion Golf Club

450 Ardmore Ave,

Ardmore, Pennsylvania 19003

  • Office

    +1 (610) 642 5600
  • Pro shop

    +1 (610) 642 9820
  • Fax

    +1 (610) 642 2980
  • Golf pro

    Scott Nye (Head Golf Professional)

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Open inland links. Undulating terrain - several slopes to climb.

  • Surroundings:

    Woodland and limited high-end residential.

  • Designer:

    Hugh Irvine Wilson designed both Merion's East course (1912) and West course (1914).

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Yards
6592
5746
5746
Par
70
70
74
SSS or slope
73.4
69.5
75.2

At the same location:

Above distances are for the East course. Also at Merion is the 18-hole par-70 West course (5,989 yds from back tees). The West course has its own clubhouse, and is located 1 mile west of the East course.

Location

Latitude:

39.999619

Longitude:

-75.311193

How to get there:

1.5 mi W of Ardmore / 9 mi NW of downtown Philadelphia.

Merion Golf Club (East course)

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.

Est. 1896

Merion Golf Club is home to two championship layouts, the world-renowned East course and the also impressive West course. In the East course you will find one of the United States' most admired tree-lined and open parkland layouts, with an outstanding array of excellently crafted and challenging holes. However, this is a very private course, playable only by its members and their invited guests.

Designed by Hugh Wilson, an unknown course designer at the time, Merion’s East course has played host to more USGA Championships than any course in America. It was here that the great Bobby Jones completed golf’s elusive Grand Slam at the 1930 U.S. Amateur. Here that Ben Hogan hit his legendary one-iron on the 72nd hole during the 1950 U.S. Open.

The sculpted greens, fairways, and treacherous bunkers of Merion have shaped its reputation. And so too the wicker basket flagsticks, the origins of which remain a mystery. By the summer of 1915, William S. Flynn, at the time Merion's superintendent (and later to become a celebrated course architect), received patent approval for his wicker basket design. Merion had baskets from that point onward.

List of courses: Around Philly & Atlantic City
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)
  • Photo of Merion Golf Club (East course)

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Private club; guests may only play if hosted by a member.

Green fees

Outside visitor fee not applicable; course exclusively for members and their guests.

Other information

Merion is a walking course. Golf carts only available if required on medical grounds. Caddies always available.

Practice facilities

Excellent practice facilities are located at the East course.

Did you know?

Merion Golf Club came into being in 1896, when members of the local Merion Cricket Club (est. 1865) decided to open a golf course in Haverford. In 1910 the club commissioned one of its members, 32-year-old Hugh Wilson, to design a new course for the club, to replace the existing course.

After extensive discussions with the "father of American golf course design" Charles Blair Macdonald, and a seven month trip to study many notable layouts in England and Scotland, Wilson designed what would become Merion's famed East course. Two years later he also designed the West course.

Merion has hosted 19 USGA championships (mostly on its famed East course), more than any other golf club in the country. The club's Roll of Honour includes Walker and Curtis Cups, US Open and US Amateur Championships, US Women’s Amateur, US Girls’ Junior Amateur and Men’s World Amateur Team Championships (see our Tournaments section >by Venue >Merion GC).

Published ranking

East course:
World
: 15th best course in the world (GOLF magazine, 2020/21).
USA: 6th best course in the USA (Golf Digest, 2019/20).
State: 2nd best course in Pennsylvania (Golf Digest, 2019/20).

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

Tournament of Champions: the PGA Tour’s calendar-year starts, as it has done since 1999, with this iconic event in Hawaii. The field is drawn from players who won a PGA Tour event in 2022, or were amongst the top 30 in last year’s FedEx Cup final standings (Jan 6-9).

Desert Swing: the European (DP World) Tour launches into 2023 with three events in its UAE “Desert Swing”. Up first is the Abu Dhabi Championship (Jan 19-22), followed by the Dubai Desert Classic (Jan 26-29) and the Ras Al Kaimah Championship (Feb 2-5).

Who's Who

Kathy Whitworth: the end of 2022 saw the passing of LPGA Tour legend Kathy Whitworth. Her 88 LPGA Tour victories is more than achieved by any other golfer on either the LPGA or PGA Tours. Amongst her victories were six major championship titles.

Barry Lane: the golfing world was also saddened by the passing of Barry Lane, one of the European Tour and European Senior Tours most popular players. Enjoying success on both Tours, Lane was know for his excellent ball-striking and amiable personality.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.
Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Costa Cruise & Golf

Costa’s "Cruise & Golf" allows golfers and their families to combine a unique golfing experience with the relaxation and fun of a cruise on board Costa Smeralda. Golf enthusiasts are offered a choice from 23 top-quality golf clubs; their chosen courses are played during the ship’s port calls in Italy, France and Spain. While the golfers are driving the fairways, accompanying non-golfers are able to enjoy the amenities and activities on-board, or explore wonderful places on day excursions organised by Costa. Read more ...

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Pebble Beach Golf Links

Ryder Cup 2023 at Marco Simone

Woking Golf Club