Special Places - Aronimink Golf Club

Eleven Major winners including Vijay Singh, Trevor Immelman and recent World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Ernie Els will be teeing it up at Aronimink Golf Club for the AT&T National, an event that is fast becoming an Independence Day weekend tradition. Located in Newtown, 25 km from the centre of Philadelphia and less than 150 km southwest of New York City, Aronimink plays host to the tournament for the second time. A still-recuperating Tiger Woods though not playing will be present as the event benefits his Foundation. Gary Player is an Honorary Member here.

Founded in 1896, Aronimink was a pioneering force as golf took root in America, and the layout we see today opened for play on Memorial Day in 1928. This is a classic design of iconic architect Donald Ross whose many credits include Pinehurst No 2, Seminole and Oakland Hills. Ross’ stamp as a designer was naturalness and his most widely recognised trademark is the crowned or turtleback green in strong evidence at Pinehurst. In 2003 Ron Prichard, an authority on Ross and a noted architect in his own right, completed a restoration project at Aronimink that recaptured classic Ross features that had been diminished or lost over the years.

Framed by evergreens and hardwoods, the layout is a test of sound course management. The intimidating opening hole is one of the most memorable in golf, plunging down into a valley and then uphill to a well-guarded undulating green. No 7 is a challenging dogleg where the approach must carry a yawning bunker fronting a green with many difficult pin locations. The back nine begins with a tough par 4 where the narrow fairway must be found in order to attack a sharply terraced green protected by a water hazard. The 197m par 3 17th is this week’s Kodak Challenge hole, and the tree-lined uphill 18th has a winding terraced green where a two-putt is not guaranteed.

Donald Ross believed that the function of a championship course “is to present competitors with a variety of problems that will test every type of shot which a golfer of championship ability should be qualified to play. Thus it should call for long and accurate tee shots, accurate iron play, precise handling of the short game, and finally, consistent putting.” Aronimink’s 6570m par 70 layout fully lives up to Ross’ philosophy, and is a worthy test of the world’s most skilled golfers.

Golfweather Editorial