Aronimink Golf Club
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA
Architect: Donald Ross (1928)
Updated: Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner (2015)
Yards — 7,313. Par — 70.
75.5 Course Rating / 144 Slope
This week the PGA Championship is being hosted by one of the premier Donald Ross courses in the United States. Aronimink Golf Club is no stranger to staging elite competitions and the return to the limelight is a good opportunity to examine the many qualities the course provides.
First, Aronimink was seriously improved by the involvement of architect Gil Hanse and his partner Jim Wagner in 2015. The course had become littered with invasive trees that only served to hide the majesty of the rolling land and to narrow down the intrinsic shot making qualities the layout provides.
The club is situated on 300+ acres, so the scale of the property is enhanced without all the clutter. The terrain is rolling so there’s enough variety in terms of land movement but nothing excessive that makes walking a real chore.
The opening four holes are all two-shot holes. The start of the round comes with a quite challenging hole of 434 yards. The hole plunges downhill before ascending rapidly to the well-defended putting surface.
When you reach the green, you encounter the main strength of the layout – the intricate and vexing internal movements of the putting surfaces.
If one wishes to achieve consistent success at Aronimink it comes with executing quality approach shots. The surfaces have different sections and there are a number of internal spines and ribs which cordon off areas of each green.
The opening quartet of par-4 holes is varied in terms of presentation and routing. Ross smartly crafted a layout in which adjustments to both terrain and wind direction are common elements for players to handle.
One of the original Ross elements was the proliferation of bunkers. Originally, the design featured 170+. And unlike other Ross courses where singular bunkers were usually placed, Aronimink has them in clusters. You often encounter a number of bunkers stacked together and placed strategically. They are small and can be hard to navigate if the ball and one’s stance are in awkward positions.
The par-3 holes at Aronimink are varied — with the short 5th counterbalanced nicely with the long 8th. In both instances, the putting surfaces feature an array of different movements. There are also closely mowed areas just off the greens and it’s easy for any misplayed shot to go additional distance away from the pin location.
The closing hole on the outward side is a long three-shot hole of 605 yards. The key is getting one’s second shot placed so that the approach can have the optimum yardage and angle into the target,
The inward side commences with another elevated tee shot into a fairway below. Strong players can secure additional yardage because of the tilt of the fairway. The approach is also tested with the aforementioned various sections of the green and run-offs.
The most testing hole at Aronimink comes up with the uphill 11th. The green is severely canted and any shot that misses on the short side will find serious scorecard pain. Those approach shots without adequate yardage can easily slide off the front and have one’s ball scamper back downhill. Total precision and well-executed shots are a must here.
The balance of the holes on the inward side is a good mixture.
The real test comes with the final four holes. Hole 15 is a brutal hole because of its length — 546 yards. That’s no misprint. The tee shot must find the fairway and even with that accomplishment the second shot is to an elevated target that rejects all but the finest of plays.
The final trio of holes is done well with mixture of par-5, par-3 and par-4 holes in succession. Hole 16 is a par-5 and can be reached in two shots by strong players. The penultimate hole features a large green with again plenty of internal contours.
Aronimink’s finale has been stretched to a max of 490 yards. The tee shot slides uphill for both the tee shot and then the approach on the par-4. A large singular tree can impact the second shot if your tee shot finishes too near to the right side. The approach shot is played uphill to a large sized green with a range of hard to decipher movements.
The metro Philadelphia area is stacked deep with a roster of top tier courses. The fingerprints of several key architects during the golden age of architecture in the 1920s and 1930s created an amazing period that provided such noteworthy and long-lasting results.
Aronimink benefited immensely from the recent updating by Hanse and Wagner. For those visiting the “City of Brotherly Love” an opportunity to play Aronimink is well worth one’s time in playing one of the real jewels created by Donald Ross.
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Verdict — BIRDIE +
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Ratings AssessmentDouble Eagle Not a hole to be missed. Compelling architecture throughout testing mental and physical resolve. Your heart bumps with exhilaration from 1st tee to 18th green. Eagle + Superior shotmaking values in tandem with related turf quality melding an experience of the highest order. Eagle Like its namesake – flies high in the clouds. Consistent variety with strategic holes demonstrating brilliance at various moments. Birdie + Engaging design providing thoughtful intersections with creative results front and center. Birdie Quality architecture exists but held back by limited standout holes encountered. Par+ Has several holes of note but too many pedestrian ones subtract from the experience. Par Enjoyable but like vanilla ice cream – mainly ordinary. Bogey Little substance of note – has design fumbles that are more prevalent than need be. Double-bogey A total mistake — in need of upgrades with substandard holes, inferior routing and substandard conditioning. Triple-bogey An utter mess. Avoid the pain of the experience and the loss of time / money. ***
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Related: On the tee — Gary Player
