Merion (East)
Located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania , Merion (East) is one of the two golf courses that belong to the Merion Golf Club .
History of the course
The Merion Golf Club was formed in 1896 by members of Merion Cricket Club at Haverford, Pennsylvania . The Merion (East) was opened in September, 1912 after the club authorities made up their mind to build a new course in 1910. Hugh, Wilson, a member of the club, designed it. Wilson, designing his first golf course, visited the different courses of England and Scotland and drew inspiration from them. He also designed the Merion (West) Course in 1914.
Both courses have narrow fairways and fast greens. The fairways have few trees and are lined with a thick rough.
Course Trivia
- The 16 th hole of the Merion (East) course is the most famous. There is a limestone quarry in front of the green which you have to cross on your approach shot.
- Another unusual thing about the course is that all pins are topped with wicker baskets instead of the usual flags. It has been used since the inception of the course and it even features on the logo of the club.
- The Merion Golf Club has played host to a number of top level tournaments.
- The club has been assigned the job of hosting the US Open, one of the four majors, in 2013. It had hosted it earlier on four occasions.
- Till date, it has held 17 USGA tournaments.
- In 1992, the Merion Golf Club was declared National Historic landmark by the US Government.
- Outsiders are not allowed to play unless they are accompanied by a member.
The Merion (East) golf course occupies the seventh spot in Golf Digest magazine's list of Top 100 Golf Courses in the US in 2005. It was ranked as high as sixth in the same category by the magazine in 1995. As we continue on this tour we will learn about the other top-100 golf courses in the world.
