Hey there, this summer we’ll be relocating from Chicago to Philly. The transfer wasn’t supposed to go through until next spring, but they moved it up pretty aggressively. Due to the timeframe we are going to rent a place in the Bryn Mawr, Narberth, Wynnewood area, and likely buy a place in the same area once we are established.
Anyone in the area? Obviously there are a number of nice private places around there, but I wanted to see if anyone had any public course recommendations or any other intel on golf or even life in general up there?
I’m a big Glen Mills fan. There’s a few holes around the middle of each nine that feel squeezed in, but the very good holes throughout the round more than make up for that.
Welcome. I actually just moved back into the Phila area from 10+ years in Chicago and Western Suburbs. Needless to say you’ll find the weather here to be much less a kick in the balls than Chi town.
And pretty soon you’ll be tired of hearing the shitty sports fan/city cliches that ESPN and the national media peddles.
Don’t sleep on South Jersey. My wife and I were dead set on Mainline area where all my family is originally froms and decided against once she found how shitty the Schuylkill (76) is. (think Eisenhower down 1-2 lanes a few years ago or the area beyond Oakbrook around the Hillside Strangler.).
Awesome. Thanks for the great write up. One of the first places we focused on was Haddonfield, it seems like a great place. The problem I have with NJ is that the property and income taxes are really as bad as what we’d be leaving in Illinois. I know it’s boring to talk about taxes, but NJ would really take a chunk of my earnings.
I think we are most attracted to the Wynnewood, Narberth, Ardmore areas because it seems pretty walkable to stores and restaurants. Kind of getting into the ‘burbs without losing a lot of the things we like about city life. Also, the Lower Merion schools are one factor that’s driving this. We have a 3 year old who’ll be starting school soon.
The traffic would be less of an issue for me as I’d only be driving to PHL airport once a week and not during rush hour.
Thanks for the club invite, I have talked to my wife a bit about joining a club once we get settled in.
My favorite three public courses in greater Philly are Lulu, Jeffersonville, and Glen Mills.
Lulu is semi private - Ross Design with some cool quirk (only Ross holes I’ve played with a punch bowl and volcano green)
Jeffersonville - Also a Ross that is a muni with great bones. Good value
Glen Mills - A Bobby Weed design that is usually is really good condition for a daily fee course.
Next tier for me would be Paxon Hollow and Cobbs Creek. Paxon is on the short side but has some cool holes & quirk to it. Cobbs has some good bones but conditions can be suspect at times. Pace of play at both is very hit or miss. Cobbs has some very cool history and potentially going under what would be a high profile restoration but news has been slow on that front so I’m hoping they don’t put that on ice. Info on the potential restoration / history of the course can be found at: www.friendsofcobbscreekgc.com. The fried egg did a podcast with two of the individuals that are the driving force behind the project if you’re interested.
Some folks like broad run; it usually in good condition. Not my favorite design & not really walkable.
A good value spot that is extremely walkable is turtle creek. The design is fairly simple, but they usually keep it in good condition and they have some really good walk rates especially twilight / weekday twilight. Also adjacent to the the course is range that has decent grass tee area which is rare for Philly public ranges and it’s usually in good shape too.
A little further out going south you have inniscrone which is an early Gil Hanse design; and little further south on rt 1 is wyncote which is a fun track usually in good condition.
I am fairly well versed in the private club scene in greater Philly area; and belong to a local club. Would be happy to discuss the local private scene & have you out to mine. Feel free to private message me if interested.
Good luck on the move; this is a great area for golf so you have that going for you already. Cheers
Thanks for taking the time to type up this list. Once I’m in town and my back has healed from moving all of our possessions into a new home, I’ll definitely reference it for some playing options.
Also, I’ll definitely reach out should we choose to learn more about the private clubs. I know that we’ll want to get settled and figure out the lay of the land before we even entertain such notions.
I agree with most of whats all been said above- few comments for me below
Glenn Mills- lotta talk about this one and I feel like im the only one who isnt a fan- ive played it 2 or 3 times and some of the holes just really bother me (11 specifically) feels like a place where you can hit a perfect shot and get penalized for it
Lulu- on my “must play” list
Wyncote- pretty far away in oxford but a fun test, stay outta the tall grass
Jeffersonvile- agree with everything said above, as far as affordability for a fun golf course goes, its the best
Pickering Valley & Kimberton- PV not walkable but Kimberton is, both are pretty affordable
Ravens Claw and Turtle Creek are also fun spots to play
As private goes, (minus the merions & aronominks of the area) some awesome ones to check out joining are Applebrook, Waynesborough, North Hills, Union League golf club at Torresdale, Overbrook & Llanerch are some of my favorites. As some have said before, let me know once you make the move would love to have you at mine.
Funny you ask, im playing the wissahickon course for the first time next week, ill let you know.
Everything ive heard/ seen thus far is that it should be a pretty incredible day for me, driven by it a bunch. They just had the big10 championship there are well course was looking pristine
So many great courses in the area, may be one of the most golf rich regions in the US.
Here is my to-do list for 2019, I have some work to do, and might need some assistance.
Knowing someone makes it easy- sadly i dont know anyone. I did used to play in an outing there every year, i was able to play for free because i knew the person in charge of the organization it was for. (i think 4 somes cost about 4k). Best chance is to peek around online for any outings that are for charity/ open to the public- “believe and achieve” outing appears to have 4somes for 1800 which is quite a deal all things considered. Finding a member is the best/cheapest option
I was afraid of that. Unfortunately being in the Lancaster area, I don’t have a ton of great connections down in that area.
It’s a bummer, soooo many killer private courses around here. Such a tease.
