I had the opportunity to play Applebrook in late September and found the course to be even better than advertised. As a big fan of Gil Hanse's work, both his renovations as well as original course designs, I was excited to play one of his very first commissions. First, the clubhouse is one of the very coolest I have visited in all of golf. Styled after a Pennsylvania farm house, the building had really cool details throughout, including reclaimed wood floors, fieldstone fireplaces, etc. It was hard to believe that the building was only 20 years old.

On to the course. A delightful, straightforward golf course, Hanse did a great job utilizing the rolling hills of the property to create some fantastic variety of holes. Hole 3 was a particular favorite of mine, a downhill drivable par 4 where the green is hidden below a ridge. I made a tap-in birdie which didn't hurt, but it was probably the most unique hole on the course and one that would feel at home at some of the more adventurous links courses in Ireland, like Carne. Eighteen is a fantastic finishing hole that frames the clubhouse beautifully, though the straight uphill approach into eighteen means don't hesitate to play even more club than you think. The greens were not particularly wild, but had enough contours and subtle breaks to make them a fun challenge. Course conditioning was fantastic.

I was told that Applebrook was originally built as a place for Aronimink members to play on Mondays, when the latter course is closed, and it definitely had the low-key yet golf-obsessed feel of a secondary member's club.

A delight to play, if you get an invite, definitely take advantage.