Llanerch

Golf was played at Havertown on sand-based greens under various club names from 1895 to 1916, but Llanerch Country Club wasn’t officially formed until 1919, by which time the greens had been grassed.

Scotsman, Alex Findlay, laid out a new course for the members in 1924 and he returned four years later to extend this 18-hole layout to 27 holes. Unfortunately, nine holes were lost to housing soon after the Second World War, so the club commissioned J.B. McGovern, an associate of Donald Ross, to reconfigure the layout back to 18 holes.

No doubt the proudest moment in Llanerch’s long history was when the club hosted the 1958 PGA Championship.

Tom Doak commented as follows in his January 2020 newsletter:

“Brian Schneider added a former major championship site to his consulting portfolio last fall, starting on the first half of an 18-hole renovation in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Or had you forgotten about Dow Finsterwald’s 1958 PGA Championship win?”

“Refreshed, renovated, re-invigorated and renewed” was how architect Stephen Kay’s 2004/2005 Llanerch course renovation was described. We wonder how Brian Schneider’s efforts will be reported?

Renaissance Golf Design’s brief was “to make the golf course as fun, engaging, and visually attractive as possible while also embracing and showcasing the features of the design and the property that are unique to Llanerch.”

So far so good…

Inspired by the 6th hole at West Sussex, the tee boxes at Llanerch’s No.8 were move to the right and the fairway expanded to bring the creek into play. The green has been softened while maintaining its three tiers and its approach widened to allow run ups.

Schneider explained to the membership that an early document from the 1930s showed that the 17th was called “Eagles Nest” as it was based on the 5th hole “Het Girdle” on the King’s course at Gleneagles. Het Girdle means hot griddle or skillet. The implication is that just as oil may slide off a hot plate so may an imperfectly struck approach slip off this expanded No.17 green.

We expect the reimagined Llanerch to be very, very tasty.