Shackamaxon

The course at Shackamaxon Country Club is an A. W. Tillinghast layout dating back to 1916 so it’s one of the first 18-hole tracks the architect ever designed, employing features he would use throughout his career such as flash-faced sand hazards and diagonal cross bunkering.

Stephen Kay carried out a recent restoration, preserving the Tillinghast greens by expanding them as far as they could go to highlight the movement in the putting surfaces. A new Reef hole was also introduced when changing the short par four 13th to a par three in order to accommodate a realignment of the entrance road to the clubhouse.

The Reef hole – so called because of the angled ridge and bunkers in front of the green – is not one that Tillie replicated too often, though examples can be found on the Blue course at Bethpage and the Upper course at Baltusrol.

Rarer still is the architect’s design of an island green at the short par four 18th hole (which used to be the 9th before the nines were reversed) where a semi-blind tee shot is followed by an angled approach to a home green which is completely surrounded by water.

In The American Private Golf Club Guide, Daniel Wexler writes this about the course: “Tillinghast’s routing has been fully retained, though numerous bunkers have been added or subtracted, making the course play rather differently today than during the Golden Age.”

Despite having reservations about the bunkering, the author then states: “Shackamaxon doesn’t represent a pure Tillinghast playing experience, but it is a mature parkland layout with enough classic flavor to remain enjoyable nonetheless.”