Wyncote

Wyncote Golf Club would offer competition for those looking for the finest public-access layouts in Philadelphia, but its location in Oxford, PA — nearly an hour-and-a-half from the crowded city center — helps it stand out with an idyllic atmosphere. This condition is fed by the agricultural surrounds of the club, about as close to the quiet “dunes” that a Pennsylvanian could hope for.

Brain Ault laid out the course during 1993, citing a “heathland” inspiration for the inland offering. That said, the countryside offered a significant amount of wetland to be considered, and Ault incorporates it to serve in heroic fashion where unavoidable. Examples include No. 2, a par three that skirts the wetland, and No. 12, a short par four where survival banks on a forced carry across the marsh.

Numerous American courses have jumped on a trend of ending both nines with holes that share both a green and a defending pond in between them. Wyncote defies this formula slightly, instead opening both nines with par fives (of different lengths) that end up at a shared green, with the pond to keep players honest.