Wyncote - Pennsylvania - USA

Wyncote is an excellent daily fee course that boasts some of the best turf conditions you will get at a public course in the region. When you add in weather conditions that tend to vary from windy to extremely windy, this course is a great challenge for a very skilled player from the tips at just over 7000 yards. It's also a course where with the right conditions, a good player can have a low day due to the rather straight holing of the course.

The 1/10 dualing par 5s are commonly mentioned as the signature holes. My favorite holes are the par 4 4th, which has a tall hill of thick rough along the majority of the right side. A well placed tee ball in the fairway will still leave you a mid to low iron into a small (especially by course standards) green guarded by bunkering. I also enjoy the number one handicap 13th. A left side hazard marred by an aggressive right to left slope in the fairway gives a great tee ball a good chance of a healthy shot into a slightly elevated green guarded by bunkering.

Other than that, the majority of the holes are unmemorable and if nothing, at least in good shape for a course that undoubtedly gets a ton of play. If you are in the philly area and can't get on a private course, I would look to Glen Mills first (especially because it is a bit closer), however Wyncote is a solid track where you will feel like you got your moneys worth for the course.

There's no question that anyone heading to play Wyncote will get the best of service from an attentive staff and an equal element on the course conditioning side which is very well presented. The main lacking issue is an architectural style up to the task in matching the other two aforementioned areas.

That's not say there's nothing worth remembering. The shared green with the two par-5's at the 1st and 10th is a good touch. But for the most part the holes are simply sprawled out over a large canvass with large houses occupying most of the other available ground.

The general lament for public course players is the inability to have quality turf. That's not the case with Wyncote. While the chassis looks grand there's nothing really under the hood to really hold one's attention.

by M. James Ward