Location: Ardmore, Pennsylvania, USA | Ranking: #54 — The Global Golfer Top 100
Type: Parkland | Designer: Hugh Wilson (1912)
Editor’s Note: Merion East is America’s most compact major championship venue — barely 6,996 yards — and its most cerebral test. Hugh Wilson studied British links courses before designing it; the white wicker baskets on the flagsticks instead of flags are its most distinctive feature. Bobby Jones completed the Grand Slam here in 1930; Justin Rose claimed the 2013 US Open with a 2-iron on 18. The quality of design per square yard is unmatched in American golf.
Contact & Access
- Access: Members and guests only | Rating / Slope: 75.8 / 145 | Airport: Philadelphia (PHL) — 20 mins.
Championship Scorecard — East Course
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | OUT |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 34 |
| Yards | 355 | 535 | 183 | 600 | 426 | 420 | 350 | 130 | 435 | 3,434 |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | IN | TOTAL |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 70 |
| Yards | 312 | 369 | 378 | 129 | 414 | 366 | 428 | 246 | 521 | 3,163 | 6,996 |
Par 4Par 3Par 5
Key Notes & 19th Hole
- The Wicker Baskets: Merion’s flagsticks carry wicker baskets rather than flags — a tradition dating to the club’s founding. They have become the most distinctive symbol in American major championship golf.
- Hole 18 — Par 4, 521 Yards: Bobby Jones completed the Grand Slam here in 1930. Justin Rose hit a 2-iron to the green in the 2013 US Open — one of the most celebrated shots in modern major championship history.
- Philadelphia: One of America’s most historically rich cities — Liberty Bell, Eastern State Penitentiary, Reading Terminal Market. Philadelphia hotels via Expedia →