Love Letter To: The Philadelphia Cricket Club

Timeless. The first word that comes to mind as you walk the Wissahickon Course at Philadelphia Cricket Club. An A.W. Tillinghast gem that was finished in 1922. In 1920 an established membership of English scholars who liked to play cricket asked Tillinghast if he would build a course 30 miles North of Philadelphia and 8 miles East from their cricket club.

You probably have heard of some of Tilinghast’s work—Winged Foot, Bethpage Black, and Baltusrol—among them. His courses bring a subtle charm and simplistic approach. Fairway bunkers often sit on the inside of the dogleg, greens slope back-to-front, and the par-3s always catch your attention.

In 2013, the course underwent a complete restoration by Keith Foster, helping restore the course to its original design. Trees were taken out that had grown for almost 100 years. Now with the open look, you can find yourself gazing across the property from the original 1922 clubhouse, to the modest hills that shape the course.

The clubhouse serves as a reminder of the history that you find yourself in. A brick building that has been added to, sits right up against the greens and tee boxes of the Wissahickon Course. Inside you’ll find a club repair store, wooden lockers, carpet floors and sunlight glowing through double-hung windows.

The class and style of this design shows how quickly your strategy in playing golf can change. Hit the fairway and you’ll be thinking, “birdie”. But miss, and you instantly go on the defence, “make par and move on!”