Course Name and Location: Philadelphia Cricket Club (Militia Hill course) in Plymouth Meeting, PA (15 miles north of Philadelphia)
Type of Course: Private (I played with a benefit outing)
Course Designer: Dr. Michael Hurdzan & Dana Frye (2002)
TLDR: Sister course to Philadelphia Cricket Club’s well-known gem, Wissahickon. The course was in phenomenal shape, with greens that rolled incredibly true. A fun layout that included some really gettable holes from the III tees we played with the outing (6,313 yards playing to a 125 slope). Capped off with a beautiful clubhouse steeped in history, I’d race to play either of these courses any chance I got.
When a buddy called up saying that he needed a 4th to round out his team for an upcoming charity tournament for a great cause it was an easy yes. The fact that I’d be going down to play a Philadelphia-area gem that I’ve had my eye on since moving to Pennsylvania in 2017 was just icing on the cake. The format was to be a Shamble – one of my favorites (everyone tees off, choose the best drive, and then everyone plays their own ball from that spot).
To get to Philadelphia Cricket Club, you wind your way through a beautiful neighborhood, and you can feel the history of the course from the moment you arrive. At the main Clubhouse at the Wissahickon course shown above, you get a great view of 1 and 18 – which is always nice to get to see folks finishing their matches as you enjoy a nice frosty beverage.
After a nice bite to eat (Chef Ben certainly knows a thing or two about fried chicken), we hit the range and putting green to loosen up. A wide open range greeted us with plenty of targets, and a QR code system to easily see yardages in case you didn’t bring your shooter. After rolling a few on the putting green I could tell this was going to be a fun day.
And just like that, we were off and playing. The first green confirmed what the practice area had suggested – these surfaces were going to be pure!!
Throughout my Blog I’ll mention some of the holes that stood out most to me. It might be design elements, or just how they played for me that day…
After an easy birdie on 1, hole 2 left an uphill approach to a great with a significant amount of crowning. You could tell here that downhill putts were going to be quick.
Hole 3, shown above, was one of my favorites of the day. A very reachable par 5 (538 from the tips, and only playing 479 with the outing), you’re faced with water all the way up the left side of the fairway. Long hitters have the chance to really get it out there, and we were left with a nice smooth 165 yard approach from a great angle. I had a really nice chance at a flat 20 footer to get the day started hot, but my putt hit the pin and popped out 🤦♂️ … Only the second time I’ve ever hit a putt that I think would have dropped if the pin were pulled. Oh well, can’t be mad about a tap-in birdie.
We made our way through the front nine, enjoying the course and conditions. Holes 6 and 7 kind of had a way of going back and forth a bit, but the wonderful conditions hid any monotony.
The look above is from the patio at the Militia Hill clubhouse. Great place to enjoy a pre or post-round beverage, but we were making the turn for the back nine. Hole 10 kicks off as a nice, easy uphill par four. I failed to convert a birdie, and we moved on.
12 is a short par four (397 from the tips, but only 362 from the III tees). Today it was playing downwind, and the breeze really started kicking up. We stepped up to the tee feeling like the ball was definitely going to fly. I sprayed my drive a bit wide, but still really got into it. Luckily, one of playing partners hit the drive of the day, catching the downslope and rolling right to the green – leaving us with a very makeable 15 footer. Can’t believe that we ALL left this putt short, but somehow we did. Another tap-in birdie.
Hole 14 was one of my favorites. Another short par five, this hole has a creek splitting the middle of the fairway, and an elevated green to hit into. It’s pretty straight-forward, but just a great looking hole, to a bit of a tricky green. And like every hole we played here at Militia Hill, in absolutely gorgeous shape.
I birdied 16 and 17, helped out by some great starting positions for our team. 18 is a great ender, playing to an uphill green. We left ourselves 120 out, in a nice position to have one last scoring chance before ending the day. Cleaned up a 7-footer to end the day with par and move on to the 19th hole 🍺
Posting my scorecard below, but remember, this was a Shamble. I had the help of some great drives by my teammates, so it was definitely friendly to be playing from position A all day. I’m currently an 8 handicapper, whose goal is always to go out and break 80 (which I do now and again)…
After the round we stuck around for a dinner (food was great) and some chatting with our fellow competitors.
Since the course is around 3 hours from my home in Lewisburg, I thought it’d be easiest to stay the night. Booked the Holiday Inn & Suites in Fort Washington (<10 minutes away) and took the opportunity to meet up with an old friend here in town. We headed to a bar named Magerks, just a hop away from the hotel. Fun spot to catch some sports and grab some more nibbles, so we enjoyed a pint or two more.
Recap: I had a fantastic time playing Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Militia Hill course. The biggest standout feature of the course were its overall conditions. In particular, the greens here were some of the best that I’ve played in years. I had such a blast putting on them, as the rolled incredibly true. The course was interesting, service was excellent, and I’ll race back to play any chance I get.
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