Of all the strong par 4s, the 454-yard 10th takes the palm. Played
from an elevated tee, the hole has a bit of a roller coaster feel to
it. We want
to put our drive in the sand-framed landing area at the top
of the first “up,”
then our long second shot on the steeply terraced
green at the end of the gentle
second rise, for three-putting is a
clear and present danger.
It almost goes without saying that by the time Aronimink hosted
the 1962 PGA, the course was no longer pure Ross. In truth, it would
not be easy
to find a championship Ross course that has never been
altered. It was
Tillinghast who, in the late 1930s, was the first to
lay a revisionist’s hand on
Aronimink. In 1961 Dick Wilson was called
in to toughen the course. In addition
to lengthening many holes, he
also flashed the sand up a number of bunker faces.
(Ross confined his
sand to the bottom of the pit.)
The club was selected to hold the 1993 PGA Championship; yhe 1993
PGA was not played at Aronimink. While agreeing with the PGA of
America’s new
requirement that the host club have minorities
represented on its membership
roster, Aronimink decided not to alter
its approval process by arbitrarily
moving an African-American
candidate to the top of the waiting list. Instead,
the club chose to
step aside as host of the championship, with the understanding
that it
could be reconsidered at a later time.
Since then, many members have wanted to recapture the
quintessential Ross features that had been lost over the years. Ron
Prichard, a
Philadelphia-based golf course architect who has become a
prominent expositor of
Ross’ philosophy, was called in to substantially
reduce the number of trees the
club had planted, restore the putting
areas to their initial shape and size
(Ross’ original greens were
invariably larger and more complex), and recapture
the Ross bunkering.
At least where Aronimink is concerned, Donald Ross can stop
spinning in his grave. This is one classic course that has returned to
its
roots.
Par: 70
Yardage: 6,955
Year founded: 1896
Architect: Donald Ross
