THE COURSE:
Merion Golf Club, East Course. 6,996 yrds, par 70
Location: Ardmore, Pennsylvania, USA.
Merion Golf Clubs dates back to 1896 but it wasn’t until 1910 that the club’s members decided to build a new East Course. The designer, Hugh Wilson, was a club member and Merion was his first project. He visited the UK to study the top courses of England and Scotland to gain understanding and inspiration. The East course opened in September 1912. In 2005 Merion East ranked seventh in Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses”.
Merion East has staged four previous US Opens, the most famous of which was Ben Hogan’s 1950 victory. A little more than a year after surviving a near fatal car crash, Hogan needed a par at the last to force a playoff. A near perfect 1 iron from the middle of the fairway onto the green secured his four and he went on to win the three way playoff the next day.
At under 7,000yrds Merion is a short course by today’s standards. However, there are an interesting mix of tough holes and birdie opportunities. The par 3s are demanding and measure 256, 236, 115 & 246 yrds. Real birdie opportunities lie in the middle 6 holes before a brutal closing stretch of long par 4s at 14, 16 & 18.
Congratulation Justin Rose, 2013 US Open Champion.
Image courtesy of Penn State Turfgrass