Though not known for golf, Philadelphia has rich history with the sport and a growing number of signature courses.
The city has hosted 10 USGA major tournaments and features some of the top courses and clubs in the country including Merion East, Aronimink, and Philadelphia Country Club.
We ranked the following Philadelphia golf courses and captured aerial pictures of each. Narrowing the list was no easy task. We started with over 150 courses from the greater Philadelphia area, captured aerial pictures of our top 65, then finally narrowed down to our final 50. To determine our ranking, we considered course aesthetics, design, and prestige.
Enjoy the pictures below and let us know in the comments if there are any courses you think we missed!
Top 50 Philly Courses
- Merion East – Merion Golf Club
- Aronimink Golf Club
- Wissahickon Golf Course – Philadelphia Cricket Club
- The Golf Course at Glen Mills
- Merion West – Merion Golf Club
- The ACE Club
- Rolling Green Golf Club
- Huntingdon Valley Country Club
- Militia Hill Golf Course – Philadelphia Cricket Club
- Philadelphia Country Club
- White Manor Country Club
- Green Valley Country Club
- Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
- Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
- Cedarbrook Country Club
- Sunnybrook Golf Club
- Meadowlands Country
- Applebrook Golf Course
- Union League Golf Course at Torresdale
- Whitford Country Club
- West Chester Golf & Country Club
- Saint Davids Golf Club
- Radnor Valley Country Club
- Llanerch Country Club
- Gulph Mills Golf Club
- Chester Valley Golf Club
- Plymouth Country Club
- Blue Bell Country Club
- Downingtown Golf Course
- Overbrook Golf Club
- North Hills Country Club
- Waynesborough Country Club
- Center Square Golf Club
- Hershey’s Mill Golf Club
- Woodcrest Country Club
- Concord Country Club
- Rancocas Golf Club
- Lulu Country Club
- Radley Run Country Club
- Jeffersonville Golf Club
- Phoenixville Country Club
- Penn Oaks Country Club
- Paxon Hollow Golf Club
- Meadowbrook Country Club
- Bala Golf Club
- Springhaven Club
- Westover Golf Course
- Merchantville Country Club
- The Club at Shannondell
- Flourtown Country Club
1. Merion East – Merion Golf Club
Ardmore, PA
2. Wissahickon Golf Course – Philadelphia Cricket Club
Flourtown, PA
3. The Golf Course at Glen Mills
Glen Mills, PA
4. Merion West – Merion Golf Club
Ardmore, PA
5. Aronimink Golf Club
Newtown Square, PA
6. The ACE Club
Lafayette Hill, PA
7. Rolling Green Golf Club
Springfield, PA
8. Huntingdon Valley Country Club
Huntingdon Valley, PA
9. Militia Hill Golf Course – Philadelphia Cricket Club
Plymouth Meeting, PA
10. Philadelphia Country Club
Gladwyne, PA
11. White Manor Country Club
Malvern, PA
12. Green Valley Country Club
Lafayette Hill, PA
13. Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
Lafayette Hill, PA
14. Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
Fort Washington, PA
15. Cedarbrook Country Club
Blue Bell, PA
16. Sunnybrook Golf Club
Plymouth Meeting, PA
17. Meadowlands Country Club
Blue Bell, PA
18. Applebrook Golf Course
Malvern, PA
19. Union League Golf Course at Torresdale
Philadelphia, PA
20. Whitford Country Club
Exton, PA
21. West Chester Golf & Country Club
West Chester, PA
22. Saint Davids Golf Club
Wayne, PA
23. Radnor Valley Country Club
Villanova, PA
24. Llanerch Country Club
Havertown, PA
25. Gulph Mills Golf Club
King of Prussia, PA
26. Chester Valley Golf Club
Malvern, PA
27. Plymouth Country Club
Plymouth Meeting, PA
28. Blue Bell Country Club
Blue Bell, PA
29. Downingtown Golf Course
Downingtown, PA
30. Overbrook Golf Club
Bryn Mawr, PA
31. North Hills Country Club
North Hills, PA
32. Waynesborough Country Club
Paoli, PA
33. Center Square Golf Club
Norristown, PA
34. Hershey’s Mill Golf Club
West Chester, PA
35. Woodcrest Country Club
Cherry Hill, NJ
36. Concord Country Club
Concordville, PA
37. Rancocas Golf Club
Willingboro, NJ
38. Lulu Country Club
North Hills, PA
39. Radley Run Coutry Club
West Chester, PA
40. Jeffersonville Golf Club
Jeffersonville, PA
41. Phoenixville Country Club
Phoenixville, PA
42. Penn Oaks Country Club
West Chester, PA
43. Paxon Hollow Golf Club
Media, PA
44. Meadowbrook Country Club
Huntingdon Valley, PA
45. Bala Golf Club
Philadelphia, PA
46. Springhaven Club
Wallingford, PA
47. Westover Golf Course
Norristown, PA
48. Merchantville Country Club
Merchantville, NJ
49. The Club at Shannondell
Audubon, PA
50. Flourtown Country Club
Flourtown, PA
Let us know what you think of our rankings in the comments below!
Merchantville is in NJ not PA. No Pine Valley? ?????
Thanks Gerry, we fixed the typo. We didn’t include Pine Valley because we didn’t go that far into NJ. It’s a great course so if we do another one of these, we’ll definitely feature them.
Where’s Stonewall at? That’s easily a top 10
Commonwealth National in Horsham, PA.
How did Commonwealth not make this list?
LOL @ Flourtown CC…
Nothing in Bucks County? Spring Mill, Jericho and Lookaway should be included.
Flourtown Country Club…looks like it could use some work. Yikes!
and if you’re going by aerial views alone, then both Merion’s and Huntington Valley should slip out of the top ten.
What no Cobbs?
Some pretty major omissions here… commonwealth, spring mill, old York road to name a few. Pretty funny that a couple dog tracks like westover made the cut.
Thanks for all the comments! For those who mentioned Commonwealth, it is unfortunately located next to the Horsham Air Guard Station, so we were unable to fly our drones there. It’s a beautiful course!
no Tavistock? no Laurel Creek? Rancocas no. 37? Should have stated what counties not just Philadelphia. 2 months, should have taken 3
Curt
The NJ courses on the list are hysterical. Tavistock is closer to Philadelphia then all of the NJ courses on the list.
Bala is quite the dog track so I would be curious to know the shape of the courses beneath that.
I wouldn’t call Bala a dog track! Nice little course and fun to play…old style with small greens!
Philadelphia got an early start to golf in America. It is home to some of the best golf course designers in the world. As a teenager, George Thomas designed and built Whitemarsh on his family’s farm in the late 1890’s. William Flynn had a huge influence on many great Philadelphia courses including Merion.
Not sure what criteria was used to compose the list. St. Martin’s, Squires, Talamore, Philmont, Green Valley, Overbrook & Gulph Mills are all better groomed than some of the ones on your list.
Dan, It’s just amazing, you do a good thing and give it away and people find things to complain about. Many of these responses illustrate people’s preference to look at pictures but not read the narrative. (i.e. Pine Valley explanation). They’re also examples of the great Philadelphia parochialism, in this case as regards the haters favorite or local tracks. Thanks for your work. I look forward to flyovers of other courses.
Nice job Matt. If you need any help with remote pilots let me know.
Makefield Highlands in Yardley, PA