Best golf courses near King Of Prussia, PA

Merion East has long been considered the best course on the tightest acreage in America, and when it hosted the U.S. Open in 2013, its first since 1981, the present generation of big hitters couldn’t conquer this clever little course. They couldn’t consistently hit its twisting fairways, which are edged by creeks, hodge-podge rough and OB stakes and couldn’t consistently hold its canted greens, edged by bunkers that stare back. Justin Rose won with a 72-hole total of one-over-par, two ahead of Jason Day and Phil Mickelson. With Gil Hanse's extensive two-year renovation making even more improvements at Merion's East Course, the design should be even more polished when the Open returns again in 2030.

Philadelphia Cricket was Tillinghast’s home club in his early years as a golfer, so when he laid out a new course for the club in the early 1920s, he devoted special attention to it. Over the century, it aged. Greens shrank, bunkers eroded, trees grew (including one right through the roof of a clubhouse veranda). In 2008, Keith Foster was retained to restore the course to its Tillinghast glory, but a poor economy postponed the work until the summer of 2013. The Cricket is now faithful to Tilly once again, with trees removed and original greens and bunkers reclaimed, including the famed “Great Hazard” that must be carried on the par-5 seventh. As per his request, Tillinghast’s ashes were scattered in the Wissahickon Creek that crosses the 18th green.

Philadelphia Country Club's Spring Mill Course in Gladwyne is ranked as one of the best golf courses in Pennsylvania. Discover our experts reviews and tee time information

Aronimink is an object lesson in architectural evolution. After Donald Ross completed his design in 1928, he proclaimed, “I intended to make this my masterpiece.” That didn’t keep club members from bringing in William Gordon in the 1950s to eliminate out-of-play fairway bunkers and move other bunkers closer to greens. The course was later revamped by Dick Wilson, George Fazio and Robert Trent Jones. In the 1990s and into the 2000s, Ron Prichard, one of the profession’s original restoration specialists, began returning Aronimink back to Ross’s conception based on the architect’s drawings and field diagrams. But there was always a discrepancy between what Ross drew in plans and what was actually built in 1928. A more recent renovation by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, who live nearby, has put the course’s architecture more in line with what aerial photographs depict of the early design, particularly the bunkering that might have been imagined as larger in scale but built in smaller, more scatter-shot formations.

Llanerch Country Club in Havertown is ranked as one of the best golf courses in Pennsylvania. Discover our experts reviews and tee time information

In just his second solo design, Gil Hanse’s Applebrook aims to provide a challenge with options for playability. With wide fairways and green complexes both subtle and intricate, Hanse allows for players of all levels the opportunity to try and put up a score. While bunkers are plentiful and varied they do not overwhelm the golfer, and the water’s presence on nearly half the holes provide for manageable forced carries. The course is not long in comparison to some of Hanse’s championship renovations and the wide fairways allow for aggressive tee balls, accuracy is rewarded equally to avoid the 40-plus greenside bunkers and to deal with difficult hole locations.

Manufacturers' Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington is ranked as one of the best golf courses in Pennsylvania. Discover our experts reviews and tee time information

Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield is ranked as one of the best golf courses in Pennsylvania. Discover our experts reviews and tee time information

Situated just north of Philadelphia, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club was the first 18-hole course designed by George C. Thomas. Thomas designed the course, known originally at Mount Airy Country Club, on his family’s estate. The course is one of the few that Thomas created before heading to California, where he designed Los Angeles Country Club, Riviera and Bel-Air Country Club, among other notable layouts. At Whitemarsh, Thomas used sprawling bunkers with jagged thumbs to shape many holes, as he would come to do at his top designs. Many of the greens accept run-up shots, making Whitemarsh playable for the average golfer, though clever shaping requires precise shots to get close to many hole locations.

The Golf Course at Glen Mills sits about 40 minutes from downtown Philadelphia, but the tumbling topography make this public course one of the best options in the Philly area. “A beautiful escape from the hustle and bustle of Philly,” one panelist says. There is a nice mix of open holes and ones that require more precise ball-striking. The course is cut into a valley and presents a lot of elevation change. Sprawling bunkers add uncertainty to many shots, as the bunkers and elevation change can make depth perception difficult.

White Manor Country Club, located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, is set largely within a valley, that has a creek diagonally bisecting the property. Each nine begins by playing down into the base of the valley, where you then traverse up, across, and down the other side of the ridge, before returning to the clubhouse by climbing back up the slope to complete both nines. The creek and several ponds feature prominently on multiple holes on both nines. As you would expect with the topography, elevation changes factor into several shots throughout the course. White Manor is full of risk/reward scenarios, and often within different points on the hole; from the tee, fairway, and also green. The constant decision making on each hole makes for a very fun round of golf. A good collection of varied par 3s are waiting for the player; calling for length, shot shaping and accuracy to give yourself a good chance at hitting the green.

Commonwealth National Golf Club in Horsham is ranked as one of the best golf courses in Pennsylvania. Discover our experts reviews and tee time information