Bringing back the ‘sparkle’ at Philadelphia Cricket’s Wissahickon course

GOLF recently released its latest ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S. (2024-25), a list that includes 11 newcomers. Some of them you might know. Others you might not. Here, in our newcomer spotlights, we’ll introduce you to these rookie Top 100 gems.

Newcomer spotlight: Philadelphia Cricket (Wissahickon) / Rank: 98th

Location: Flourtown, Pa.
Type: Private
Year opened: 1922/2013
Architect: A.W. Tillinghast/Keith Foster

What you need to know about Philadelphia Cricket (Wissahickon)

Keith Foster’s 2013 restoration, which features both great variety and spaciousness, brought all of A.W. Tillinghast’s design sparkle back. Some greens are open across the front and beg for a running shot while others are perched and heavily defended. The design reflects Tillinghast’s genius for diverse green settings. His famous trademark, the Great Hazard (a mammoth central bunker that bisects the fairway), is particularly well done at PCC’s 7th hole. The course also is home to one of the East Coast’s best finishers, a tough risk-reward par-4 with a creek that comes into play if you don’t hug the left side of the fairway off the tee.

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What our raters say

“Some would argue this has been long overdue. Having started the restoration process all the way back in 2008, Philadelphia Cricket Club was truly one of the first courses to pioneer the restoration model that we see so often now with clubs across the country. The renovation was a massive success and has led to multiple premier events taking place at the club, most recently the 2024 USGA Four-Ball.”

“Wissahickon has been a wonderful course for a long time, dating prior to the restoration. The routing is brilliant, especially after the sequencing adjustment on the front nine. Even though the par-3s are terrific as a set, you have to admire the two-shot holes here. They are a combination of challenge and thought with it all culminating with the brutal finisher.”

“For such a big and broad layout, it was the short shots (the recovery shots), that were most impressive — or just plain impossible/punishing — should one miss in the wrong spot. Still, from the very first tee, a superb driving course.”

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