al bunkers that needs to be shaped into the reverse camber fairway with a land- ing area that slopes away from the line of play. Drives that miss on the inside line get snared in a field of shaggy moguls, and those straying too far left kick down into the low rough Even perfect drives leave a spicy wedge up to a green that looks like it’s about to slip off the side of the hill that it sits on. HOLE 11 PAR 4, 425 YARDS The most intensively bunkered hole at Aronimink is the par-4 11th. Twenty of them garnish the path, bracketing the fairway and circling the green. But more threatening than sand to a bad score, or a bad loss of the hole, is the green, the most severely sloped on a course full of severely sloped greens. The putting sur- face is so pitched towards the front that it can be a challenge to find usable hole locations, and leaving approaches above the flag on the right side of the green will almost certainly lead to three-putts, if not worse. HOLE 18 PAR 4, 490 YARDS It’s not easy finding extra distance at older, landlocked courses, but in 2025 a new tee location was added on 18 on the opposite side of a maintenance road that brings the length of this par 4 to 490 yards. The nearly 30 extra yards makes a difficult finishing hole a bruising one, putting it in the same weight class as the more famous closers at Merion and Oakmont. Second shots are struck up- The club moved to several locations before finding its permanent home in Newtown Square in 1926.
hill towards a mostly obscured green, and it’s another wild one with a strange array of brows and pockets that make long put- ting a treacherous and inevitable endeavour.
LAST DANCE The newly extended 18th hole
marches back towards the clubhouse ridge.
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 101
MAY 2026
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