Newtown Square, a leafy community on the west side of Philadelphia, sits in a golf-rich neighborhood, within walking distance of several popular courses, including Merion, Pine Valley and the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Then there’s the building in Newtown Square itself: Aronimink, where practice rounds are taking place ahead of the 2026 PGA Championship. While the pundits do their homework, here’s a reading guide for the viewing public, with 10 things about the club that every fan should know.
1. What’s in a Name
Aronimink takes its name from the chief of the Lenape, the Native people who lived in this area before the arrival of golf. Legend has it that the king once lived in a farmhouse that later served as the original clubhouse.
2. Third Time’s the Charm
Like many storied clubs, Aronimink hasn’t always called its current address home. Founded in 1896 as the Belmont Golf Association – itself an offshoot of the Belmont Cricket Club – the membership eventually purchased 300 acres in Newtown Square, following two relocations, where the club remains today.
3. Ross Original
Opened on Memorial Day, 1928, the course was designed by the great landscaper of his time, Donald Ross, who brought his full set of tools: bold greens, crown-punished greens, fairways, challenging and varied fairways, and a path that makes the most of a former Pennsylvania farm.
4. The Caddy Who Made History
John McDermott was Aronimink’s caddy, but he is best remembered for what he accomplished on the other side of the bag. The Philadelphia native became the first American-born golfer to win the US Open, claiming the title in consecutive years, in 1911 and 1912. He was 19 when he won their first, the youngest player ever to claim the championship. More than a century later, that history still exists.
5. “Better Than I Knew”
Two decades after Aronimink opened, Ross offered a flattering examination of his own work. “I intended to make this my masterpiece,” he said, “but until today I did not realize that I had built it better than I could.” Ross, it should be noted, can be liberal with such language. He gave the same “masterpiece” label to Dunedin, the municipal course he designed in Florida, and took his “crowning achievement” as Pinehurst No. But it doesn’t matter. With either label, Aronimink has proven to be a worthy platform.
6. Championship CV
Aronimink has won an impressive list of elite events: 1962 PGA Championship, 1977 US Amateur, 2003 Senior PGA Championship, 2010 and 2011 AT&T National, and 2018 BMW Championship. When the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was held here, the club became the first venue to host all three major American tournaments on the PGA circuit.
7. Restored to Glory
Since its birth, Aronimink has been modified several times, most notably in the 2017 restoration by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner, who relied on aerial photographs of the original course. As part of their work, the architects renovated more than 100 bunkers that decorated the course on opening day.
8. The Story of the Hole
Ross has given each of Aronimink’s 18 holes a Native name, connecting the course to the country’s deep past. The course measured 6,600 yards at the opening – long by the standards of the time – and reaches nearly 7,400 for this week’s tournament, with 174 fairways arranged in clusters that look as impressive as they are strategic. Every shot counts here, but certain holes seem to be pivotal points in the tournament, among them the par-4 1st hole which is more of a gut-punch than a friendly handshake; the par-3 5th, its island green with rings like bunkers; the short par-4 13th, which tempts aggressive players who might regret it; and the devastating 18th, an uphill par 4 with a new back tee that extends the hole to 490 yards.
9. Gary Player’s $13,000 Payday
When Gary Player won the 1962 PGA Championship at Aronimink, beating Bob Goalby by one shot, he collected a winner’s check for $13,000, the largest purse in tournament history at the time. The first place prize in 2026 will exceed $3 million, meaning the caddy in the winning purse stands to make 20 times what the Player pulled in.
10. Cancellation of the main tournament
Aronimink was scheduled to host the 1993 PGA Championship, but the club chose to withdraw rather than become the focus of a growing controversy over discriminatory membership practices at private clubs. At the time of that decision, in 1990, Aronimink had no Black members. The 1993 PGA Championship was eventually hosted in Inverness instead.
