Old York Road CC (private)
Ambler (Spring House), PA (about 75 minutes NW of Philly, close to the PA Turnpike)
#2 at Old York Road
Directions from PA Turnpike: PA Turnpike Exit 339 (Fort Washington), 309 North, exit at Spring House, Norristown road, right on to Norristown, left at the light on to Tennis Avenue, entrance 1/4 mile on left.
1910, William & David Gordon (DuPont CC & Seaview Pines)
Fat Guy Review, 2009: A classic old school Northeastern parkland country club. Tree-lined with gentle elevation changes. It's a compact little track that makes good use of the space and would be an easy walk. But it's plenty long enough at 6,558 from the tips and 6,234 from the Whites, so it never feels like it was shoe-horned in. The routing is straightforward, with 6 natural gentle doglegs and 1 severe dogleg, where mature trees on the corners create preferred halves of fairways for hitting your tee shot. A small creek winds its way through 7 holes.
#4 at Old York Road
The real defense at Old York Road is the greens: Medium-sized, elevated, and fast, with funhouse contours that take years for even the members to begin to decipher. I three-putted 2 of the first 3 greens, and another 4 after that, with one four-putt thrown in for good measure. I didn't make anything over 6 feet all day until a lucky snake dropped from 30 feet on 18. Many of my putting woes were predicated by the head games the wicked greens play with your chipping game. This is one of those tracks where you can be greenside in 2 on a par-4, and end up taking a double bogey after an overly agressive chip leads to a 3-putt. There's next-to-no visible housing along the perimeter of the course, which is a rarity in the Northeast. Conditions were very good for our late October Friday round, despite the obvious leaf challenges for an active grounds crew.
Where To Booze & Grub Nearby: The clubhouse is among the quaintest I've seen, a well-done expansion of the original small stone farmhouse on the property. The surrounding lanscaping is top notch, and the charming low-ceilinged entrance feels almost feels like you're entering someone's home. The grill room/restaurant was recently remodeled and is lined with mohagany walls, a gorgeous mahogany bar, a couple plasma TV's, and a window-filled cupola dome to bring in more natural light. Per members, the food is very good. I can vouch that they serve a very nice Tanqueray & tonic.
Outside of the quaint clubhouse, the rest of the facilities are caught in a charming post-WWII time warp, giving the club a friendlier overall feel. The halfway house, pro shop, and men's locker are pretty basic old school. The men's grill off the locker room is probably the largest I've seen, with a long bar and over a dozen tables, a 62" TV in front of a few leather couches, and expansive 2nd floor views through floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the 2nd & 3rd greens which are separated by a fountain springing from a pond. It would be a fun spot to pass an afternoon playing poker or watching football.
Outside the club, there's really nothing that's easily accessible between here and the PA Turnpike exit, so make your way a couple short exits down I-276 West to Plymouth Meeting. Standing out from the sprawl at the Plymouth Meeting Mall are Redstone American Grill for upscale steak, P.F. Chang's for upscale Chinese, and Dave & Buster's for getting back in touch with your inner child (with surprisingly good food).