Golf Club Atlas
GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture => Topic started by: Joe Bausch on February 15, 2013, 04:31:13 PM
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It is about to snow again tomorrow so no golf for awhile. >:(
But back in November I was fortunate to play Bala, one of the oldest clubs in Philly. One of only two private clubs actually in the city of Philadelphia (Torresdale-Frankford being the other).
Their web page has a nice, concise summary of their history:
Founded in 1897, Bala Golf Club has a long and storied history.
The roots of the Bala Golf Club reach back to the spring of 1893 when two men - George Reach and Charles Hickman - watched a well-dressed foursome play the links along a City Avenue golf course. Getting the idea to start their own club, the two men joined with a group of prominent Philadelphians and purchased a plot of farmland just inside the city limits on Belmont Avenue - a location that was easily accessible by trolley or train and built a course on the site, roughly half way between the original homes of Philadelphia Country Club and Overbrook Country Club.
That site, laid out by Willie Tyler, provided the club members with a 9 hole, 2,747 yard layout with a par of 35 1/2. Although the original course was higly regarded, the pressure to go to an 18 hole course convinced the membership to act, and, in 1923, William S. Flynn, a noted designer (among them, Rolling Green, Huntington Valley, Cherry Hills in Denver, The Country Club in Brookline, Seaview, Shinnecock Hills, and Lancaster CC), was brought in to renovate the course. Flynn's challenge was to build nine additional holes, fold them into the Tyler design, and fit it all into the existing acreage. He succeeded admirably.
Over the years, many of the original golf clubs that lined City Avenue at one time, succumbed to the pressure of the burgeoning city and relocated their entire Club to a more suburban locale. Prestigious Philadelphia Country Club was originally located on the site of the old Adam's Mark Hotel. Infact, when they moved to their new home in Gladwyne in 1939, Bala Golf Club "inherited" many of their greens and they are still being used today by our Members.
Hosting of the 1952 US Women's Open (won by Louise Suggs) and the grooming of renowned amateur champion, Jay Sigel, are among Bala's most notable contributions to the game.
Here is the routing in 1922 I found in a Philly newspaper:
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/routing_bala.jpg)
Not much has changed over the years, as here is the current hole-sequencing on top of a Google Earth aerial:
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/Bala_routing.jpg)
Just one pic per hole in this tour! All holes are clickable to 1400 pixels wide.
#1. Approach shot on this par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/1.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/1.jpg)
#2. Downhill approach shot on this par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/2.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/2.jpg)
#3. Tee view on this short, very interesting, dogleg right par 4 (321 yards).
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/3.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/3.jpg)
#4. Tee view on the par 3 (201 yards).
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/4.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/4.jpg)
#5. Approach shot on a dogleg-left par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/5.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/5.jpg)
#6. View from over the green (tree down from H'cane Sandy; thankfully no real damage to the green) on this 133 yard par 3:
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/6.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/6.jpg)
#7. Tee view on this 392 yard par 4 (No 1 stroke hole):
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/7.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/7.jpg)
#8. Approach shot on this par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/8.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/8.jpg)
#9. Slightly uphill par 3 (170 yards).
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/9.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/9.jpg)
#10. Second shot view on this only par 5 on the course.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/10.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/10.jpg)
#11. Approach shot on this dogleg-right par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/11.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/11.jpg)
#12. Approach shot on this uphill par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/12.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/12.jpg)
#13. Slightly downhill par 3 (181 yards).
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/13.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/13.jpg)
#14. View from just over the green on this par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/14.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/14.jpg)
#15. Approach shot on this dogleg-right par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/15.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/15.jpg)
#16. Downhill par 3 (97 yards).
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/16.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/16.jpg)
#17. Aerial approach required on this dogleg-left par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/17.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/17.jpg)
#18. View from over the green on the closing par 4.
(http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/18.jpg) (http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/Bala/18.jpg)
Short course yardage wise, but it is a handful. Slope of 130, par 68, with a rating 66.8. Lots of subtle stuff on the greens.
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Good news is Bala looks like Bala when I caddied there as a kid.
Bad news is Merion East looks "different" from what I remember as a kid.
As always, thanks for posting Joe.
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Joe,
The little known Philadelphia Quartett CC is the the third private club within city limits:
www.phillyquartettgolf.com
www.philaquartettcountryclub.com
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I have hit a wedge to #2 over the green, over the fence, onto the deck; skulled a little!
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Lovely and historic course!
Have not traversed as of yet but I have a friend/member and will finagle my way there soon.
Short but sweet, with William Flynn panache!
Thanks for the tour Joe!
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Great picture of 2 green. Is the 7th hole good? It looks very awkward from the photo.
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Great picture of 2 green. Is the 7th hole good? It looks very awkward from the photo.
Tougher tee shot key on 7. There is a decent size flat area to the right, allowing one to avoid that big tree short and left of the green.
Entire photo album is here:
http://xchem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/albums/Bala/ (http://xchem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/albums/Bala/) (this server no longer available)
This server is available:
http://www80.homepage.villanova.edu/joseph.bausch/images/albums/Bala/index.html
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Joe,
Thank you for posting this. Most interesting photos. Always nice to see older courses, which even if they have shorter yardages on the card frequently play harder than they first appear. The 7th looks daunting for a slicer and pretty challenging even if you play with a draw (apologies to all lefties) and I like the look the 15th with the sleeper faced bunker.
All the best
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Joe,
The little known Philadelphia Quartett CC is the the third private club within city limits:
www.phillyquartettgolf.com
www.philaquartettcountryclub.com
I should have said one of two private 18 hole courses within the city limits! Otherwise PQCC as well as St. Martins fits the criteria. :)
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Again, great work Joe. Thanks for Bala.
And Steve, thanks for PQCC....finally a course whose yardage might suite my game.
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Joe, thanks for posting up the pictures as this one tends to get overlooked. Despite the course not being very long on the card, it's very tough to overpower because the holes are not very wide and the greens are super challenging. I felt like I was playing an 18 hole version of Phoenixville at times.
It has some wonderful holes with quick mention to number 3, 7, 9, 12, and 13.
The par 3's tend to be shorter and of the all or nothing variety. The shorter the hole, the more I felt this was apparent with 17 being a VERY tough hole under 100 yards. I think Joe and I both made bogeys on it...
Also, having the mystery of the Rabbit Club right on the club grounds is pretty cool!
Mark
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Bala and McCall are two fun short courses- both by Flynn. :)
Not as short as PQCC but...
"Play It Forward" is my new mantra. :)
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Looking at the old course plan the short 16th was surrounded by sand. Flynn did this repeatedly on his short par 3's. He had no problem with idea of an island target for a short hole.
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I'd love to see it completely surrounded again. That being said, its got plenty of teeth as it is!
Mark
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Great pics Joe.
I just started working at Bala last week as the Marketing and Membership Director. Are there any Bala members in the group?
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Front-right bunker on hole #15 green...are those revets? Are any other bunker faces on the course similarly supported with wooden planks?
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Front-right bunker on hole #15 green...are those revets? Are any other bunker faces on the course similarly supported with wooden planks?
I believe that is the only bunker on the course supported like that RonMon.
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Thank you for the tour Joe, I don't know how many times I drove down Belmont and made a mental note to get more info about Bala but didn't follow up. Looks like a good one to visit the next time I'm in town...
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Matt, it is absolutely worth a few plays. Its a very fun course IMO.
Marak
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Front-right bunker on hole #15 green...are those revets? Are any other bunker faces on the course similarly supported with wooden planks?
I believe that is the only bunker on the course supported like that RonMon.
There is also a riveted bunker to the right of number 3 green, however balls rarely end up in it as the bunker is behind a very large tree. For a shot which is generally from no more than 100 yards out, the approach to 3 is very hard to play - it's significantly downhill, a stream runs in front and to the left side of the green, and a large tree (which you can't go over, no matter what you think!) deflects any misses to the right. Definitely a heart-stopper when the ball is in the air.
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Agreed Alex! Number 3 is certainly one of those short par 4's where you better stick the second shot on the green or else you can be in some serious trouble.
MM
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I recently played Bala again and updated my photo album from November of 2012, so it now contains fall 2012 pics as well as these late summer 2014 ones:
http://xchem.villanova.edu/~bausch/images/albums/Bala/
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i am reviving an old thread with a couple questions.
Which greens were part of the original Philly CC layout ?
What did Pete Dye do to the course (besides the obvious bunkers) ?
I just moved to the area and have always been curious...
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i am reviving an old thread with a couple questions.
Which greens were part of the original Philly CC layout ?
What did Pete Dye do to the course (besides the obvious bunkers) ?
I just moved to the area and have always been curious...
Hi, Patrick. The original site for Philadelphia CC was in Bala but not at the site for the Bala Golf Club. I think what happened is that they took turf from the Phila CC greens at Bala.
And I'm not aware of Pete Dye doing any work at Bala GC, but I'm sure one of my Philly buddies will chime in here to correct me if I'm wrong. Grin.
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I noticed the links to the pics in the first post no longer function. Give me a few minutes and I'll try to get them fixed!
Edit: fixed!
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Home to many members in the legal profession due to its proximity to " Center City" otherwise known as " Downtown" in many other cities.
https://billypenn.com/2018/07/30/why-do-we-call-phillys-downtown-center-city-historians-arent-sure/ (https://billypenn.com/2018/07/30/why-do-we-call-phillys-downtown-center-city-historians-arent-sure/)