Merion Ardmore Golf Course, America

America Merion Ardmore Golf Course, America Ardmore, Philadephia.

Merion is probably the most fascinating golf course in the USA. The US Open has been held here four times, though not since 1981, when it was won by the Australian David Graham. Perhaps its lack of length is finally telling against it in this age of boronshafted clubs and "Big Bertha" drivers. Merion was designed by an amateur, Hugh Wilson, who was an expatriate Scot, and first opened for play in 1912.

The original Merion Club was a cricket club and the club name was not changed to Golf until 1942, although, by then, golf had long been its main activity. The course contains a number of great holes. The 1st is a savage dog-leg to the right with the green heavily defended by bunkers. The 8th, though only 360 yards (330m) long, has a most teasing drive and a second shot onto a tiny plateau green totally surrounded by bunkers. The 11th is the hole where Bobby Jones won the last of his Grand Slam titles in 1930 by 8 and 7. It has a tiny pear-shaped green guarded by bunkers on the left and Cobb's Creek running round the front of the green to the rear. Gene Sarazen took seven shots at this hole and lost the 1934 US Open by one shot because of it. The 18th hole is one of golf's great finishing holes and the finest shot played to it was Ben Hogan's 1-iron in the 1950 US Open which finished inches from the pin and enabled him to tie with Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio. He won the play-off by four shots from Mangrum.