Philadelphia Cricket Club
The logo of the Philadelphia Cricket Club
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| Formation | 1854 |
|---|---|
| Type | Private Country Club |
| Legal status | Open |
| Location |
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| Coordinates | 40°03′52″N 75°12′31″W / 40.06444°N 75.20861°W |
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Region served
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Delaware Valley, Nationwide |
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Official language
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English |
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President
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Dr. Michael Vergare |
| Website | Club Website |
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The Sesquicentennial logo of PCC
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| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Location |
Philadelphia and Flourtown, Pennsylvania, United States 
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| Established | 1854 |
| Type | Private |
| Owned by | Philadelphia Cricket Club |
| Operated by | Head PGA Professional – Jim Smith Jr. |
| Total holes | 45 |
| Tournaments hosted | United States Open Championship (1907 & 1910) |
| Saint Martin's | |
| Designed by | Willie Tucker |
| Par | 35 |
| Length | 2617 yards |
| Wissahickon | |
| Designed by | A.W. Tillinghast |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 7119 yards |
| Course rating | 74.8 |
| Slope rating | 140 |
| Militia Hill | |
| Designed by | Dana Fry & Michael Hurdzan |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7227 yards |
| Course rating | 75.0 |
| Slope rating | 136 |
The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania.
Founded in 1854, The Philadelphia Cricket Club is the oldest country club in the United States. As the name indicates, the Club was formed by a group of young men of English ancestry who had played the game while students at the University of Pennsylvania. With the wish to continue to play together after their graduation, they formed the Club under the leadership of William Roach Wister. While playing cricket on any grounds available for the first 30 years of the club’s existence, in 1883, the Club “came home” to Chestnut Hill through the generosity of a benefactor, Henry H. Houston. Houston arranged for them to settle down at the Club’s present location on West Willow Grove Avenue in the St. Martins section of Chestnut Hill.
When the Golf Association of Philadelphia was organized in 1897, the Club was one of four founding members with Merion, Philadelphia Country Club and Aronimink. The original nine-hole course was built in 1895 by famed architect Willie Tucker (St. Andrew’s Golf Club, Sand Point Country Club and Argyle Country Club) and was quickly replaced by a new eighteen-hole course in 1897. The old eighteen-hole course, known as St. Martins and now playing as a nine-hole layout, hosted the United States Open Championship in 1907 and 1910. The 1907 winner was Alec Ross, brother of famed architect Donald Ross, who chalked up a remarkable score of 302 for 72 holes. It was also during this championship that the first hole-in-one in U.S. Open competition was achieved by Jack Hobens. The 1910 Open victory went to Alex Smith, who shot 71 on the final day. Also entered that year was Cricket Club’s own professional, Scottish-born Willie Anderson, one of four golfers who have won the U.S. Open four times. Anderson remains the only person to win in three consecutive years. Because the Club did not own the grounds on which the St. Martins golf course was built, a large tract of land was purchased in 1920. It was A. W. Tillinghast (Bethpage – Black, Baltusrol, Newport, San Francisco and Winged Foot) who recommended the Flourtown site and who designed the new course, which opened in 1922.
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