Aronimink’s popularity with the pros keeps growing
NEWTOWN SQUARE » It’s pretty clear, at this point, that a sort of simpatico has been building between Aronimink Golf Club and the PGA of America.
Golf’s governing body can’t seem to get enough of the Donald Ross designed gem that not long ago seemed to lurk in the shadow cast by iconic Merion Golf Club, just seven miles down the road.
“I was just up on the first tee and the dramatic sightlines and the beautiful tree-lined greenery … I just can’t say enough about this facility,” said Suzy Whaley, the president of the PGA of America
Since Thursday, Aronimink played host to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which is a major on the LPGA Tour.
And even though the tourney was delayed by threeplus months, and was bereft of fans, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the venue received just about universal praise from all concerned.
“Aronimink is a truly outstanding golf course, if not one of the best in the entire country,” raved Kerry Haigh, the Chief Championships Officer of the PGA of America.
“The whole tournament has been lifted up because of the great venues we’re playing now,” said England’s Laura Davies, an LPGA Hall of Famer and winner of this event in 1994.
“I just love all of it.
The fairways are generous, but if you miss them you’re in trouble. The bunkering is fantastic off the tee and around the green. The sand in the bunkers is great because we were complaining, ‘why can’t we have bunkers like this every week because they’re overfilled on Tour like you can’t believe.’
These ones are absolutely perfect.”
Over the last 17 years, while the course was undergoing an extensive restoration by course architects Ron Prichard and Malvern’s Gil Hanse, the best golfers in the world have been flocking to Aronimink. First the Senior PGA Championship
(2003), then the AT&T National (2011, 2012) and the BWM Championship
(2018), the reviews just got better and better. And things reached the crescendo this week.
“It is definitely a beast of a golf course, but it’s in perfect shape. It’s definitely one of the best golf courses that we play, I believe,” said American Lexi Thompson.
“My whole experience here was fantastic,” added Ellen Ceresko, who played her college golf at Penn State. “Once I knew that the KPMG was going to be at Aronimink Golf Club, number one, it’s always been on my bucket list to play. I always love playing the top 100 courses in America, and just playing here with the support, and Penn State proud and representing the clubs that I work at, it was a great experience.”
After all these years, it still seems unclear whether the people of this region fully understand or appreciate the level of Aronimink’s resurgence, and its elevated place among the premier championship golf venues in the country.
“I spoke to Gil Hanse on the phone the other day,” Whaley said. “He did the redesign and everybody here is incredibly proud of bringing Aronimink back to its historic roots.
“We believe Aronimink is one of the top golf courses in the world. I feel comfortable saying that as a player, they want the strongest test of golf in a major.”
With the Senior PGA and Women’s PGA, Aronimink has already hosted two of the association’s biggest majors. And the
biggest of them all – the PGA Championship – is scheduled to come here in 2026. It will be 64 years after Aronimink last played host to a men’s major championship. The winner that year, South African legend Gary Player, was back on the property this week.
“This club is a very special golf club,” he said. “The whole ambiance of the place … it’s a terrific golf course. This is a really fine test of golf.
“I know (the players) leave here always learning something on all these golf courses. You know, they’re steeped in tradition. and history, so it’s wonderful to see the ladies playing these same golf courses, as well, because it’s going to improve their game. When
you leave here, you really learn something about shot making and using the mind.”
With the current state of its love affair with Aronimink, it really isn’t a surprise that in 2026 it will become the first course in history to play host to the PGA’s top three championships.
“This is the first time we’ve ever had our rotating championships at the same facility, and that is significant,” Whaley pointed out. “Our intent with the KPMP Women’s PGA Championship was to ensure it is played on historically significant venues typically held for males. We want to put them on the absolute best venues we can and we think that Aronimink is one of those.”