Philadelphia Cricket Club, Wissahickon Golf Course

Detailed description of Philadelphia Cricket Club, Wissahickon Golf Course

Philadelphia Cricket Club, is a Private, 18 hole golf course located in Flourtown, Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1854, The Philadelphia Cricket Club is one of the oldest clubs in the country devoted to the playing of games. It was initially formed by young men who wanted to play cricket.

For the first thirty years, they did not own their own property. They would meet and play Cricket on any ground available and thus they "wandered" from Camden, New Jersey, to Frankford to Chestnut Hill to Nicetown playing against teams who could provide a "home pitch."

In 1883, The Club "came home" to Chestnut Hill through the generosity of a benefactor who arranged for them to settle down at The Club's present location on West Willow Grove Avenue in the St. Martin's section of Chestnut Hill. tennis and other sports were soon added.

When the Golf Association of Philadelphia and the Women's Golf Association of Philadelphia was organized in 1897, the Club was one of four founding members. The original nine-hole course was built in 1895 by famed architect Willie Tucker and was soon expanded to an eighteen-hole course in 1897. The course, now known as St. Martins and playing as a pleasant nine-hole layout, hosted the U.S. Open Championship in 1907 and 1910. In 1920, the Club commissioned one of its members, the renowned A.W. Tillinghast, to create a golf course in Flourtown. Now known as Wissahickon, this Tillinghast course shows the work of a design genius at the height of his abilities. The course opened for play in 1922, and in 2013-2014, underwent a complete restoration. The Club was proud to open a second championship 18-hole course in 2002 designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. Adjacent to the Wissahickon course, Militia Hill's modernity complements its classic neighbor.