Gulph Mills Golf Club: The Toughest Tee Time in Pennsylvania?

Gulph Mills is a course that most of you have probably never heard of – before my first Philadelphia golf trip, I hadn’t either.

However when asking for feedback from people in the area on what courses we should try and play – Gulph Mills was one that routinely came up.

When you’re not familiar with a city, you don’t necessarily know much about the courses or club’s reputations.

Well, it turns out Gulph Mills is widely recognized as one of the most private courses, and toughest tee times to get in Philly – we were made further aware of this, when Golf Magazine said it was the most exclusive course in Pennsylvania.

So we felt pretty fortunate to have had a round setup through our host at Merion.

There was hardly anyone else out on the course while we were there, and everything was in perfect shape (as were all the courses we played).

Gulph Mills was interesting in that you could see the mix of design styles. It was originally a Donald Ross design, and later had some holes and greens redone by Perry Maxwell, and even Gil Hanse.

There was a pretty significant difference between the greens on the first 6 holes, compared to the wavey style of Maxwell over the next 6.

Philadelphia may be the very best golf city in America, and if it’s not, it’s certainly in the top 3. There are dozens of fantastic private golf clubs, and the city truly is spoiled for riches if you’ve got the connection to access them.

This is the only way to explain how Gulph Mills has largely remained unknown to the rest of the country. Yes, it’s very private and they like to keep it that way. But if you put this course in nearly any other city, it would widely be regarded as a “must play.”

Instead, unless you’re either a Philly golfer or a total golf architecture nerd, you’re probably still thinking to yourself “what’s Golf Mills”

Gulph. And if you get the chance to play? I highly suggest you take it.

Gulph Mills Golf Course Photos

The par 3, 6th at Gulph Mills

The 5th at Gulph Mills

The short par 3, 4th at Gulph Mills was one of the best par 3s on the trip.

The love it or hate it par 5 closer at Gulph Mills. Personally? I think it’s quirky, but I like it!

The 7th at Gulph Mills. You can’t see a crazy ravine guarding the green.

Check out the Other Philadelphia Golf Courses from the Trip:

• Philadelphia Recap and Favorite Holes
• Merion Golf Club
• Rolling Green Golf Club
• Aronimink Golf Club
• Philly Cricket Club