Philadelphia

After receiving an invitation to play the historic East Course at Merion Golf Club, a full scale golf trip was planned.  Sean Ogle of Breaking Eighty and I were coming to Philadelphia to take on one of the nation's greatest sporting and golfing towns.  We arrived at our accomodations just off of the 1st fairway at Merion and had time for an evening stroll to preview our round the next day.  The home we were staying in actually served as the USGA headquarters during the 2013 US Open.  A couple of lucky dogs indeed !! 

A quick preview stroll of Merion's 10th hole.

After a fantastic day on the course, we decided to hit the showers.  If you ever have a chance to play Merion, I highly recommend the showers.  I can only describe the feeling as stepping under a waterfall of golf history.  

For our second round, we had the privilege of stepping out onto one of the area's most exclusive clubs at Gulph Mills.

One of the days many missed opportunities would come on the par 5 7th in the form of a short missed eagle putt.

After a tense match with the women, it came down to the 18th hole.  Just look at the competitive ferocity Sean displays as he rolls in his putt for par on the uphill 18th hole.  Victory would be ours and the series would be tied.  Unfortunately, our gracious hosts for the first several days would have to depart before a deciding match could be played.  Looks like a return trip will be necessary.

Move over Tiger Woods' fist pump.

With 2 rounds in the books it was time to jump on the Tilly train and visit the final resting place of Mr AW Tillinghast, Philadelphia Cricket Club.  We were fortunate enough to be guests of Mark and John of the Philadelphia Golf Association and we had one of the final tee times before Senior Player's Championship took over the course.  You can view all of the photos from our round here.

I suffered a sandy fate at the par 3 10th hole.

With the halfway point behind us, we decided to head into town to get our tourist activities on.  On the menu was Rocky, steaks, and the Phillies.

The dueling steakhouses of Geno's and Pat's.  Serious decisions must be made.

Our round at Rolling Green would go into extra holes as we upgraded from 18 to 27.

The opening hole at Aronimink inspires excitement.  I couldn't get to the 1st tee fast enough.

An old caddy shack between 7 and 11 adds some character to the golf course.

The course at Aronimink was a pleasure to photograph and a fine way to conclude an all world trip to Philadelphia.  

Sean starts the trip off right by ripping one down the middle.  You can see how close the dining area is to the 1st tee in this photo.

Bobby Jones completed the Grand Slam of Golf on this very green.

It was the men vs the women for an all out death match at Merion.  Sean and i would succumb to the rough and suffer a devastating defeat in what would later be coined "The Massacre at Merion"

The opening hole at Gulph Mills lets visitors know they are in for a delicious test of golf, aka a testy treat.

Our foursome for 2 great rounds at Merion and Gulph Mills.

The clubhouse comes perilously close to the 2nd green at Philly Cricket Club.

One of the more classic yet unique tee markers that I have encountered..

Not a golf course

Polishing my model poses in front of the rocky steps.

For our fourth round of the trip, we were headed out to Rolling Green.  The William Flynn design did not disappoint.  Our host Mike was as knowledgable as anyone could be about the golf course and taught us the finer points and strategies of the classic design.  We made plenty of double bogies anyways.

The unique walking bridge on the long par 3 14th hole at Rolling Green.

With great weather for our first four rounds, thunderstorms were predicted for our final round at Aronimink.  The golf gods would side with us and push away the storms until after our departures.  A perfect segway into this clip from one of my favorite shows, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.  It is important to note that there is golf featured in this clip.

Top scene from always sunny

The 18th hole at Aronimink was the 99th hole of the trip.  Looks like we will have to come back to make it an even 100.