Review: Walnut Lane Golf Club (Part 1)

One of the major benefits of moving to Philadelphia back in April was access to an entirely new realm of golf courses. Central Maryland and Pennsylvania were tapped out, and while I've certainly played some courses in the greater Philadelphia region, I've hardly scratched the surface on what Golf Digest referred to as the most underrated golf city in the country. I don't know if the city that can claim both Merion and Pine Valley as its own counts as "underrated," but by any standard, Philadelphia is a great place to play golf.

We start off our Philly golf journey with a humble executive course tucked into the northwest corner of the city, perched above Wissahickon Creek Park. Walnut Lane was built in 1940 by Alexander Findlay, making it one of, if not the last golf course he was involved with over his 45-year golf course design career. It's a par 62 and barely tips over 4,500 yards, so if you're expecting a stern design, look elsewhere. The longest hole here is 370 yards, making Walnut Lane a true beginner-friendly course, open and welcoming to all. But is there anything here to interest the serious golfer? Let's find out.

The first hole is 325 yards and not the most interesting hole in the world. It's dead straight, and beyond the lines of trees closely guarding the fairway, no hazards either. Okay, technically there's OB left of the trees, but the trees are there to keep golf balls from getting that far, so it barely counts. Anyway, while you certainly could hit driver here, the narrowness of the playing corridor strongly precludes that choice. A long iron or fairway wood is the smarter play, and will still get you within wedge distance for your second shot. The green here, like many greens at Walnut Lane, is medium sized and, while not flat, doesn't have anything particularly exciting going on. 

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is 195 yards and plays slightly downhill to a green sloped fairly significantly from back to front. There is more OB long and left, but it's pretty tough to get to. Beyond that, there's really not much to this hole.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is 320 yards and thankfully has a little bit more going on. The tee shot is blind, heading up to a plateau fairway that bends left about 250 yards out. If you want to hit driver, you need to either hit a big draw or stick very close to the left tree line. A long iron or fairway wood out to the dogleg itself will leave you with a wedge from a flat stance; going much further will result in a stance with the golf ball noticeably above your feet. The green is, again, not particularly exciting, but the back right to front left slop is definitely not something to be taken lightly either. Long putts will have several feet of break.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a 230-yard par 3 playing downhill, and while that length makes the hole challenging on its own, a few things conspire to make this feel even more difficult. Because the entire hole slopes from left to right, any sort of fade or slice is doomed to bounce well away from the green. If you don't have a draw (or at the very least, confidence in your mid to long irons), you might honestly be better off playing this hole as a short par 4. Lay up 30 to 50 yards short and chip on. The green is sloped significantly from back left to front right. Four is honestly a completely reasonable score here.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is 200 yards and is what I'd call Walnut Lane's first really good hole. This mid-length par 3 crosses a valley, with the small green perched on the far side. Two large bunkers guard the left side, and a large tree protects the right. The green itself is pretty heavily sloped and actually falls away slightly toward the back, making precision very important. With tree branches encroaching from both sides, a little draw is the best shot to hit here. End up short, and you may fall back down the hill significantly. This hole feels a lot like something you'd see at a Donald Ross course, which is a good thing.

The fifth hole.

The sixth hole is 175 yards and is ever so slightly similar to a reverse Redan. The semi-blind green slopes gently from left to right, and there's a deep grass bunker guarding the front-right section. A gentle fade played around that pit is the best shot to play here. This hole would be a little better if the green had a little more bite to it; right now, it's very flat.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is, at 370 yards, the longest hole at Walnut Lane. Hey, for a 4,500-yard course, what do you expect? Happily, this hole is also pretty good. The fairway is tilted significantly from right to left for the first 250 yards, than drops down off the hill into a valley, with the green perched partway up the far side. A good driver, hit down the left side, will catch the slope and bounce well down, leaving you with just a little half-wedge into a very open and inviting green. But you will need to draw your drive around a couple of large trees lurking about a hundred yards from the tee. The safer play is out to the right, leaving a full wedge down the hill from a hanging lie. The hole would be better if the green were more interesting or had any sort of defense, but still, the topography provide a decent amount of strategic interest.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is 150 yards and is ultimately one of the weaker holes here. The single bunker is well short, leaving the green itself pretty undefended, and the green contouring isn't enough to make the hole interesting. Still, I do like how the hole feels very carved out of the woods, something Walnut Lane does quite well. You wouldn't think we were inside Philadelphia city limits, looking at the verdant forest immediately behind this green.

The eighth hole.

The ninth hole is 335 yards and demands accuracy and solid decision-making. The fairway is initially decently wide, but narrows significantly as you progress. It falls off precipitously into trees and a ravine left, which naturally leads your eye right. However, playing too safely will result in a second shot blocked out by a large tree about 75 yards from the green. Technically, you could use driver to get past that tree, but the fairway is not wide that far out. The green itself is closely guarded by two large bunkers, and is sloped significantly from right to left — another great reason to avoid the right side. You are far better off playing a long iron up the left side, then coming in with a full wedge. Even so, this may be the toughest hole on the course.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll look at the back nine.