Review: Manor Golf Club (Part 1)

Years and years ago, a big motivator for driving more than 2 hours out to Galen Hall was this article detailing some of Philadelphia's best public golf courses. And despite living nowhere near Philadelphia, I've ended up playing most of the courses on that list. Jeffersonville and Paxon Hollow? Great courses. Glens Mills and Inniscrone? Not so much.  

Now that I'm actually living in Philadelphia, it's time to revisit the list and hopefully finish it off. Lulu is fully private and Cobbs Creek is currently undergoing a massive restoration, so those will have to wait. Manor Golf Club, located in the foothills outside Reading (and just a few miles from Galen Hall), on the other hand, was very readily available — even if I did have to babysit a group of teenagers to do it. (I'm not joking. I did at least get a discount for my trouble.)

Designed by Alexander Findlay in 1928, Manor Golf Club is hardly the sort of place to challenge the professionals. It's longer than Walnut Lane, but not by much: Manor is less than 5,500 yards from the back tees. But it traverses some very severe and hilly land, and the photos I've seen promise a fun, quirky experience. So, let's see if Manor can deliver.

The first hole is a par 4 of thoroughly modest length, playing just 250 yards from the tips. It is uphill the whole way, so not a huge number of people will have the length to reach it. The fairway is pretty wide and there aren't any hazards, so there's no real incentive to not use driver and get as close as you can to the green, which is tucked into a little punchbowl. Frankly, this isn't a very interesting hole beyond the elevation change, though it does give you a great chance to open with a birdie.

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is a 200-yard par 3 that plays right back down the hill the first hole climbs up. The green here is absolutely miniscule and slopes a surprising amount from back left to front right. There's also a fairly large bunker just left, so if you can hit a draw into this green, that will benefit you greatly. This is a much better hole than the first, though I think a slightly bigger green would help it out; it's pretty unforgiving as is.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is 340 yards, which honestly puts it on the longer side for Manor — there are only two par 4s here over 350 yards. Similar to the first hole, the third plays uphill, with the second shot being dramatically uphill to a mostly blind green. Get used to this format, Manor uses it multiple times throughout the front nine. Also like the first, the third green is carved into a semi-punchbowl, which makes missing right much better than left.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is 325 yards and plays steeply downhill; the fairway here is quite narrow, squeezed between trees on both sides. The hole bends hard left about 225 yards out, which means all you need to set up a wedge second shot is a long iron. Of course, you can try to draw a driver around the left trees, but they are quite tall and there is no playing out of the middle of them. The green here is pretty modest, though there is a bunker left (and a grassy pit where a bunker used to be to the right). I don't know if I'd quite classify this hole as good, but it is memorable and a bit quirky.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is the longest par 4 at Manor, playing all of 390 yards. Initially, there doesn't seem to be too much here; the only significant features are some big trees right and some earthworks cutting across the fairway at roughly the point where a good drive would end up. The approach, assuming you've hit a good drive, is a wedge or short iron to a blind green. So far, so average. But when you walk over the little ridge to the green, you're in for a surprise. While the fifth green isn't quite as small as the second, it's still quite tiny, and it falls away left, right, and long; there's also a central mound with ridges radiating off toward the back and to the right. No putt of significant length will be able to avoid dealing with that mound, and it's the same with all chip shots. It's a really fun green, and would surely be even better if the green were expanded to fully fill the built-up pad it occupies. 

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a 360-yard par 4 with a tee cut back in the woods; the tee shot goes down and back up a valley and then around a massive tree just to the right of the fairway. Ideally, you want to play a little fade up the left side, getting as far up the hill as you can. Driver can take that big tree out of play, and will leave just a little wedge for the second shot. But then you have the green to worry about, and it's a challenge for one very good reason — it's tilted severely from front to back. Seriously, this is not a large green, but it still manages to fall away nearly two feet. And that's a lot. You have to be very deliberate and careful about where you land your approach. 

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is 275 yards and plays steeply downhill, which makes it very reachable in normal conditions (I faced a stiff headwind during my round, so I couldn't get close). There's a small pond left of the fairway about 200 yards out, so while you can lay up to the bottom of the hill, you're bringing the water into play by doing so. Going for the green does bring the twin bunkers about 15 yards short very much into play, but ultimately this hole's greatest defense is its green. It's two tiered and sloped sharply from back left to front right, with something like 3-4 feet of elevation change between the front and back section. That's a lot for any green, but it's especially noticeable here because the green is again very modest in size. Putting here is an extremely delicate operation, and even hitting the green with your tee shot is no guarantee of birdie.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is 315 yards, and it's a bit similar to the third hole, if more open. There are a pair of former bunkers about 50 yards short of the green that do provide a little strategic interest, but they'd be much more effective if they still had sand in them. Right now, there's no reason not to use driver. A good drive should bring the green into view; the eighth green is also not one of Manor's best. Not a bad hole, but we've seen this trick already.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is 550 yards, making it Manor's longest hole. The fairway here is extremely wide, but it's a little deceiving; obviously you can go wide right, but the hole bends left so you do want to favor the left side. Even so, this is a very easy tee shot. Same for the lay-up, as there are no hazards until you reach the green. There are bunkers left and long, and while it's not to the same scale as the fifth, there are definitely some strong internal contours within the green. It's not enough to rescue the ninth from being a slog, but it's better than nothing.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

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