Review: Manor Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to check out the back nine at Manor, go here to see the front.

The landscape at Manor takes a significant turn for the rugged on the back nine, as immediately evidenced by the tenth hole. The tee shot on this 155-yard par 3 must carry a 100-yard-wide ravine to reach the green, which is perched on a small finger of land that falls away on all sides. There's a single bunker right (which functions more to catch golf balls from bounding into the trees than as an actual hazard), and the green slopes from front to back. There's also a little knob in the center to make the task of putting that extra bit more difficult.

The tenth hole.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is just under 300 yards, but it is very distinctly not a drivable par 4. The hole crosses over a ravine to a fairway that bends hard right along the side of the opposing hill. Trees block the direct route to the green, so unless you've got a big high cut in your arsenal, you'll be using a long iron or fairway wood on the tee. Of course, you still need to think about where you're aiming; you don't want to go through the fairway into the trees, but you also don't want to come up short. The second shot will be a little wedge with the ball ridiculously below your feet to a small but benign green with a big dropoff right. You can absolutely bail out left and have the ball bounce down onto the green, though, which is nice. Is this the most strategic hole in the world? No, of course not. But it's memorable and fun, and that's just as important.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a 405-yard par 5. Yes, you read that correctly. It does play nearly 100 feet uphill, so while it is still incredibly short, it's not quite the pushover you'd think. The fairway is wide and heavily sloped, but trees do narrow the playing corridor right about where a good drive would end up. The second shot is massively uphill and basically blind, though the only hazards (a pair of bunkers) are at the green itself, so if you are laying up, you have a green light. The green is tilted from right to left, though, so you are better off approaching from the left side. If this was a par 4, it would be very difficult, but as a par 5, you've got a good chance of making birdie.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

Looking back down the twelfth fairway.

The thirteenth hole is 190 yards, and I'll be honest, it's not the most exciting hole in the world. Minimal elevation, a not particularly exciting green, and while the bunker right and former bunker (now a grassy hollow) left do provide some challenge, overall the thirteenth represents a bit of a breather. 

The thirteenth hole.

The fourteenth hole, while not Manor's longest hole, is by far its most challenging. This 540-yard par 5 is draped along and around a large hill, with the sprawling fairway tilted hard from right to left, with the slope increasing the further left you go. Your eye is naturally drawn to the right, but trees cut in, completely blocking your second shot and forcing you to lay up more than 150 yards from the green. The further left you go on your tee shot, the closer you can get to the green. But even from position A, you still have to be careful; there's a small pond jutting in from left of the fairway about 50-100 yards from the green. It is extremely easy to go too far and end up in that hazard, particularly considering how steeply downhill the second shot is. Ultimately, even if you can lay up closer than 100 yards, it's probably smart not to.

While the green complex is significantly propped up, with big dropoffs left and long, the green itself is mercifully simple. No big breaks, and sloped gently from back to front. Frankly, if you can get yourself a birdie putt on this hole, you've earned a respite. This is an absolutely brutal par 5, one where you have to carefully think and execute on every shot. It's pretty easily the best hole on the course.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

We go directly from a long and very tough par 5 to the shortest hole on the course. The fifteenth hole is just 90 yards, but it's one of those classic "hit the green or suffer" short par 3s. Miss short and you'll have a pitch from an incredibly crooked stance. Miss long and you'll have an equally awkward stance, only this time the green is running away from you. Same with missing in the greenside bunker right. You're either walking away with an easy par or birdie, or you're working to make double.

The fifteenth hole.

The sixteenth hole is a 280-yard par 4, making it distinctly drivable for longer hitters. There is a complication, however, in the form of a large tree directly in line between the tee and green. Obviously, the safe play is a long iron out to the right; the slope will help contain golf balls, bouncing them back into the semi-blind fairway. But if you're feeling bold, you can always curve a driver around the tree. A fade is probably easier (and requires a bit less curving), but does mean you're aiming directly at the next tee. A big hook is the more polite choice.

Anyway, if you've played safely, you'll have a little three-quarter wedge to a small green flanked by two bunkers. In a move Manor pulls multiple times, there's a little mound in the center of the green to make cross-green putts and chips a little tricky. Still, this is a great opportunity to make a birdie.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is 330 yards, and plays straight ahead to a semi-blind fairway tilted from left to right. It is wide open, but if you want to use driver, you should favor the left side. Because of the slope of the fairway and trees coming in, the right side can run out of space very quickly. A fairway wood or long iron will leave you with a full wedge to a green perched on the corner of a ravine, with steep dropoffs right and long. 

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is quite similar to the tenth in many ways: It's about the same length (160 yards) and plays over the same ravine. Unlike the tenth, though, this green is tough. It's small and there's a ridge cutting the back half into two. Find the wrong part of the green, and you'll likely have a putt that's impossible to make. It's very easy to three putt this green. It's a simple but stern way to end the round.

The eighteenth hole.

The eighteenth green.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by what Manor offered. I knew going in it would be short and a bit quirky, but I wasn't expecting so many really interesting greens. The stretch from five to seven especially, as well as the eighteenth, are extremely good, plus there are several others that demand the golfer's focus. If they were expanded a bit more to fill the full green pads, Manor would really be onto something.

The only real big thing I have in terms of problems is some of the par 4s on the front nine (plus the ninth) really blend into each other and can play a bit same-y. That changes on the back nine, with the fourteenth being a particular highlight. Naturally, the more standard nine — the par 36 playing over 3,000 yards — is much less interesting than the short, quirky back nine that doesn't even reach 2,500 yards.

Value wise, Manor does quite well. Of course, I got a $10 discount, but even without that, it's less than $40 to walk on a weekend afternoon. The most you could pay (weekend morning, taking a cart) is $55. And for 2026 and a course this fun, that's really not too bad. If it were a little closer, I'd gladly play here again, but even with the hour-plus drive, Manor was well worth my time.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Love Fest

The brewery: Love City Brewing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Description (from Untappd): "Love Fest is our take on a traditional German-style Oktoberfest. In keeping with tradition, this beer is brewed with 100% German malt from Weyermann Malting in Bamberg. Notes of toasted bread, dark fruit & caramel, with a lightly sweet, clean finish."

Would I buy it again? So there's some good news and some bad news with this particular beer. The good news: the beer tastes great. The hops have been tamed here, and the malt shines through. Definitely one of the better Oktoberfest beers I've had. The bad news: As you can see from the image, the pour job was atrocious. The beer's about a third foam, which is way too much, in my personal opinion. Considering the size of the mug it was poured in, you're kind of getting scammed out of a good amount of beer. It might be safer to buy this beer in a can; at least then you know how much you're getting.

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.

Review: Merion Golf Club (Part 2)

We're back with the back nine at Merion, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is a very short par 4, playing just over 300 yards. The tee shot plays from atop a hill across a valley to a fairway that turns about 90 degrees 250 yards out. The green is perpendicular to the tee shot line and is surrounded on all sides but the front by two large bunkers. The play on the tee here is not to go for the green, but to play away, out as far to the right as you can (there are four fairway bunkers protecting the right side). This will leave you a pretty easy pitch and the opportunity to make a birdie.

The tenth hole.

The eleventh hole is 360 yards and occupies a special place in golf history — this is where Bobby Jones closed out the US Amateur in 1930, securing the one and only calendar Grand Slam. The hole itself is a bit of a weird one, and proof that even Golden Age architects could break the rules for playability. This 360-yard par 4 plays downhill to a blind fairway; hitting the fairway is imperative to make the second shot possible. The green here is cut off from the fairway by 75-100 yards, all alone on the far side of Cobbs Creek. It's a small green as well, and with a bunker left and a dropoff long, there really is nowhere to miss here. 

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is 400 yards, though since it's uphill the entire way, it effectively plays a bit longer. The tee shot plays through a chute of trees to a fairway that bends right, squeezed between bunkers left and trees right. As on the tenth hole, it's actually better to be on the outside of the dogleg; this gives you a better angle for the second shot. The green here is narrow, squeezed between bunkers both left and right, and sloped hard from back to front.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is by far the shortest hole at Merion, playing a thoroughly modest 120 yards. That's a hundred yards shorter than the next-shortest par 3, the 220-yard third. Obviously, such a short hole presents a great opportunity for birdie; but of course to get that birdie you need to hit the green. If you don't, you'll find yourself in one of the many deep bunkers completely surrounding the green. So, either you've got a potential easy birdie or you're working to make bogey.

The thirteenth hole.

The fourteenth hole is 450 yards and marks the beginning of Merion's closing stretch. It's also an example of the ridiculous things golf courses have to do to stay relevant to the modern professional game; the back tee on this hole has come all the way back to the putting green. Anyway, the hole bends left around a road, with the fairway snaking back and forth between bunkers the whole way. Obviously, this tee shot favors a draw, and a good one will leave a shortish iron up the hill to a medium-sized, well-bunkered green.

The fourteenth hole.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is 425 yards and presents a very tough challenge on the tee shot. The road from the previous hole is even closer here, coming within just a few feet of the fairway in the landing area. A string of three bunkers right tighten the tee shot even further. Using a driver obviously puts you within wedge or short iron distance, but there is so little room out there. A fairway wood or long iron is a bit more comfortable, but will leave you with a much longer approach. The green is well-protected by sand, and is heavily undulating.

The fifteenth hole.

The sixteenth hole is perhaps the most famous hole at Merion, which is saying something considering the company it keeps. This 430-yard par 4 is notorious enough to be included in the top 18 in The 500 World's Greatest Golf Holes. But on the surface, it's really fairly simple. The drive heads downhill into a valley to a blind fairway, threaded between bunkers and heavy rough on both sides. The approach then heads back up, across a quarry filled with rock, sand, and brush, to a two-tiered green sloped sharply from back to front. Not exactly revolutionary, but when you're on the ground, you do understand why this hole is so well known. That second shot up the hill and over the quarry is absolutely terrifying, even though it really isn't that long a shot. And it's especially tough if you miss the fairway, which is very easy to do. Every shot demands the utmost care, attention, and execution, which really is Merion in a nutshell. 

The sixteenth hole, from the fairway.

The sixteenth green.

Looking back down the sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole is a giant 245-yard par 3 where the tee shot plays over the quarry to a tiny-looking green out on the far side. The green is heavily undulating and surrounded by bunkers, but in a small mercy, there is a bit of fairway short that can be used to run the golf ball onto the green. But there's also a false front of sorts front left, so if you don't quite have enough steam, the golf ball will roll back down. Obviously, this is a very demanding hole, but it's the seventeenth hole at Merion, would you expect anything less?

The seventeenth hole.

The eighteenth hole is a long par 4 and a classic in every sense of the word — Ben Hogan capped off his post–bus crash win at the 1950 US Open with a famous 1 iron into this green. The hole is 500 yards and plays across the quarry to a mostly blind fairway that tilts hard from right to left. That tilt only gets more severe the further you go, which means there is some benefit for the professionals (and US Amateur competitors) to using 3 wood on this tee and leaving a longer second shot. Still, this green is tough; it's decently wide but the bunkers front right and left favor a fade, which is difficult to achieve with the ball above your feet. Plus, it also falls away toward the back, which means you need to be precise with your distance to avoid running the approach through the green entirely. 

Crucially though, while this hole is immensely difficult, it remains completely playable. The quarry is easily carried (the gap between tee and fairway is only 150 yards or so), and while trees and OB do lurk far left, there is a plethora of space out to the right. No trees, no bunkers, nothing. If you want to play this hole cautiously and accept a bogey, you are completely free to do so. That's probably the smart thing to do, and would likely win you the hole the majority of the time. But if you've only got the one chance to hit that crisp faded long iron from the Ben Hogan plaque, of course you're going to take it.

The eighteenth hole.

Had to take a picture of the Ben Hogan plaque.

The eighteenth green, from behind.

I have to confess: Before my day out at Merion, I didn't really understand what the hoopla was all about. With many great golf courses, the reason for their greatness is pretty obvious. Yeah, of course Cypress Point is great, just look at it. Merion is a tightly routed parkland course crammed into a Philadelphia suburb, and even on the ground, it's not exactly impressive to look at. There are very few postcard views. And it's no strategic gem either (the fifth is an obvious exception).

So, what does make Merion so great? It's simple; Merion demands focus and execution on every shot. On most golf courses, even the really good ones that I've played, there are times when you simply don't have much to do. An easy tee shot where you're free to hit driver, a dull approach shot to an open green, things like that. Merion has nothing like that. To score at Merion, you need to carefully consider what you're doing at all times, and then you need to hit that shot precisely. It's a battle from start to finish, and if you have a good round here, you know that you've earned that score. Also, Merion is way hillier in person than it looks on TV, and that elevation change really adds a lot of interest.

Is it perfect? No, of course not. The fairways are weirdly mown, a casualty of a game that's grown beyond the course. And while the greens are clearly very good, I don't know if I'd call them great. Some are very good, like the eighth and seventeenth, while some are kind of indifferent (like the first). 

Even so, I left Merion fully confident that it was by a comfortable margin the best golf course I'd ever seen. Courses like Atlantic City, Southern Pines, or George Wright are great, but they're still nowhere close to Merion. It's just a shame that so few people will ever get the chance to play or even see it.