September 2026 – I just played Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Militia Hill course in a charity scramble tournament (Bringing Hope Home a great charity that provides financial and emotional support to cancer-impacted families). Militia Hill is the third Philadelphia Cricket Club course after St. Martins (a 9-hole course that hosted a couple of early US Opens) and Wissahickon (next door to Militia Hill and the premier course of the three that hosted the Truist PGA tournament last year and is firmly in my top 100). I note in my Wissahickon review that oddly enough (and I would bet it’s unique to any other club in the world), all three of the Cricket Club’s courses were opened in different centuries and are in different towns/cities: St. Martins in Philadelphia (Chestnut Hill), Wissahickon in Flourtown and though it is next door to Wissahickon, Militia Hill in Plymouth Meeting.
So they played a shotgun across both Wissahickon and Militia Hill courses. As I had never played Militia Hill, I was happy we played here instead of the higher ranked and more renowned Wissahickon course next door which I have played a couple of times already.
About that, because I played Militia Hill as a scramble, my brother asked whether I can really count it as a course played on my journey to 1,000. Of course I can! I experienced the clubhouse, course and the whole vibe of the club. What I can’t do, is say how I played it as a bogey golfer as we had our buddy Conner with us and played the III tees (6,200 yards +/-) and he smokes the ball 280/290-ish. That means I played our approaches like my usual third shots. However, as I have been struggling so much lately, it was actually nice to play this as a scramble so I could work on my driver and simply hit approach shots, chips and putts stress-free. We ended up with a 58! And still only took second…
At least ours was an honest score! Our shotgun had us starting on three so that’s why the photos I took may seem out of sequence from a daylight perspective. Anyway, here’s a little history on the course that I originally found doing a scrapbook page 18 years ago when we were scheduled to play Militia Hill but got rained out.
The land making up today’s Militia Hill course, along with adjoining Flourtown farmland, was purchased by the Cricket Club in 1920 with the intention of creating two 18-hole golf courses. On the Flourtown property, club member and renowned architect A. W. Tillinghast designed what he called the club’s “Wissahickon” course, which opened in 1922. Never officially named, however, it has always been referred to by location; simply Flourtown. Tillinghast named the projected second course “Militia Hill,” but it wasn’t to be a reality in his lifetime.
Now, 100 years later, the gift of one man’s vision has been realized; his inspiration and contribution to the game of golf recognized by fellow members in the camaraderie of time. In a ceremony around the opening of the Militia Hill course, the Flourtown course was officially named “Wissahickon” and formally dedicated with a bronze plaque to the memory of Albert Warren Tillinghast.
The Militia Hill golf course seals the Tillinghast dream. It is a proud piece of land made even more proud by the course design of architects Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. “The challenge was to put a golf course here that would complement the Tillinghast golf course because people are going to compare the two and we just want to be very careful about that comparison,” said course architect Hurdzan. “It has a lot of similarities; a lot of square tees, a lot of the greens are about the same size. One difference is we use a different kind of Tillinghast-style bunkering. We use bunkering here that’s more reminiscent of San Francisco Golf Club. The course rating is 75.1, which makes it the most difficult course to play in the entire area, save one. However, from the more forward tees it’s a little kinder and gentler and will be more enjoyable.
To the course.
Even though Wissahickon and Militia are right next door, the course routings do not start and end at the same spot so they do not share a clubhouse, driving range or other amenities. As the secondary clubhouse, Militia’s has a tiny pro shop and locker room though the back patio (where we had our awards ceremony for the tournament) was nice and there’s a nice bar inside as well. It was nicer than some second clubhouses (Merion West comes to mind) but not as nice as others (Ridgelea in Fort Worth and Cherokee Town & Country Club in Atlanta come to mind).
Course-wise, I rank Militia just outside my top 200 and put Militia solidly in the second tier of private clubs in the area (along with other best in state courses like Manufacturer’s, Commonwealth, and Huntingdon Valley to name three). It’s currently ranked #28 in the state by Golf Digest. I kind of agree and I’m not usually a big Hurdzan and Fry fan either. They (both individually and as a joint effort) have some winners including here, Glenmaura (up near Scranton, PA), Hamilton Farm (in central Jersey) and Eagles Landing (by Ocean City, MD). And they have some losers (actually more meh than losers, to be honest). These include Harbor Links on Long Island and The Vineyard near or in Cincinnati.
I’ll pull some hole descriptions from the Cricket website and add some of my own color. I think I got a picture of every hole but don’t hate on me if I didn’t.
Hole #1: Avoid the right fairway bunker and a good drive on this short, downhill and downwind par 4 will leave just a short wedge to the well-guarded green. The left side of the fairway provides the best angle in. I lifted this from the Philly Cricket website as just as I say I don’t think I missed any photos, I miss the first hole.
Hole #2: A creek 100 yards from the green dictates hitting hybrid or 3-wood off the tee on this difficult uphill par 4, leaving a blind, uphill mid-iron into the wind. Club up to account for the elevation change before facing one of the more undulated greens on the course. We ended on two with a birdie.
Hole #3: Avoid the left fairway bunker and water off the tee and this signature par 5 is reachable in two as longer hitters will have just an iron in. We started here and the only hole we would really fuck up (par on an imminently birdie-able hole). We took a par as our best drive was in the right bunker and my third shot to ten feet was the best we could muster and all missed the putt. Approach below.
You should see on the third approach the stone ruins in the background above the pond. Here’s the plaque from inside those ruins to give some history.
Hole #4: Longer hitters may opt to carry the creek and cut the corner on this short dogleg right par 4, leaving just a short wedge to the green, but falling short means an approach out of the rough directly over a massive greenside bunker. A safe iron/hybrid off the tee placed just left of the creek running down the right side of the fairway leaves just a short iron approach with a clear angle to the green. Well our “horse” put us within 50 yards of the green but even my drive (pretty far right) cleared the creek and would’ve given me a wedge+ from the rough just beyond the trees.
Hole #5: Consider clubbing up on this uphill par 3’s semi-blind tee shot, depending on the wind, and stay right of the massive bunker complex sitting below the left side of the green. While heretofore I probably would’ve been bogey on #3 and bogey maybe par on #4 on my own ball, here I put it way right. We found it but would’ve likely ended up with a double.
Hole #6: Carrying the right side of the bunker complex that guards the lower right portion of the fairway off the tee will shrink this long, dogleg right par 5 to a manageable length. Be mindful of the pin position as a large bunker guarding the front of the green makes it imperative to leave a good angle in following your second shot. I had a good drive here but Conner crushed it then our buddy Donnie put it on the fringe pin high for our first eagle putt. We all just missed but would birdie.
Hole #7: Avoid the trees and woods lining the right side of this long par 4 off the tee and then carry – or stay right of – a large, deep bunker guarding the front and left sides of the green. While you may have seen some homes on some of the photos, none really impacted my positive thoughts on Militia.
The approach on seven. I think these are some of Hurdzan & Fry’s best green complexes.
Hole #8: A well-placed 3-wood off the tee will leave just a short iron into the green on this short par 4. Fuck that. We all took a rip with the driver here and actually didn’t use Conner’s drive. I had a real nice drive but my buddy Mike’s was even better though none of us hit a great approach, used mine and I think I putt us in. So I’m assuming on my own, I would’ve parred.
The approach on eight.
Hole #9: The wide open front of the green on the Club’s longest par 3 encourages a running shot. A hazard sneaks in behind the hole to the right penalizing long tee shots. I have nothing to add here except to say that Militia was in really good shape and maybe the photos don’t do it justice.
Hole #10: Avoid the large right fairway bunker on this uphill par 4 and you’ll be left with a mid-iron into the wind to a well-guarded green. Take special care to avoid deep bunkers to the right of the putting surface. I believe we actually used my drive here and I also believe it was my approach. We would two-putt which makes me think I would two putt and would’ve parred on my own ball. Of course golf is easy in a scramble as there is no tightening of the sphincter.
Hole #11: Judging the wind is crucial on this short, downhill par 3 as finding yourself in the wrong quadrant of a large two-tiered green creates difficult putting situations. Still parred but we would go on a tear from here.
Hole #12: A long iron or hybrid off the tee will leave a wedge into an open green on this short par 4. While a long drive may come close to reaching the green, it can also find deep fescue guarding the right side of the fairway. Hell no, Conner crushed it – in fact, we all drove well. I think I was able to putt this one off the fairway and put it close for birdie off of Conner’s drive.
Hole #13: Avoid the large right fairway bunker and out of bounds lining the left side of the hole, and a solid drive will leave a mid to long iron approach on this long par 4. While the tee shot plays downhill, the rest of the hole plays uphill. This is the #2 handicap and we were very happy with a par. Another photo I didn’t take so again from the Cricket website.
Hole #14: Avoid the large right fairway bunker to set up a 3-wood/hybrid approach on this par 5, while poor drives lead to a layup shy of a creek crossing the hole about 100 yards from the green, leaving a longer than desirable, uphill third shot. Craziest green on the course. Maybe my favorite hole on Militia.
Hole #15: Consider clubbing up on this long par 3 that typically plays half a club uphill. The green is open in front but be wary of a large bunker protecting its right side. The green is much larger than it appears on a semi-blind tee shot, making distance control imperative. The last par three on the course.
Hole #16: Long hitters may attempt to drive the green on this short, downhill par 4, while a long iron or hybrid off the tee will leave a wedge into one of the more difficult greens on the course. I forget what our long hitter would do, but we birdied.
Hole #17: Hit it as far as you can twice on this long par 5, taking extra care to avoid the choke point created by left and right fairway bunkers in the layup area. We would eagle – certainly none of my doing!
Hole #18: Aim for the middle or middle/right side of the fairway to avoid the large creek and hazard on the left, but don’t veer too far right as a large tree will block your approach. Club selection is important on a mid-iron uphill approach as the pin is often tucked behind deep greenside bunkers. Nice finisher but compared to Wissahickon next door, it’s not in my top finishers in the area.
Playing a scramble on a new course sometimes can be a nice break and a way to really enjoy the course without feeling the need to grind out a score. I was going to use this review as an opportunity to recap the 2026 golf year, but it’s early and still hope I will play some more new courses before I’m ready to recap what’s been a great golf year (retirement is awesome)!
