Llanerch Country Club renovated

Havertown, Pa. – Golf course architect Stephen Kay of Stephen Kay/Doug Smith Golf Course Design restored and renovated the course at the historic Llanerch Country Club. Now more than a century old, Llanerch was the site of the 1958 PGA Championship.

Llanerch's 18th hole, after above, was just one of the holes to see improvements when Stephen Kay restored the classic course.

The project for the 6,750-yard, par-72 course took Kay and his team 10 months to complete. The course closed for renovations in August 2004 and reopened May 28. Kay’s remodeling master plan focused on preserving the best aspects of Llanerch’s classic design, while incorporating enhanced aesthetics, safety, strategy and challenge for the modern golfer.

Kay renovated all 18 holes, rebuilt 90 bunkers and six tees, and laser leveled the other 12 tees. He also reshaped fairways and modified two greens. A key aspect of the renovation was the removal of trees that had grown too tall or ran counter to the course’s original design. The result was to open up several holes, thereby restoring playability and making them more aesthetically pleasing.

“Stephen’s reputation, combined with an impressive interview, made him the clear choice for our project,” says Scott Fleming, president and greens chairman at Llanerch. “We knew he could meet our needs.

“Since reopening, the word our members use most often to describe the renovated course is ‘spectacular,’” Fleming adds. “The beautification has impressed us the most.”

“We thought we had a good golf course before,” says Bob Wlotko, the club’s golf chairman. “It was just badly in need of updating. And we think we’re going to have one of the best golf courses in Philadelphia now that this is done.”

Kay had a solid team in place for the restoration.

“This was a true team effort,” says Kay, citing construction supervisor Dick Grant, Llanerch superintendent Brendan Byrne and shaper Dave Sullivan among those who played vital roles in the restoration. “I have enormous respect for the classic course architects like Alex Findlay, who designed Llanerch. Our goal was to be true to his vision and polish his work, not tarnish it.”

Kay has completed more than 175 course restorations, including Winchester Country Club in Winchester, Mass., site of the 1996 Massachusetts Open and Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford, Conn., home of the 1996 USGA Mid-Amateur Championship.

In addition, Kay is noted for his original designs on such courses as Blue Heron Pines West in Galloway Township, N.J., Scotland Run in Williamstown, N.J., the Architects Club in Phillipsburg and The Links of North Dakota at Red Mike Resort. The latter was recognized by Golf Digest as one of the five best new courses in the nation for 1995 and ranked No. 53 among Golf Digest’s Top 100 Public Courses in 2005. It also was ranked No. 58 on Golfweek’s 2005 list of “America’s Best /Top 100 Modern Courses.”

Llanerch Country Club opened as Delaware County Country Club in 1902. The original 18-hole course featured sand greens. The club then went through several name changes, becoming the Delaware County Field Club in 1904, the Philadelphia Athletic Club in 1911, the Bon Air Country Club in 1914 and Llanerch Country Club in 1919. In 1927 the entire course was redesigned by Alexander Findlay, who added a third nine, making it a 27-hole course. In 1949 the club reverted to 18 holes, with J.B. McGovern, an associate of Donald Ross, redesigning the course.