About the Abington Club
The Club's History
In 1909, a small group of Jenkintown residents, many of who were Quakers, began meeting to discuss forming a local golf club. On Feb. 17, 1910 the first officially recorded meeting of this new Club was held and a group of seven men were empowered to obtain an option on 67 acres of land, on Old York Road in Jenkintown, from Abington Friends Meeting. Friends and acquaintances in Jenkintown, Wyncote, Ogontz, Glenside, Melrose, Elkins Park and Oak Lane committed to the formation of a club that would include a nine-hole, 3,000-yard golf course, designed by Jimmy Lang, former professional at Huntingdon Valley Country Club. The cost to build the nine holes was $648. Members were charged a $25 entrance fee and annual dues were $25. The rent paid to Abington Friends Meeting was $1,500 per year. Old York Road Country Club officially opened on June 4, 1910 with putting and driving contests for men and ladies, a baseball game, a reception and tea, and a dinner dance. After one year the Club had 250 members and 30 on the waiting list. In 1912, an additional 35 acres were leased and noted golf course designer A.W. Tillinghast was hired to create an 18-hole layout. The newly designed course opened in 1913. The first Old York Road Invitational was held in July of 1920. E.C. Clarey of Bala captured the inaugural two-day event. In 1962, the Club faced its most daunting challenge ever. Under obligation to put its land to the most profitable use in order to support its expanding Abington Friends School, the Trustees of Abington Friends Meeting requested that Old York Road CC relocate. In 1964, Old York Road CC relocated to Tennis Ave in Ambler, PA. In that same year, the course was reduced to 9 holes and later renamed the Abington Club. The 9-hole course features 2,390 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 33. The course rating is 62.7 and it has a slope rating of 108 on rye grass. It is widely considered by many golf historians that the 6th hole (pictured above) at the Abington Club is the first golf course in North America to feature an island-style green.
For more pictures of the course go to: http://myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/Abington/index.html