The Golf Association of Philadelphia

From New Jersey - Take I-95 South to Route 476 North. Go north to Exit 5 (Springfield-Lima). Exit on to Route 1 North. Go approximately 1.2 miles, take 1st left after Springfield Road, cross center grass plot onto Old State Road to club entrance.

From Pennsylvania Turnpike and King of Prussia Area - Take Pennsylvania Turnpike and connect with Route 476 South to Exit 5 (Springfield-Lima). Go towards Springfield, Route 1 North, approximately 1.2 miles, take 1st left after Springfield Road, cross center grass plot onto Old State Road to club entrance*. *Entrance - Slow down the last ½ mile. This section will be on Route 1 (North or South) distinguishable by a center grass plot. The exits are approximately 200 yards apart, and connect to the remains of Old State Road in center of which is the club's entrance and pond. Because of the lower elevation, the Old Road and the club's property are not visible from Route 1.

Course Yardage & Ratings

Handicap Conversion Charts: [Mens] [Womens]

BLACK TEES

Front 9

Back 9

Course

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Bogey

Men

38.1

140

36.4

143

74.5

142

100.9

HOLE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN	TOTAL
Par	4	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	5	36	3	4	4	4	3	4	3	5	4	34	70
Yards	420	449	175	392	430	205	503	442	615	3631	258	451	362	445	235	379	164	501	491	3286	6917
HCP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

BLUE TEES

Front 9

Back 9

Course

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Bogey

Men

37.2

136

36.3

139

73.5

138

99.1

HOLE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN	TOTAL
Par	4	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	5	36	3	4	4	4	3	4	3	5	5	35	71
Yards	398	425	162	375	375	190	500	425	557	3407	243	428	345	434	203	375	163	475	529	3195	6602
HCP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

WHITE TEES

Front 9

Back 9

Course

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Bogey

Men

36.5

133

35.5

130

72.0

132

96.5

HOLE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN	TOTAL
Par	4	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	5	36	3	4	4	4	3	4	3	5	5	35	71
Yards	377	410	151	351	364	183	490	398	557	3281	210	426	333	395	195	354	147	460	492	3012	6293
HCP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

YELLOW TEES

Front 9

Back 9

Course

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Bogey

Men

35.3

129

34.2

125

69.5

127

93.1

HOLE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN	TOTAL
Par	4	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	5	36	3	4	4	4	3	4	3	5	5	35	71
Yards	353	386	141	32	334	152	451	350	520	2719	193	384	300	365	185	331	127	440	449	2774	5493
HCP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Tee Set

Front 9

Back 9

Course

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Rating

Slope

Bogey

Red

Men

34.6

130

33.3

119

67.9

125

91.1

History

The origin of Rolling Green calls to mind the genesis of Sunnybrook and of Gulph Mills. In each instance the founders were already members of excellent clubs that offered a lot more—tennis, swimming, regularly scheduled social events—than just golf. It was precisely the "more" that these avid golfers sought to escape.

In 1920 Joseph E. Haines, a past president of Springhaven Country Club, began to sound out fellow Springhaven members about founding a new club, a golf club for golfers. The first meeting was held in October at Springhaven—in fact, many subsequent meetings were held at Springhaven. There were 15 in attendance that evening. Land acquisition, the necessary membership development, and funding arrangements took very nearly four years.

Rolling Green’s clubhouse, which opened in late summer of 1926.

It was in October, 1924, that the club acquired four adjacent tracts of land, 150 acres all told, off State Road in Springfield Township, Delaware County. William W. Turner was elected the club’s first president, serving in 1924 and 1925. In 1926 Joseph Haines—"Uncle Joe," as he came to be known—succeeded Turner. He held office for the next 11 years. Edwin D. Glauser and Ward Hinkson were also extremely active in club organization and administration during the formative years.

In May, 1925, the firm of Toomey and Flynn was awarded the contract to design and build an 18-hole course. The first regular membership meeting was held on November 16,1925. Because the club had no clubhouse—in fact, the awarding of the clubhouse design and construction contracts was a principal topic of discussion at this gathering—the membership actually assembled once more at Springhaven. The large-spirited attitude of the Springhaven Club toward these "renegades" is one of the endearing aspects of the Rolling Green story.

The golf course opened for play on July 31, 1926. The board prohibited sand boxes and water buckets; instead, the club supplied paper tees. The course was—and is—a jewel, one of Toomey and Flynn’s outstanding achievements.

August 26 was designated "Springhaven Day" so that members of that consistently supportive club might play in a body as guests of the Rolling Green membership. It was on September 18, 1926, that both course and clubhouse were dedicated in ceremonies marking the formal opening of Rolling Green Golf Club. A local newspaper account of the occasion noted: "The original purpose of the club’s founders was to omit all social frills that enter into the life of a country club, and make it a shrine where the skill and ingenuity of the lover of the game could have full play." The demand for such a club was accurately gauged. Before the course and clubhouse were even completed, the membership was closed. In fact, the 335th membership stock certificate (335 was the limit) was sold on August 9, 1926, for $1,050, $450 above par value.

The club’s first greenkeeper, Joe Ryan, held that post for a little over 30 years, retiring in 1957. His home was a stone house, circa 1740, near the 13th tee, that is thought to be the fourth-oldest dwelling in Delaware County. The beauty of Rolling Green—majestic hardwoods and evergreens, fruit trees, hundreds of flowering dogwoods—is, by and large, a tribute to Ryan, whose reputation among his fellow greenkeepers was such that in 1938 he was elected president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

In season, Joe would have a tub of apples or pears waiting for the members on the 13th tee. And on a Sunday morning he often waited for the president’s foursome to come through so he could accompany them the rest of the way. One Sunday, on the tee of the par-3 16th (it was then a small area and riddled with divots), Joe stated emphatically, "We wouldn’t have trouble growing grass on this tee if members would hit the ball on the upswing." One of the foursome replied, "Joe, I’ve been trying all my life to hit an iron slightly on the downswing." Joe answered, "Well, it’s never too late to learn to hit it right."

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