Play Merion Online, Free
Merion Golf Club's East Course in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, is one of the most celebrated courses in golf history. Designed by Hugh Wilson and opened in 1912, it has hosted five US Opens, the US Amateur where Bobby Jones completed the Grand Slam, and some of the most famous moments in the sport. Despite being the shortest course on the modern US Open rotation, Merion has humbled the best players in the world for over a century. Now you can play 6 holes from the East Course free in your browser.
History and Setting
Merion's East Course was designed by Hugh Wilson, a young club member with no formal training in golf course architecture. In 1910, Wilson traveled to the British Isles to study the great links courses of Scotland and England. He returned home and created what many consider the finest inland course in the United States. The course opened for play in 1912 and was almost immediately recognized as a masterpiece. What Wilson accomplished at Merion — at the age of 31, with no prior design experience — remains one of the most remarkable achievements in golf architecture.
The East Course is famous for its compact routing on just 126 acres, its wicker basket flagsticks (a tradition unique to Merion), and the "White Faces of Merion" — the brilliant white sand bunkers that guard nearly every approach. At under 7,000 yards from the championship tees, Merion defies the modern obsession with length. Its defense lies in its tight fairways, its deep bunkers, its small greens, and the extraordinary shot-making precision it demands. The 2013 US Open at Merion was won by Justin Rose at 1-over par, proving that the course can still challenge the best in the world without relying on brute distance.
The Scorecard, Measured From Map Data
These are measurements, not quotations. Merion Golf Club (East) here comprises 6 holes at par 23 with 33 bunkers, every figure derived from the course geometry itself.
The direct distance column is tee-to-pin as the crow flies. Doglegged holes therefore read short against their published yardage, because nobody plays them in a straight line.
| Hole | Par | Direct distance | Bunkers | Water | Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 312 yd | 1 | 0 | — |
| 14 | 4 | 370 yd | 4 | 0 | 794 yd² |
| 15 | 4 | 373 yd | 14 | 0 | 606 yd² |
| 16 | 4 | 371 yd | 5 | 0 | 823 yd² |
| 17 | 3 | 202 yd | 3 | 0 | 701 yd² |
| 18 | 4 | 464 yd | 6 | 0 | 774 yd² |
| Total | 23 | 2092 yd | 33 | 0 | — |
Every Hole, Drawn From Map Data
All 6 holes are plotted below from the same polygons the 3D course is built from. Fairway is green, putting surface pale, bunkers sand, water blue. Each hole is turned so the tee is at the bottom and the pin at the top, which makes the doglegs easy to read against one another.
How We Mapped This Course
This layout is machine-converted from OpenStreetMap rather than traced from photographs. For Merion Golf Club (East) that produced 6 holes with 33 bunkers.
The bunker outlines are irregular because they are real mapped outlines, not generated circles. How we build courses walks through the conversion step by step.
Course data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence.
Layout and Measurement Notes
What are the longest and shortest holes?
Hole 18 is the longest at 464 yards tee to pin (par 4), and hole 17 the shortest at 202 yards (par 3). That is a spread of 262 yards across the layout.
Where is the heaviest bunkering?
Hole 15, with 14 separate bunkers on it. The layout carries 33 in total across 6 holes, an average of 5.5 per hole, and each is drawn as its own traced outline rather than a generic circle.
How large is the average green here?
The average mapped putting surface measures roughly 740 square yards. The largest belongs to hole 16 at about 823 square yards.
Why 6 holes rather than 18?
Mapping coverage of Merion Golf Club (East) is uneven, so we include holes 1, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 — those where a green and a tee could be paired reliably. The rest are omitted rather than filled in with invented geometry, so what you play corresponds to real mapped ground.
Why do these yardages differ from the official card?
They are not meant to. Ours measure the direct line from tee to pin; the Merion Golf Club (East) card measures the route a player is expected to take. The two agree on straight holes and diverge on bent ones.
Standout Holes
Merion's East Course is packed with legendary holes. The 11th, known as the "Baffling Brook," is a short par 4 where a creek crosses the fairway and then runs along the left side of the green, demanding precision over power. The 16th, called the "Quarry," is a dramatic par 4 that plays over a massive abandoned quarry from tee to green — one of the most visually stunning holes in golf. The 18th is the hole where Ben Hogan hit his famous 1-iron approach in the 1950 US Open, a moment immortalized in one of the most iconic photographs in sports history. The par-3 3rd, known as "The Bank," features a green set into a hillside with bunkers that have swallowed countless tee shots.
Where Scores Go Wrong
- The White Faces. Merion's brilliant white sand bunkers are deep, steep-faced, and strategically placed to punish imprecise shots. There are over 120 bunkers on the course.
- Small greens. The putting surfaces at Merion are among the smallest on any championship course, demanding precise distance control on approach shots.
- Tight fairways. Dense rough and mature trees line narrow fairways, making accuracy off the tee more important than distance.
- Strategic bunkering. Nearly every hole presents a risk-reward decision around Hugh Wilson's brilliantly placed bunkers.
- Compact routing. On just 126 acres, Merion packs in holes that twist and turn, requiring constant adjustment of aim and strategy.
How to Play
Drag backward from the ball in the direction opposite where you want to send it — like pulling back a slingshot. The farther you drag, the more power you apply. A trajectory arc previews your shot while you aim. Works on desktop (click and drag) and mobile (touch and drag).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play Merion Golf Club online for free?
Yes. This page hosts a free, browser-based version of Merion's East Course with 6 playable holes. There is no download, no sign-up, and no payment required. Click the Play button at the top of this page to start.
Is this the official Merion Golf Club game?
No. Let's Golf Online is an independent fan project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Merion Golf Club, the USGA, or any real-world golf organization. Real-world course references are used descriptively. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
What are the wicker basket flagsticks at Merion?
Instead of traditional flags atop its flagsticks, Merion uses wicker baskets — a tradition dating back to the early 1900s that is unique to Merion Golf Club. The baskets are one of the most recognizable symbols in American golf. The origin of the tradition is debated, but the baskets have become inseparable from Merion's identity.
What happened at the 1950 US Open at Merion?
The 1950 US Open at Merion is one of the greatest stories in sports. Ben Hogan, who had nearly died in a car accident just 16 months earlier and was told he might never walk again, returned to competitive golf and won the US Open in an 18-hole playoff. His 1-iron approach shot to the 18th green in the final round was captured in one of the most iconic photographs in golf history.
Why is Merion so hard despite being short?
At under 7,000 yards, Merion is the shortest course on the US Open rotation, but its difficulty comes from precision, not length. Tight fairways lined with dense rough and mature trees, over 120 deep bunkers with the famous white faces, and small cleverly contoured greens combine to demand shot-making accuracy that raw power cannot overcome. The 2013 US Open was won at 1-over par.