Golfadelphia

6,438 yards, 139 Slope from the Black tees

JC Melrose was a golf course in Philadelphia designed by Perry Maxwell with consultation by Alistair Mackenzie. Originally known as The Curtis Country Club, it was a very good course, set upon hilly land that excited from tee to green while the greens were subtle yet strong. Maxwell designed greens would eventually become a prized commodity as time wore on. It became even more prized since there are not any other Mackenzie or Maxwell designs in the area. At some point, Tookany Creek Parkway was built through the heart of the property, which signaled a slow, gradual decline of the course until its closing a few years ago. There were still original greens and fairways on the property upon its closing. I always felt it should have converted to a twelve hole course and even implemented alternate shot hours. It would have been different yet refreshing and could have preserved the original design features that had grown so historically important. Perhaps seen as too risky diverging from the well established business model of nine or eighteen holes, it tried to hold on as long as possible in that standard mold the property simply could not properly sustain itself after the parkway made those alterations. It is now waiting for sub-development plans to take form, the Maxwell and Mackenzie design forever lost.

Golf is a much versatile and flexible game than most give it credit for. Eighteen hole stroke play dominates the landscape and there are many that would never consider exploring anything different. Yet golf can be played with any amount of holes and in several formats. Stableford, alternate, match play, or how about not keeping score at all? What plagued JC Melrose all those years is those alterations to the property rendered it unable to thrive in the standard eighteen hole format, yet it still had very good, notable golf holes that made it worth visiting. There are countless properties worldwide that suffer from the same predicament. Unique, solid, even important golf holes could exist among their blessed natural features but its size may not be enough for eighteen separate holes. Only the very adventurous investors and those capable of funding such projects would endeavor to build courses without that nine or eighteen hole structure.

Fortunately, this is changing. Mostly the change stems from the increasing popularity of short courses. As outlined in “The Parade of New” https://golfadelphia.com/2026/01/20/the-parade-of-new/ and “The Parade Continues,” https://golfadelphia.com/2026/01/29/the-parade-continues/ there are almost a dozen courses opening up this year along with some amount of holes that don’t add up to eighteen. Six holes, eleven holes, eight holes and yes, a bunch with twelve holes. There is a recognition that golfers and even beginners are responding favorably to substantial golf with a much shorter time commitment. Shorter courses also mean less of a financial commitment, which allows more leeway with the design and selection of an architect. This is a win for us all. More golf and more risk taking within.

Storm King is taking this trend a bit further. One of the cooler names for a golf course also comes up with the kind of innovation we love to see. In New York fairly close to West Point, the original design by Willy Norton and George Low opened as a nine holer in 1894. Chris Gray was retained to the lead the re-design effort, which he did by reconstructing the course into five distinct nine hole routings, 225,000 square feet of greens, and over thirty multi-directional tee options. The course will be maintained mostly with GPS driven drones and automated lawnmowers. David Gang purchased the struggling nine hole course in the early 2020’s. Gang loves the game and saw the course as an opportunity. Not simply a business venture. There are now twelve greens (yet that really depends on how one counts double greens) and countless holes that route to each of them. The freeform layout allows the golfer to decide how he wants to golf the property. Survey the land, look at a green in the distance and make your way towards it. There are reportedly over 100 different holes that can be played among the 63 acres. It starts at the greens, which needed to be receptive to approaches from a variety of angles. This the course pulls off excellently. The greens are large with bold undulations yet a lot of subtle tilt and most importantly, play much differently depending on the angle upon which the golfer is coming in at. There is a dual personality of the course as well; the holes on the flatter terrain are on a grand scale relying on both above and below ground features while the holes on the hillier terrain lean into the strong pull of the terrain and include a few exciting blind shots as well as a very good short par 4/long par 3. The Double Lion’s Mouth and Biarritz greens were likewise of high quality and impressive with just how true they roll. The fairways undulate and move with the terrain, as well as intersect with each other at certain nodal points. The course is eminently versatile, exciting to play and visually striking. This is a course where one could concern himself with score yet there is a lot more reward for those who decide to immerse themselves in exploration. The peacefully rich land with its wide range of severity along with the rare freedom to roam about at will provides a deep sense of adventure that our game and our game alone can reach.

Gang seems to be after these deeper tones of the game with the design concept. Moreover, he has established philanthropy as one of the club’s virtues with significant involvement in adaptive golf. Adaptive golf focuses on facilitating the game to those with physical and intellectual differences. His son Matthew was born with Down Syndrome and golf is something the two enjoy together, so they have endeavored for the course to provide the same type of fulfillment the game has provided them. In addition to the course, his non-profit is the Hudson Valley Golf Foundation, which was founded to positively impact the lives of adaptive golfers, as well as veterans and underserved communities. In this regard and in just a couple weeks, the course is scheduled to host the Adaptive Invitational on September 27 – 29.

The course thrives most when the least amount of golfers are on it. A small group that have the grounds to themselves will be able to experience it at its full potential while the more golfers on site begins to limit the tee to green possibilities, ultimately needing to establish a fixed routing for them to follow. This is fine, as the course is able to be played both clockwise and counter clockwise if needed. Some routings are even being named. There is the nine hole “Foundation” routing, which starts at the temporary clubhouse and moves uphill through the heart of the property before moving back down the left side and counter clockwise from there. The “Grounding” nine hole routing starts at the other end of the property, at the base of the hill. It drop shots down to a green that is on even lower ground before moving clockwise about the property. There’s also a scorecard for an eighteen hole par 3 course but there are no distances within it. I suspect this is meant to get the golfer to make up his own par 3 course about the holes. A short There is also a 10-hole short course called, “Horizon’s Edge” that is essentially a figure eight routing within the center of the course. The Foundation will be reviewed as the front nine while the Grounding will be the back nine. Horizon’s Edge is then reviewed for a total of 27 holes. Of a possible 100 out there, just waiting to be discovered.

Storm King sits on the fringe of a new trailhead of promise. The course is full of wonder in just how many different ways it can be played, its bounds seemingly tied to the bounds of the golfer’s imagination. This type of architecture pushes the envelope beyond accepted norms and reveals how much more of the game is out there that, like this land, is just waiting to be discovered.

The First of the Foundation routing is a 383 yard par 4 (from the Black tees). From the lower center of the property, we move uphill to the mid-terrace green. That green is along the prominent hill of the course where three greens are present. The hill top green, foot hill green and the one here, mid-terrace. The mid-terrace green takes approaches in mainly from two sides; the direction from this hole and from the base of the hill up to it. It is generally considered two greens but is a large double green if anything. The tee shot moves up into the hill, which cants left to right. The hill gets steeper to the green, which is a blind approach. The left to right movement is even stronger and approaches off to the left of the green are worth considering for how they’ll bounce and roll on. The terrain pull and climb are fairway severe and that continues at the green with the sideways pull.

The Second is a 575 yard par 5. Now set to move down the right side of the property, we head back down the hill. The downhill considerably shortens its length. Favoring the right side off the tee is the most direct route to the green but brings in the trees and out bounds on that side while the left side is safer yet will make the path to the green a bit longer. There is a trouble short of the green with water on the left, bunkers on the right and some rough mounds interrupting at the center, so the approach needs to clear all of that. The green wraps around the water so pin position dictates just how much it comes into play on the approach. It is possible to land on the green and not have a direct line to the green because of how it dog legs around the water. This is the horseshoe green, which takes approaches in from every angle.

The Third is a 394 yard par 4. Now moving to the flat side of the property, the tee shot is next to the road on the right side hitting down into the flats. The fairway starts narrow yet widens as one gets closer to the green. This is the double lion’s mouth. The green held two pins during my round but could realistically house three; it is that wide, almost taking up the entire end of the property. One of the delightful challenges is when one ends up over sixty yards away on there green or the short grass and has to figure out how to float or roll the ball close. It’s the type of shots one really only comes across on links.

The Fourth is a 200 yard par 3. The swale is similar enough to a Biarritz to call it one, or at least play it like one. From the tee in the corner of the property, it’s a blind shot in and one will need to trust their distance acumen to get it close. Yet putting any where around this green, especially the top, is a lot of fun. The narrow depth of the green from this angle is also engagingly different than a lot of the other greens.

The Fifth is a 460 yard par 4. Kind of in line with the First in the center, the tee shot needs to slowly list to the right. There is the horseshoe green on the left but we’re steering right of that, through the narrow opening in the trees. The green finally comes into view next to the Sahara bunker. It’s an interesting approach that needs to clear the bunker, yet those who try to avoid it by going to the right entice the out of bounds. One also needs to account for the creek running up the middle of the fairway short of the green. I’ll call it the Sahara green. It generally is accessible on the sides, but one of the holes I thought up is teeing off from the Foundation First, then carrying the giant tiered grass mound to the green. One would need to figure out if they want to try and carry the Sahara bunker as well, all of which would be blind. So many would hit the approach and likely never know where their ball went, mainly because the green is so shallow at that point.

The Sixth is a 515 yard par 5. We now go to the foothill corner. Again, I am making these up as I go along but think they’re coming out pretty well. The tee is just off the Sahara green and arches right along the tree line. A creek is off to the right so tee shots really need to favor the left. The creek then interrupts the fairway, which makes the golfer decide whether to lay up to or carry it on the second shot. The foothill green is raised and deep from the angle of this fairway. The movement is still left to right, moving with the hill. There is not much room to miss off the green, which places more emphasis on the approach in.

The Seventh is a 155 yard par 3. We now head up the hill. This is the mid-terrace green, the right most side. Some may consider them two separate greens. I do not. It’s a hefty climb up to the green and the short grass before the green adds to it. Figuring out how much more club to use here is good fun. I’d still take being short over long, even if it means the short grass well below the green.

The Eighth is a 297 yard par 4. Continuing up the hill, the fairway cants left to right. The green is well above the fairway and more to the left. This is the hill top green and it is glorious. There all kinds of blind bunkers and fescue patches leading up to the green, which is multi-tiered. Some of the strongest movement can be found at this green and the next. Coincidentally, this hole and the next are the only that really can only be played, or will be played, from one direction. It’s a short par 4 that lengthens out because of the tremendous climb.

The Ninth is a 302 yard par 4. A true short par 4 made even more so with the downhill, the fairway cants left to right as does the green. The ball rolls here so something short of the green and letting it fall on is a smart play while many will hit driver, end up left of the green and wonder why it took them another three or four strokes to get the ball in the hole. It’s a fun hole one could spend a lot of time on. There might be some blind shots into the green from the Foundation 8 or 10 tee but none would be as fine as watching the ball roll at will about below from this fairway or tee. The good old upper terrace green at its best.

The Foundation nine spreads out the hills pretty evenly and sports a couple interesting par 3’s and array of par 4’s. The variety of the terrain is on nice display here, culminating with the Eighth and Ninth on the hill. I would rank them 9, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 1, 6, 2.

The Grounding routing was our back nine, which moves in the opposite direction around the property and starts with the 197 yard par 3 Tenth. This is also starts along the center line of the property, just off the mid-terrace green. A drop shot back down into the valley, the green is pitched and deep. The right side has the creek while the left has a few bunkers while there is lots of room short of the green. It’s a challenging and inspirational par 3, all at the same time.

The Eleventh is a 594 yard par 5. We now head clockwise about the property, heading down the left side with that side of the Sahara green the final destination. The tee shot heads over the creek and should stay left of the two center line trees, but there is a lot of room to miss off to the right for those who need it. Those who flirt successfully left the most, however, will have the shortest approach in. The Sahara green covers a lot of that left side greens so is probably worthy of another name altogether for this hole but no, we’ll keep it as is. Maybe Sahara Left. Sahara Left ramps up from the fairway and moves around the namesake bunker.

The Twelfth is a 539 yard par 5. Back to back par 5’s here as we moves towards our final destination, the left side of the Double Lion’s Mouth green. The tee shot is to the left of the green prior, similar to the tee at the Foundation 6. There really are two paths to the green depending on which way you go around the large mound near the Sahara bunker. Going to the left of it means the same path but in reverse of Foundation 5. It’s a narrow corridor and the creek comes up pretty quickly with the roll of the tee shots. Going to the right of it allows much more width but a lot more length comes with it. The width continues to the green, with the pin position dictating a lot of how to set up the approach. Considering the amount of options here, it does well typifying the adventurous spirit of the design in general.

The Thirteenth is a 331 yard par 4. Teeing off the Double Lion’s Mouth green heading to the Horseshoe Bunker green. A relatively straightforward hole, the tee shot should get between the trees on the right and road on the left. And if one can get past the trees altogether, the approach in should be fairly short. The Horseshoe Bunker provides a lot of options for pin placement and that reverberates all the way back to the tee in how one sets up the approach.

The Fourteenth is a 345 yard par 4. The climb starts now. The tee shot needs to move right while the fairway cants left to right, which can make things down right testy. The approach is to a green we have not yet encountered. We’ll call it the Lower Mid-Terrace green. The undulations are bolder here while the transition from fairway to green is seamless, which makes any downhill putt liable to move well off the green. It’s a very unique green to the property but is just a little more inaccessible than many of the others. One could make a pretty good hole cross over the center of the course and approaching it from the right. Something like the Foundation 1 tee would work well in this regard.

The Fifteenth is a 121 yard par 3. This is essentially teeing off just off the Lower Mid Terrace green to moving to the Mid Terrace green. A short par 3 where, similar to Foundation 1, one must favor the left side or even off the left side of the green so the ball will fall on. The pull of the hillside from left to right is that strong. There’s this little plateau on the high left side where a pin position is diabolical.

The Sixteenth is a 340 yard par 4. The tee is set further back than at Foundation 8, allowing more leeway on the left and thus, more opportunity to get up the high side near the green quicker. The green is more visible the further away one is in the fairway if that makes sense. 100 yards and in to the green on that high left side is good fun with all the contours to use and avoid. Those finding themselves on the lower right side, the closer you are to the green, the more severe the recovery will be.

The Seventeenth is a 190 yard par 3. The tees moves up give the hole flexibility to play as a splendid par 3 where strategic use of the green can get a lot more purposeful. Again, the left to right movement of the green might be even stronger than the Mid-Terrace green, so much so that the tee shot either needs to get in the hole or get to the right, below the hole. Strategic fun at its finest.

The Eighteenth is a 500 yard par 5. Moving down the center just to the left of Foundation 1, the eighteen hole routing finishes up in the center of the course where it started in the first place. The tee is just above the Mid-Terrace green and moves down into the valley. The second shot moves to the left of the water and finishes on the left side of the Horseshoe green, the opposite side of the Foundation 2 green. There’s a good amount of room short and left of the green for those feeling frisky want to try for the green in two shots. Otherwise, the second shot is more about setting up the approach, which needs to traverse a couple bunkers and the manmade creek before reaching the green.

The Grounding nine takes more advantage of the exciting fall off at the prominent ridge at the mid-terrace area by allowing drop off shots back into the valley and utilizing the very good Lower Mid-Terrace Green. The par 3’s here shine like crazy diamonds while the par 5’s are a bit better than Foundation. To be fair, there are more of them, highlighting the atypical sequencing born out of what the terrain layout provides. I would rank them 16, 10, 17, 12, 15, 14, 18, 13, 11.

To show just how versatile the course is, there is also a 10-hole short course called, “Horizon’s Edge” that is essentially a figure eight routing within the center of the course. That routing and holes are below.

The First is a 98 yard par 3. Starting just off the Horseshoe Green, the tee is right in the fairway. This opens up the entire green to the tee and allows the pin to be place any where along its width. Anything too long will end up in the water.

The Second is a 93 yard par 3. Now moving from the center of the course to the opposite side of the road, the Sahara Left is now in play. There is a lot of room to work with horizontally while the green is deceptively shallow.

The Third is a 143 yard par 3. We walk across the center of the property to utilize the Lower Mid Terrace green from that right side, a great approach in that probably takes a lot more club than the player can even imagine. One of my favorite greens on the property used from a great angle.

The Fourth is a 125 yard par 3. There is more length to the Mid Terrace green and while this plays similar to Grounding 15, the green is more in view and the angle allows more play over to the right.

The Fifth is a 110 yard par 3. Teeing off the back side of the Mid Terrace green, it’s a drop shot of sorts to the Foothill green. Carrying the water with the awkward angle is paramount, then dealing with the dual tiered green is the other. Juxtapose this later green with that at the Lower Mid Terrace and the variety within the design and terrain is joyfully evident.

The Sixth is a 95 yard par 3. We take this green on from down in the valley instead of the terrace like at Grounding 10. This angle opens up the full depth of the green from entry point to the rear. An easier shot but anything sideways gets complicated quickly.

The Seventh is a 83 yard par 3. This routing became a favorite when we utilize the Lower Mid Terrace green yet again, this time from the extreme right side. All uphill and falling off deliriously to the left, it’s tremendous fun.

The Eighth is a 140 yard par 3. Now approaching the Horseshoe green from a nice angle near the water, one needs to flirt with the water to get close since all the room to the right falls away from the green.

The Ninth is a 116 yard par 3. Now on the road side, the right side of the Double Lion’s Mouth green comes into play. The subtle dip short right of the green should not be ignored because it will absolutely eat your ball up. Lots of green to work with here, all it left.

The Tenth is an 88 yard par 3. The angle into the Birattiz green is unique as this shot broad sides it. Still blind, the ball will inevitably move from right to left once it disappears over the ridge. An extremely strong finish.

Take a few wedges and a putter to lighten the load as the walk gets hilly at times. The range of holes varies yet most of their quality takes this out of pitch and putt fare and into substantial short course discussion. I would rank them 7, 3, 10, 4, 5, 2, 6, 1, 8, 9.

One of the obligations of golf course architecture is to manifest the extraordinary range our game beholds. It is a sport within nature and within the mind. With such infinite complexity of the internal and external at play, it is only natural that golf takes countless forms. An important concept every golfer should turn over in his head is that just as it is incumbent on architecture to manifest in such manner, it is likewise incumbent on the golfer to explore and discover the untouched recesses of the game that very likely will provide a deeper appreciation and understanding of it. Yet another obligation of course architecture is to define this great depth of the game. Storm King does just that. It opens up a spectrum of play, allowing the golfer to creatively interact with the land in ways that break free of the limitations inherent in many standard eighteen hole designs. In turn, the golfer explores his playing style and dares to delve into more creative shots which the land happily accommodates. Alas, Storm King should be applauded for its innovative efforts and the high quality of the shaping, especially at the greens. Most of the greens can be played from over 180 degrees and even more impressively, change the structure of play into them depending on the angle. It should be noted, however, that less people on property realizes the full potential of the freeform nature of the design. And the hilly property essentially means only those in prime walking shape will be able to traverse it for those longer periods of time to fully explore the breadth of the terrain. Ultimately, however, it’s a unique golfing experience for those fortunate to visit and hopefully, a harbinger of architecture pushing past norms more and more.

Clubhouse/Pro Shop: Currently, there is a temporary clubhouse at the flat end of the property across from the road but the permanent clubhouse is at the top of the hill overlooking the two holes upon it. It is undergoing renovations at the moment but should provide lovely views and be a most welcome respite after golfers climb back up to it.

Practice area: The course itself.