5 Things To Know About Aronimink Golf Club - Next Year’s PGA Championship Host Venue

Soon after the winner of 107th PGA Championship lifts the famous Wanamaker Trophy, attention will turn to next year's tournament, especially those involved with a private Donald Ross-designed club just outside of Philadelphia in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

Aronimink Golf Club has a rich history dating back to 1896, and this is where the 2026 PGA Championship will be played.

Here are a few facts and stories about the course.

MAJOR PEDIGREE

Aronimink has hosted a number of significant tournaments over the years, including the 1962 PGA Championship, the 1977 US Amateur, the 2003 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, and the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

This venue was the first to stage each of the PGA of America’s three rotating Major Championships (PGA Championship, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship).

A DONALD ROSS DESIGN

The golf course was designed by Scottish-born golfer Donald Ross in 1926, the same architect behind Pinehurst No.2 and a fair few other fantastic courses across North America.

During Aronimink's Centennial Year in 1996, a plaque was unveiled behind the 1st tee, sharing a 1948 quote from Ross pertaining to his work at the course: "I intended to make this my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize that I built better than I knew."

ONE PREVIOUS PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

The only previous occasion that the PGA Championship visited Aronimink was in 1962, the year that Gary Player lifted the Wanamaker Trophy for the first time (he did so again ten years later).

"Aronimink has changed considerably for the better, I think," said honorary member Player, prior to the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in 2020.

"It's a wonderful golf course, it's a wonderful club. There's an ambience in this club that is special."

Player isn't the only Major champion to have special memories of the Ross masterpiece - South Korea's Sei Young Kim won that KMPG Women's PGA Championship by five strokes.

RESTORED BY GIL HANSE

When Player said the course has changed for the better, he was referring to the work carried out by Gil Hanse, who added a few expert touches prior to the 2018 BMW Championship.

Talking of players who like the course, it was US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley who won that title after holding off England's Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff.

THE NAME

The name comes from the chief of the Lenape tribe who once occupied the farmhouse that was used as the original clubhouse.

Aronimink Golf Club was established at the end of the 19th century. Its members played golf at a couple of locations before moving from Drexel Hill and settling on a 300-acre site at Newtown Square in 1926.

It's fitting that the club should host the 108th PGA Championship 100 years later.