Aronimink Golf Club
Keen designed clubhouses at Pine Valley and Aronimink, two of America's most revered private golf clubs. He also built Reynolda House for R.J. Reynolds, now a nationally recognized art museum. This week, Aronimink hosts the PGA Championship for the first time since 1962.
Aronimink Golf Club's Tudor Revival clubhouse was designed by Charles Barton Keen, a Pine Valley member who built estates on Philadelphia's Main Line and designed Reynolda House for tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds. The clubhouse opened on Memorial Day, 1928.
Keen was a Philadelphia Main Line architect who spent over 35 years designing country estates for wealthy families. His reputation took him to North Carolina, where he designed Reynolda House for R.J. Reynolds, now a nationally recognized art museum affiliated with Wake Forest University. At Aronimink, Keen brought that same residential vocabulary to a clubhouse: prominent gables, signature half-timbering, and a Tudor Revival silhouette anchored on the highest ridge of the 300-acre property. The 18th hole returns uphill toward the clubhouse, one of the most cinematic finishes in championship golf. Keen was also an accomplished golfer. As a member at Pine Valley, he won his division at a 1920 winter tournament at Pinehurst.
The club has invested over $30 million in clubhouse renovations over the years, adding a ballroom, wine room, and Hall of Champions while keeping Keen's Tudor character intact. This week, Aronimink hosts the PGA Championship for the first time since Gary Player won here in 1962, becoming the first club in history to host all three PGA of America rotating majors.
Best Clubhouse's Tour of Aronimink Golf Club's Clubhouse
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Key Details
- Club: Aronimink Golf Club
- Location: Newtown Square, Pennsylvania (23 miles west of Philadelphia)
- Clubhouse Architect: Charles Barton Keen
- Year Built: 1928
- Architectural Style: Tudor Revival
- Notable Features: Prominent Tudor gables with half-timbering on a ridge-top site overlooking Donald Ross's course; Hall of Champions; over $30 million in renovations preserving Keen's original Tudor character; Golf Performance Center designed by Voith & Mactavish to echo the clubhouse; the 18th hole finishes uphill toward the building, now extended to 490 yards for the PGA Championship; first club to host all three PGA of America rotating majors (PGA Championship, Senior PGA, KPMG Women's PGA)
Keen died in 1931, just three years after delivering the Aronimink clubhouse. He was 62. He left behind buildings at two of the most revered private golf clubs in America, Pine Valley and Aronimink, and a tobacco estate that became an art museum. His name appears in almost none of the coverage you will read about the PGA Championship this week. It should.
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