Edgewood Country Club originated in the borough of Edgewood in 1898 but resolved in 1921 to relocate to Churchill. The club purchased 167 acres for $40,000 and retained Donald Ross to design the new course. Construction proceeded rapidly, with Ross on site for oversight, and the “New Course” opened on July 4, 1922. The club’s own historical timeline documents both Ross’s commission and the opening date.
The documentary record available online does not reveal detailed Ross plans, routings, or correspondence; neither the club site nor public archives consulted here reproduce original drawings or letters. The club’s narrative notes Ross’s personal supervision of construction, but without attached plans.
In 1947 Edgewood undertook a major renovation led by Oakmont’s longtime team Emil “Dutch” Loeffler and John McGlynn. The club reports that this work removed many of the 128 bunkers in Ross’s scheme and “revers[ed] the play of the course.” The precise meaning of “reversing the play” is not elaborated online; whether the nines were swapped, certain holes were flipped, or larger routing changes were made is not specified, but the scope clearly went beyond routine maintenance.
In recent years the club completed construction work on holes 10 and 18 in 2017, describing the effort as “successful in redesigning the course in the spirit of the original Donald Ross design.” No architect of record is named on the public site; identifying the designer and scope (greens, bunkers, tees, tree work) would require board communications or project documentation from 2015–17.
Unique Design Characteristics
Even after successive renovations, Edgewood still plays as a Ross layout routed across heaving ground with no water hazards. The current professional staff emphasizes the absence of water and the reliance on elevation and green contour for defense. The par-5 eighth—585 yards from the back markers—demands a tee shot played just inside right bunkers to catch the natural left kick, followed by an uphill lay-up and a precise third into a diminutive green with a pronounced false front that sheds timid approaches. The hole also frames a view back to the clubhouse, anchoring the round visually and strategically.
False fronts recur throughout the course. The club’s hole descriptions call them out explicitly at the 8th, 11th, 12th, and 18th, with the 12th also elevated and tightly defended by flanking bunkers and out-of-bounds close behind—an arrangement that punishes misses long or short and rewards a precisely flighted tee shot. The 18th—an uphill par 4 of 420 yards with a severe false front—has long been decisive in competition and is cited in club materials for swallowing even Arnold Palmer, who reportedly carded an 8 here in a West Penn Open.
Ross’s diagonal use of hazards is most apparent today at the 13th, a sharp dogleg-right par 4 where aggressive players try to carry fairway bunkers to open an angle and a shorter approach into a large, strongly undulating green. The 4th, a long par-4 over a rise, retains cross-bunkering that complicates a blind second when the drive fails to crest the hill. Meanwhile, consecutive mid-length two-shotters at 6 and 7 run straight along out-of-bounds to the left, with flanking fairway bunkers right, creating positional tension on what appear at first to be simple corridors. A drivable 9th (307 yards) provides a classic risk-reward interlude before the turn. All of these characteristics are recorded in the club’s hole-by-hole summaries.
As to survival of original features, present evidence is clearest for greens that continue to exhibit the fall-offs and tiering Edgewood is known for, notably the 2nd (severe two-tier), 12th (elevated with a false front), and 14th (left-to-right two-tier). Because Loeffler & McGlynn removed “many” of Ross’s 128 bunkers in 1947 and later greenside bunkers were renovated in modern campaigns, attributing specific bunker forms or edges to Ross today requires comparison against original plans or early aerials not available in the public domain reviewed here.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s Pennsylvania work, Edgewood is an early-1920s metropolitan commission that helped consolidate the club’s move from Edgewood to Churchill. The club was a founding member of the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association and hosted the WPGA Open as early as 1901 on its prior course; on the Churchill property it continued to figure in the association’s championship rota, including West Penn Amateur titles at Edgewood in 1932 and 1939, and West Penn Open titles at Edgewood in 1954 (Tom Blaskovich) and 1959 (Frank Kiraly). In 2023 the WPGA brought its 120th Open to Edgewood during the club’s 125th anniversary year. These dates underscore the course’s standing as a steady regional championship venue rather than a venue of national USGA championships.
Several contemporary pieces also identify the par-5 eighth as one of western Pennsylvania’s notable holes, highlighting its “classic” Ross attributes and confirming its place in the region’s playing culture today.
Current Condition / Integrity
Edgewood’s own course pages state that “throughout the last 70 years” a series of renovations and amendments have occurred, while asserting that “the integrity of Ross’ work has been preserved.” Specific items documented publicly include installation of a state-of-the-art irrigation system, renovation of greenside bunkers, and the 2017 completion of construction on holes 10 and 18 in a manner the club describes as aligned with Ross’s spirit. The site also references an “extensive driving range and practice facility,” which sits alongside the course footprint and supports modern play without altering the routing.
What changed materially in 1947 is clearer: Loeffler & McGlynn removed a substantial portion of the original 128 bunkers and “reversed the play” of the course. That intervention suggests that while the corridor network (tees-to-greens) likely remains substantially Ross’s, today’s hazard count and some directions of play differ from the opening configuration. Without early aerial photography or Ross’s construction drawings, it is not possible in this survey to map hole-by-hole survival with precision. The club’s hole descriptions nonetheless reveal enduring Ross-type green defenses and elevation uses—false fronts at 8, 11, 12, and 18; uphill long par-4s at 4 and 16; and a short, strategic par-4 at 9—indicating that the strategic spirit Ross embedded in the routing still governs play even where individual bunkers or edges have evolved.
Citations and Uncertainty
Significant uncertainties remain. The club publicly cites Ross’s on-site oversight and gives the 1922 opening date, but does not reproduce original drawings or annotate which greens and bunkers retain original geometry. The 1947 Loeffler/McGlynn work is described as removing “many” of 128 Ross bunkers and “reversing the play,” but the exact number of removed or relocated hazards, and the specific holes affected by any reversal, are not detailed online. The 2017 work on holes 10 and 18 is characterized as in the “spirit” of Ross with no architect named; identifying the practitioner and design scope would require club project files.
Sources & Notes
Edgewood Country Club – “History of Edgewood.” Club timeline confirming 1922 opening, Ross commission/oversight, 1947 Loeffler & McGlynn changes (removal of many of 128 bunkers; “reversing the play”), and 2017 work on holes 10 & 18.
Edgewood Country Club – “Course Information” (Hole-by-hole descriptions). Current yardages per hole, descriptions noting false fronts (8, 11, 12, 18), cross-bunkers at 4, risk-reward at 9, and anecdote about Arnold Palmer’s 8 at 18 during a West Penn Open.
Western Pennsylvania Golf Association (WPGA) – Founding Club Series feature noting early WPGA ties and a 1901 West Penn Open at Edgewood (pre-Churchill site).
WPGA Amateur – Past Champions & Sites: Edgewood hosts in 1932 and 1939 (winners listed).
WPGA Open – Past Champions & Sites: Edgewood hosts in 1954 (Tom Blaskovich) and 1959 (Frank Kiraly); WPGA Open returned in 2023.
KDKA/CBS Pittsburgh – “Elite 18: No. 8 at Edgewood Country Club.” Contemporary description of the eighth, including staff remarks on the absence of water hazards, elevation change, and the false-fronted green.