The organization that became Lu Lu Country Club secured its charter in 1912 as Lu Lu Temple Country Club; that same year a first iteration of the course—nine holes designed by Philadelphia golf figure J. Franklin Meehan (with Warren Webb)—opened for play on the property along Limekiln Pike. This early nine gives Lu Lu its pre-Ross pedigree, and period newspaper work cited by area historians supports the Meehan/Webb attribution and the 1912 opening.
In 1918, with additional land in hand and an appetite for a more ambitious course, the club retained Donald Ross “to design a new course on existing and newly acquired land,” with the resulting 18-hole layout opening in 1919. Contemporary club narratives and subsequent reporting agree on that basic timeline. It is worth noting that some secondary histories have long repeated an earlier (1909) Ross date in connection with a first nine; local researchers have shown that sequence to be unlikely, placing the Ross commission firmly in 1918. The course Ross produced blended new holes with selected keeps from the earlier nine, yielding the compact but varied routing that defines Lu Lu today.
Unique Design Characteristics
Two holes at Lu Lu most clearly telegraph the course’s architectural DNA. First, the short par-3 fourth (“Volcano”), a tiny tabletop green ringed by steep fall-offs, sits within a former quarry bowl and punishes even small misses; national architecture coverage has singled it out as a canonical volcano target, measuring roughly ~129 yards from the back tee. Second, the eighth green (“Punchbowl”)—a deep amphitheater that gathers accurate approaches—is promoted by the club itself as one of its signature Ross elements. Together they give Lu Lu a one-two punch of elevated tabletop and gathering basin that few courses preserve so vividly today.
Beyond those two, Lu Lu’s greens and surrounds carry much of the strategic weight and have been praised for their character by regional writers; the course’s “quirky and memorable holes” are repeatedly cited as its enduring appeal. In this context, the greens themselves are the most legible survivors of Ross’s hand, with their smallish footprints, abrupt shoulders, and abrupt short-grass runoffs standing out on a tight site. While a definitive, hole-by-hole attribution of what is strictly “Ross” versus “retained Meehan/Webb” awaits systematic plan-to-ground comparison, the fourth and eighth remain the best-documented, course-specific exemplars of the early design at Lu Lu.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s Pennsylvania chronology, Lu Lu has often been identified by local golf bodies and club literature as his first work in the Commonwealth, a distinction that adds weight to its history amid later, more expansive commissions elsewhere in the Philadelphia region. Lu Lu’s compact routing, quarry-edge targets, and small-scale greens make it a distinctive early example of Ross working on a tight, rocky Philadelphia-suburban site.
The course has also been an active competition host within the Golf Association of Philadelphia calendar, including the 2017 Frank H. Chapman Memorial (Gross), and it has supported collegiate play—Villanova’s Wildcat Spring Invitational shifted to Lu Lu in 2023—demonstrating continuing relevance as a test of precise iron play on a course under 6,500 yards.
Current Condition / Integrity
The early-2000s restoration program led by Ron Forse (with Jim Nagle) aimed to re-emphasize Ross features: tree removal to reopen internal vistas and lines of play; recovery of lost bunkers (nearly thirty hazards, according to one contemporary account); and enlargement/adjustment of teeing grounds to restore scale on shorter two-shotters. These steps made the greens and surrounds again read as the dominant strategic elements, matching how period photographs presented the course. Independently, observers in 2019 noted that a sustained tree-removal effort in the preceding five years had improved turf and brought the old features back into view. While restoration descriptions vary in detail between sources, they converge on the same intent: to make Lu Lu’s old contours do the work again.
Infrastructure on the property has changed as well. The clubhouse fire of October 2015 destroyed the original building; temporary facilities kept the club functioning while a new clubhouse was designed and constructed, reopening in 2020–2021. Those efforts did not materially alter the routing; they did mark a reset of the club’s social core and helped stabilize membership and operations. With the rebuilt clubhouse in place, the golf course today plays at 6,433 yards, par 71, with Black/White/Red tee sets rated by the state association.
What remains “Ross” today? Based on published descriptions and the restoration scope, the routing framework and the majority of green sites can be read as Ross-era (with the caveat that the tiny fourth may pre-date him and was retained), while bunkering is a hybrid of recovered Ross placements and modern rebuilds intended to echo period forms.
Uncertainty
Club formation and early chronology. The club’s own history page records the 1912 charter and 1918 land lease, then notes Ross was “called upon again to design and build an 18-hole course,” language that implies a pre-1918 connection but does not provide primary documentation (minutes, contracts, or plan sheets). Regional reporting places Meehan (with Webb) as architect of the original nine in 1912, and Ross as the 1918–1919 architect of the 18-hole course. Reconciling the club page’s “again” phrasing with the Meehan/Webb account requires inspection of club minutes (1911–1913; 1917–1919), any surviving Ross drawings, and local newspapers from late 1918 through mid-1919.
Signature holes and features. The par-3 fourth (“Volcano”) is well documented in national architecture media, including its approximate back-tee yardage; the eighth (“Punchbowl”) is spotlighted in the club’s communications. Assigning authorship of the fourth to Meehan versus Ross remains unsettled in public sources; local historians believe Ross retained a pre-existing volcano hole, but primary proof (plan overlays, contemporaneous hole list) is still needed.
Restoration scope and present configuration. Public sources agree that Ron Forse (with Jim Nagle) guided an early-2000s program at Lu Lu; they vary on the exact counts (e.g., “29 bunkers recovered”), which are reported but should be treated as approximate until corroborated by the club’s master plan and as-built notes. Later commentary confirms ongoing tree removal improved the course’s presentation. The 2015 fire and subsequent rebuild are widely reported by local media and the club.
Sources & Notes
Lu Lu Country Club—Club History (official site), “Club History” and “About Us” pages (accessed 2025). Provides 1912 charter, 1918 land lease, and general Ross attribution. These pages do not cite primary documents; phrasing (“called upon again”) suggests earlier involvement but is undocumented in the text.
PhilaGolf, “Like a Ross: LuLu Country Club,” Feb. 8, 2019. Notes Meehan as designer of the first nine (1912) and Ross’s 1918–1919 work; also remarks on restoration work by Ron Forse & Jim Nagle and tree-removal benefits.
GolfClubAtlas Forum, “Reunderstanding Ross,” esp. discussion of Lu Lu (2018). Local researchers credit the 1912 nine to J. Franklin Meehan and W. Webb and cite a 1918 Ross commission, challenging older “1909” Ross claims.
Links Magazine, “10 Top Volcano Holes in the U.S.” Identifies Lu Lu’s 4th as a classic volcano, ~129 yards, with quarry surrounds.
Pennsylvania Golf Association—Lu Lu CC history. Long-form association history that also asserts Lu Lu as Ross’s first Pennsylvania course; includes an older (contested) claim of a 1909 Ross nine. Local media and management commentary on the 2015 fire and rebuild: 6ABC (Oct. 19, 2015) and FOX29 feature (June 9, 2021), plus McMahon Group profile of the post-fire recovery and new clubhouse opening.
GAP (Golf Association of Philadelphia), event records for the Frank H. Chapman Memorial (Gross) confirming Lu Lu as 2017 host venue
Villanova University Athletics release (Apr. 7, 2023) noting Wildcat Spring Invitational at Lu Lu. Contains marketing-style Ross claims; used here strictly to evidence hosting of collegiate play.