Club History
On October 18, 1924 The Brookline Square Club opened its sparkling new golf course along Mill Road in what is now called Havertown, a 118-acre plot that had once been the Pennington Farm, between the communities of Brookline and South Ardmore and behind the brand new Haverford High School on Darby Road. The Square Club (as many called it) was founded by a group of Master Freemasons, and it disappeared almost as quickly as it arrived, a victim of the Great Depression. But not before its members in 1926 sold off the 18-hole golf course laid out on sloping terrain above Cobb's Creek between Mill and Eagle Road. The Thomas Conway Corp. offered one million dollars for the property, so the club voted to sell and find other quarters. The site of land now occupied by Paxon Hollow was selected and purchased shortly thereafter.
Francis Warner, then secretary of the Golf Association of Philadelphia, was involved with the design of the new course. J. Franklin Meehan was hired to build the golf course. Mr. Meehan had extensive experience in the Philadelphia area in the early 1900's, already working on North Hills, Sandy Run, and Brookside Allentown. There was considerable argument over the name of the new club. Many of the members wished to call it "Trout Run" after the stream that runs through the property, while others held out for its present name. In the voting, "Paxon Hollow" defeated "Trout Run" by just one single vote.
The original Paxon Hollow Country Club was formed in the fall of 1926, and the first nine holes opened for play the following summer. Marcus Greer, a former Llanerch CC amateur star, was the first golf professional. The back nine was ready for play the following year and John Beadle, assisted by his brother, Ted, both also out of Llanerch CC took over the professional duties. By 1936 the club was in poor financial condition and was taken over by Girard Trust for a mortgage of $140,000. Beadle operated the club for the bank for several years and his name became synonymous with Paxon Hollow. After World War II a number of golfers, wanting a private golf facility of their own, leased the club from the bank and named their organization in honor of their old clubhouse, White Manor CC. Splinter groups from White Manor founded Meadowlands CC and Radnor Valley CC.
In 1962 Ralph Bodek, a Delaware County builder, purchased the club for a sum in excess of $600,000 and was unsuccessful in his attempt to rezone the property for real estate development. He operated the club as a semi-private golf club until 1966 when he decided to change it to a public facility. During these years he made extensive renovations to the clubhouse facilities. In 1967 the club was purchased by Marple Township for slightly more than one million dollars.
During the ownership of White Manor the back nine holes were changed considerably. Of the original back nine only the 11th, 12th, 14th, and 15th remain unchanged. The course has been the site of many professional and amateur tournaments and has hosted such great players as Walter Hagen, Art Wall, and Ed Dudley. You can be proud to play Paxon Hollow, a historic, classically designed golf course that has done much to enrich the fine tradition of golf in this area.
Timeline
1922-1926 - Brookline Square Club - Located in Havertown (Private Club - Member owned)
1926-1936 - Paxon Hollow CC - Located in Marple Twp. (Private Club - Member owned)
1936-1948 - Paxon Hollow CC (Private Club - owned by Bank)
1948-1962 - White Manor CC (Private Club - Leased property from Bank)
1962-1967 - Paxon Hollow CC (Becomes Public - owned by Ralph Bodek)
1967-present - Paxon Hollow CC (Public - owned by Marple Twp.)
Paxon Hollow was converted to a full Public Golf Course during the ownership of Ralph Bodek begining in the 1967 season.
