Inniscrone Golf Club

Inniscrone Golf Club was Gil Hanse\'s first solo design project, opening in the late 1990s on rolling terrain about 45 miles west of Philadelphia in Chester County. Hanse — who went on to design the 2016 Olympic Course in Rio and renovate Merion, The Country Club (Brookline), and many other prestigious venues — started his career here.

The property possessed large natural ground movements that Hanse designed around, pushing holes into formerly open farmland. Named for a village in western Ireland. LINKS Magazine has featured the course for its strategic originality.

Now fully open to the public under London Grove Township ownership — one of the better values in the area for architecturally significant golf.

A hilly course that starts manageable but gets progressively harder toward the finish. The closing stretch (holes 13-18) is the strongest routing section. Deep rough, masterfully shaped bunkers, and fast undulating greens. Several forced carries and blind shots add old-school character.

The course plays significantly longer than the scorecard suggests due to elevation changes. Slope rating of 140 confirms the difficulty despite the par-70, 6,630-yard layout.

Public access — outstanding value for a course by the architect of the Olympic Course.

Course management is everything. The short par 4s (holes 2-5) look easy but are exceptionally tricky.

Take extra club on uphill approaches — there are many, and the elevation makes the course play much longer than yardage suggests.

Accuracy off the tee matters far more than distance on this hilly terrain.

Expect to use a cart — the terrain is extremely hilly between holes.