Baskets help set Merion apart from other golf courses
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Golf enthusiasts will have the opportunity this weekend to enjoy the biggest tournament in amateur golf.
The 2026 U.S. Amateur Championship is being conducted at Merion Country Club just outside of Philadelphia as we speak, with the 36-hole championship finale scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
While most golfers are familiar with the historic Merion course, only hardcore fans may know of the distinctive oddity that greets every golfer who steps onto the greens of this storied links.
Instead of the cloth flags that typically adorn the top of every flagstick, Merion uses a woven wicker basket, each one painted bright red.
The unique tradition goes back to 1916 when course superintendent William Flynn first introduced them to the club. Flynn may have gotten the idea from visits to Scotland where similar baskets were used during the 1800s before being phased out.
Others believe Merion's use of wicker baskets was inspired by the premise that baskets would be less likely to reveal wind conditions, thereby increasing the challenge golfers would face when competing at the club.
Though Merion's specific reasons for introducing woven baskets are lost to time, they've become somewhat legendary in the world of golf over the years and are certainly part of Merion's identity as one of America's iconic golf courses.
Blair County native Matt Shaffer, now retired and living near Bellefonte, was the course superintendent at Merion from 2002 through 2017.
I was fortunate to visit him at the club in 2013, and he mentioned that the wicker baskets had become so iconic and desirable he actually had to assign a member of his crew to remove them from all 18 holes each night at sundown to ensure they didn't disappear (unfortunately, they had become prized objects for unscrupulous golf-memorabilia collectors). Even if you never get the chance to visit Merion Golf Club in person, you'll still be able to see plenty of bright-red wicker baskets this weekend if you tune in to the U.S. Amateur action.
You'll also get to witness plenty of world-class golf action.
Art Wall Jr. Memorial
Next month, Hollidaysburg's Scotch Valley Country Club is set to host one of the Pennsylvania Golf Association's premier events.
The 22nd annual Art Wall Jr. Memorial Tournament is scheduled for Sept. 14-15 at one of the area's premier venues. The event is open to golfers at least 40 years of age and includes three divisions: Championship (age 40+), Senior (55-64) and Super Senior (65 and over).
The tournament is named for long-time PGA star Art Wall Jr., a Pennsylvania native who played on tour during the 1950s and 1960s, and who outdueled another PA native, Arnold Palmer, to capture the 1959 Masters tournament.
Local golfers can find entry details for the event on the PA Golf website. Registration for the tournament ends on Sept. 1.
West Penn Mixed
Several area golfers competed in the inaugural WPGA Mixed Championship held on Monday at nearby Sunnehanna Country Club.
The format for this new event involved teams of men and women from WPGA member clubs competing as two-person teams. The local duo of Matt Bullington and Kourtney Mortimer (Bedford Springs) posted a 3-under par score of 67 to finish the tournament in a tie for second place.
Also competing were Jordon Albright and Nora Burns (Philipsburg Elks) who placed T-12 after carding a 73 and the teenage team of Crosby Denis and Sam McLanahan (Scotch Valley) who finished in a tie for 15th-place with a score of 74.
60 Years Ago
During the second week of August in 1966, Dr. KB England captured the Iron Masters club championship after defeating John Kerila in the championship finale. In earlier matches, England defeated Harold Wineland, Squire Shaw and Dan Appleman.
One of the founding members of Iron Masters Country Club, England had previously collected five club championships at Park Hills (1947, 1949, 1952, 1954 and 1956) and one at Summit Country Club (1949).
Ken Love covers local golf for the Mirror. He can be reached at GLTR777@atlanticbb.net.