History
Whitemarsh Valley Country Club owes its design to George C. Thomas Jr., who created only three golf courses in the East before building a reputation as a golf architect and botanist in California.
Thomas grew up on the property that eventually became the Whitemarsh Valley course. He was educated at Episcopal Academy and the University of Pennsylvania before working with his father at Drexel and Co., a banking company. He produced the course at Whitemarsh Valley in 1908.
Thomas had a passion for gardening, especially rose breeding, and he moved to California in 1919 to take advantage of the favorable climate for growing roses. He became an expert botanist but continued his interest in golf, designing and building an impressive collection of golf courses throughout California.
Thomas once said of golf design, "When you play a course and remember each hole, it has individuality and change. If your mind cannot recall the exact sequence of the holes, that course lacks the great assets of originality and diversity."
These qualities are quite visible in his design at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club.
Whitemarsh Valley Country Club was incorporated on April 6, 1908, by a group of former members of Mount Airy, which was forced to disband when the club was unable to get a satisfactory extension of its lease.
The second nine holes of the golf course were officially put into play in the summer of 1909 allowing the Club to accept the invitation of the Pennsylvania Golf Association.
The American Red Cross Patriotic Open was considered a substitute for the U.S. Open, which was suspended due to World War I. Jock Hutchinson won the event, which raised $5,000 for the Red Cross.
In 1934, women's golf put Whitemarsh forever on the golfing map, as the club hosted it's first and only USGA national championship. The event was won by 25 year old Virginia Van Wie. Whitemarsh was her third straight national championship.
For the first time, Whitemarsh welcomed the nation's top professional women players as it hosted the Women's Western Open. The event was won by Patty Berg, an eventual World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, who had been an honorary member at Whitemarsh while serving locally in the Marine Corps during World War II.
WVCC hosted the first Whitemarsh Open, won by Arnold Palmer. The PGA Tour stop, later called the Philadelphia Classic and the IVB Golf Classic, also includes Jack Nicklaus (three times), Tom Weiskopf (twice), Billy Casper, Hubert Green and Tom Kite among its champions. The tournament continued through 1980.
The Club celebrated its Centennial Year. In June, 2008, past IVB Champions Tom Kite, Hubert Green, Tom Jenkins and Doug Tewell returned to the club and held a 9 hole golf exhibition.