First off, regarding Mayday’s post about his friend who “… played Aronimink today for the first time. He is an 18… and felt it lacked variety compared to RG. He did not think that he was challenged to choose clubs to hit or angles to take. He values that variety which I assume came from his years of playing RG.”
For an 18 at Aronimink, this is probably very true. An 18 is probably not long enough off the tee to hit anything other than 5w and long irons into half of Aronimink’s greens (1, 3, 4, 10, 12, 15, and 18). Is this a knock about the course… maybe. However, I’m a 10 (an average golfer), and there are plenty of decisions to be made about angles throughout the course (i.e. #3: if the pin is on the left side you have to be on the right half of the fairway. And if it’s the on the right, then vice-versa)
I agree with you. I also don't get Mike Malone's thoughts...nothing new there 
There aren't many offset greens or fairways, especially with the par 4s. Most are straight away with lateral bunkering down the fairways. There are few line of play decisions to be made off the tee and few distance considerations.
I think these statements are false. There are offset fairways (#2 especially from the back tees, 6, 16) and offset greens (7 and 12). Yes, they are mostly straight away with lateral bunkers, but many offer options of where to, and not to, play one’s shot (i.e. #3, 6, 11, 12,) within the fairways themselves.
Sorry, Wayne. I don't consider the 2nd an offset fairway unless one can carry the second fairway bunker on the left. Otherwise it is a dogleg where you hit it straight and then hit one straight into the green on a 45* angle from the original tee shot. Nevertheless, there aren't many angles to consider on tee and approach shots. I wouldn't consider 2 or 3 from the tee and 2 on the approach (I think 6 is more of an offset green than 7 but neither would be considered much of an offset) as utilizing angles very well. Given how much land was available to Ross, he certainly didn't give much thought to angles in this later design.There are distance considerations. How about #2 (try and fly the bunkers on the left, and contend with your tee shot running thru the fairway or play safely to the right of them with a 3w), 3 (if the pin’s right do you play 3w to the front of the left hand bunker or play Driver to be further down but still play left side of fairway), 6 (at 260 yds, it is a BIG carry over these bunkers, and I think more players would consider attempting it if the tees were up 10-15 yds), 7 (Driver or 3w?), and 13 (Driver as far down as possible and risk running through the fairway, or play back with a 3w or 5w but bring the fairway bunkers in play).
There are some distance considerations, but not many.Think about this at Merion East. In my estimations there are distance considerations at #1, 7, 8, 10, and 15… not at 5 (must hit Driver), 6, 11 (must hit 3w or 5w), 12, 14, 16, or 18. That’s same number of times as Aronimink.
I think 5 at Merion East definitely has a distance consideration if you challenge the creek on the left for a much preferred lie and approach angle. 4 has a distance consideration on the second shot to play safe to the level area past the bunker and before the hill slope down to the green or try and reach the flat area at the bottom of the second fairway on the hole. I number the distance option at Merion East to include 1,4,5,7,8,10,12,14,15 and 16. Holes 1,5,7,8,10,12,14 and 15 also have line of play considerations as well. The greens on 3,9 and 17 all create lines of play considerations on the par 3s. Diagonal lines of greens and bunkers are a bit more interesting on other designs in the district as well. Hit it as far as you want as long as you keep it down the middle of the fairway. There aren't many holes where the ideal angle is from one side of the fairway or another.
Really? That’s the whole premise of Aronimink, I think. One does have to have adequate length off the tee – I’ll give you that – but this course’s need for decision-making is more subtle than obvious. For instance, take #1… if the pin is back left, one will want to be on the right-hand side of the fairway off the tee. That brings the only fairway bunker, which is about 100 yards from the green, into play on a visual level because it blocks ones sight of the green. However, one can play up the left hand side of the fairway and take advantage of the “speed slot” that will provide more distance to the tee shot and allow for a more lofted approach.
I disagree, but you do know the course a lot better than I do, so I do value your assessment and will keep an open mind.The front 9 is generally clockwise as is the back 9. There are some world-class holes (10 and 16) and some very good holes (2, 3, 7, 11, 18, etc). The par 3s aren't a great collection although the long 8th is a tester and the 14th is solid.
I will concede that Aronimink’s par 3s are less varied than others in GAP. However, #5 is a strong short hole, with excellent internal green contours. There are at least 3 separate sections on this green, and if the player is not on the correct part, a two-putt par would be a very good score. Keep in mind, that like Merion’s 13th, many players are thinking birdie when standing on the tee with a short iron ranging from an 8I-PW.
Yes, the 5th is a good hole. The spine from 1 o'clock to 7 o'clock is a nice feature.