Galen Hall Country Club

Galen Hall is west of Reading in Wernersville and is one of the older courses in the area, having the first nine built in 1910. The course used to have a hotel/resort on the property and was the place to go, Philadelphians summered here until the hotel burned in the 1950's. The course was designed by two old masters,both Scots, the first nine holes by Alex Findlay, the second by A.W. Tillinghast in 1917, but unfortunately, little remains of the original layout and design features, save a few holes, due to a complete redesign by William and David Gordon in the 1950's. Today the course measures 6300 yards from the back tees with a 122 slope and a par 72. Tillinghast designed probably the first island hole with the par 3 15th, known as the "moat" hole, and it's treat to play, especially from the back tees. The course routing makes good use of the land as it is with elevation changes, sidehill lies and undulating greens and is a challenging parkland style of golf course design. Interesting from an historical perspective, but wish the Gordons hadn't touched the original masterpiece.