Aronimink Golf Club closed to members on November third. By the time Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and the rest of the 156-player field walked the course for Monday’s practice round, John Gosselin and a crew of over 100 — pulling pre-dawn shifts by headlamp from 65 clubs across four countries — had already been preparing for this week for 4,001 days.
The greens run at 13.5 on the Stimpmeter, cut at one-tenth of an inch. Same biology as Augusta National at the Masters last month. But Augusta runs a year-round operation aimed at one week. Aronimink is a member club. 200 days closed for one week of golf.
Six elements have to be ready by Thursday’s 7 a.m. first tee at the 108th PGA Championship: bentgrass greens, 174 bunkers (more than doubled in the Gil Hanse restoration), pin positions Kerry Haigh sets personally, three-and-a-half-inch fescue rough with no intermediate cut, five new tee boxes, and the hazard lines. This is what happens to each one during practice rounds — and what it takes to bring them back overnight.
Chapters
- 0:00 — The 2026 PGA Championship Begins Thursday
- 1:18 — Aronimink: Donald Ross, 1928
- 2:35 — What Changed Since the 2018 BMW Championship
- 5:08 — Practice Rounds Are Not a Preview
- 6:04 — How the Damage Builds: Compaction, Divots, Bunkers
- 7:24 — What John Gosselin Does During Practice Rounds
- 8:22 — Six Elements Before Thursday
- 9:19 — The Rough: Three and a Half Inches, No First Cut
- 10:05 — Pin Positions: Kerry Haigh’s Authority
- 11:25 — 174 Bunkers, Raked by Headlamp Before Sunrise
- 12:40 — Five New Tee Boxes for 2026
- 13:34 — Hazard Lines
- 13:52 — The Overnight Window
- 14:17 — Aronimink vs. Augusta National
Sources
- USGA Green Section
- Official PGA Championship
- PGA Magazine — Jeff Kiddie interview
- Philadelphia Inquirer — Aronimink 2026 prep
- Athlon Sports — Monday Mowdown setup analysis