Episode 209: How To Win At Aronimink
5/7/202656 min
Nobody knows Aronimink like Director of Golf Jeff Kiddie. He's spent the last 18 years preparing one of golf's oldest clubs for big moments. Now comes the biggest yet: the 2026 PGA Championship, returning to the Philadelphia area for the first time since Gary Player hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy at Aronimink in 1962. On this episode of the TGJ Podcast, Kiddie joins host Tom Coyne in the clubhouse to preview the tournament: what makes this par-70 Donald Ross layout so uniquely demanding, what the 2017 Gil Hanse restoration returned to the course, and a hole-by-hole breakdown that reveals where the championship will be won and lost.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJeff Kiddie· Guest0:00
The lid comes off- We've seen, we've seen that ... but they've actually, um, it's got a little tooth system now.
Tom Coyne· Host0:04
Uh-huh. Okay.
Jeff Kiddie· Guest0:04
You put it on and turn it, it locks because, uh, Scotty dropped it last year.
Tom Coyne· Host0:08
Right And Collin Morikawa dropped it in 2020 also.
Jeff Kiddie· Guest0:11
So, uh, they've got it secured now.
Tom Coyne· Host0:13
[upbeat jazz music] Welcome back to the Golfers Journal podcast presented by Titleist, the number one ball in golf. My name's Tom Coy. Thanks so much for joining us, and we are heading into this year's second major. Will Rory take another step toward the season Grand Slam? How will Aronimink hold up against the best players in the world? I am very excited about this PGA Championship, and not just because it's taking place down the road from my house, which is exciting, but because a lot of friends have had a part in making it happen, and one of them joins us on the podcast today, longtime Aronimink head pro Jeff Kitty. Jeff tells us what it's been like to turn a rather intimate private club setting into a venue ready for the best golfers in the world, plus 200,000 spectators. So we get into Philly golf history and get a hole-by-hole look at what to watch for in the championship. And if you watch this podcast on YouTube, you'll notice that Jeff and I are joined by a very special guest, Mr. Wanamaker himself making an appearance. So we tour some of the names, and the clubs, and the history on that iconic trophy as well. So we're talking Aronimink today, but very soon Golfers Journal members will be playing it. The Broken Tee Society is headed to Aronimink