A 1924 Mezzanine With a Very Modern Short Game: Philadelphia Golf Club Is Coming to the Packard Grande
The team behind Brooklyn’s Gowanus Golf Club is bringing TrackMan simulator bays, a PuttView putting green, and 24/7 access to a long-empty 1924 mezzanine at 15th and Chestnut.
We MUST have walked past 15th and Chestnut a thousand times without knowing what’s sitting one flight up.
And then it turns out it’s a turquoise-ceilinged hall with carved stone columns and soon, it’ll be home to Philadelphia Golf Club, a private indoor golf club from the team behind Brooklyn’s Gowanus Golf Club.
The mezzanine had been home to an agency but has been sitting empty for years, waiting for someone to notice it.
The Front Nine: A Century of Packard History
The Packard went up at the southeast corner of 15th and Chestnut in the early 1920s, designed by Ritter & Shay, the firm that went on to shape a big chunk of Philadelphia’s 1920s skyline (they also did the Drake on Spruce, and they had no idea they were building a golf club, but here we are).
SAH Archipedia calls it the firm’s first important tall building, and points to the huge Renaissance-inspired iron gates on the Chestnut Street side by master blacksmith Samuel Yellin. Today the upper floors are condos, and the lower floors hold a mix of offices and hospitality.
Hazards Include Staring at the Ceiling
The mezzanine is to the right of the elevator. accessible via a short flight of marble steps under a coffered plaster vault, with a crystal chandelier hanging inside a big metal orb.
…and the grand entrance
At the top, the glass doors have lion heads for handles. Yes, lion heads.
Even the door hardware looks like it’s already applied for a founding membership
Then the room opens up. Soft turquoise panels sit between long wood beams, and the paint has worn just enough that you can see the wood underneath. Stone columns with elaborately carved capitals run down the middle, and a row of tall windows along the side lets in a surprising amount of daylight for a space that’s about to be full of golf simulators.
A 1924 ceiling, meet three 2026 TrackMan bays.
Afternoon light along the 15th Street side of the mezzanine.
Off the main hall there’s a smaller lounge with a painted wood-beam ceiling, dark wood wainscoting, and a carved stone fireplace. There’s also a full kitchen, and a narrow hallway where a two-story black-and-gold mural stares down at a lone couch.
The Back Nine: Old Room, New Swing Data
Philadelphia Golf Club will be run by Julian Colina, whose brother Jordan runs sister clubs in Brooklyn and Vancouver. The club will take up 3,200 square feet of the mezzanine, with three private TrackMan simulator bays, a PuttView putting area, lockers, and a lounge with snacks and a BYOB option. Membership is capped at 100, everyone applies, and there’s no staff on site. Members get a keycard and 24/7 access, guests included.
Per the Philadelphia Business Journal, the team is going after golfers who want to practice more than they want to mingle. That said, the club’s website also promises leather couches and the occasional member tournament, so you can work on your short game and still talk about it afterward.
Founding members get in on September 25th, with the rest of the membership following in early October.
Playing Through: Center City’s Indoor Golf Scene
Philadelphia Golf Club joins a handful of other indoor golf spots nearby. Five Iron Golf has a location at 2116 Chestnut with a full bar, happy hour, and late-night specials, plus a second location at Three Logan Square with TrackMan bays, Callaway club fitting, and two outdoor patios. And coming in 2027, The Caddie Room is planning an invitation-only club at One Penn Center with two private TrackMan suites and 80 memberships.
So whatever kind of golf night you’re after, you won’t have to go far to find it!
