A Cinderella Story Comes True As This Long-Empty 1924 Mezzanine Is Now The Philadelphia Golf Club
Three simulator bays, a putting green, and up to 100 members has moved into the Packard Grande’s long-empty 1924 mezzanine at 15th & Chestnut.
We’ve walked past 111 S 15th St about a thousand times. Not once have we looked up.
Most of us know the Packard Grande as the condo building with Del Frisco’s on the corner, and we know it at street level. Coffee runs, Chief Happiness Officer walks, late-for-something speed walks. Never once did we think, “there’s probably a turquoise ceiling and a pair of lion-head doors right above me.”
There is. And as of this fall, there’s an actual golf club behind those doors.
The Philadelphia Golf Club is a private, members-only indoor golf club inside the Packard Grande at 111 S 15th St in Rittenhouse. It has three simulator bays, a putting green, and up to 100 memberships. Members let themselves in with a fob at whatever hour they feel like. We got invited up for a look (we take research around here VERY personally), and the whole time we kept thinking about Caddyshack. Because it’s a golf club, sure. But mostly because this room is a total Cinderella story.
Cinderella Story, Out of Nowhere
Quick history, because this building has earned it. The Packard Building dates to 1924. Those giant iron gates on the Chestnut Street side are by Samuel Yellin, a master blacksmith, and these days the upper floors are condos. The mezzanine, though, was an agency’s office for a while, and then it sat empty once the WFH era took hold.
Enter Julian and Jordan Colina. They run a small family of private golf clubs (Gowanus Golf Club in Brooklyn and one in Vancouver), and Philly is club number five. They looked at a LOT of spaces here before they walked into this one.
“It was a beautiful space designed almost perfectly for our golf club,” Julian told us. “From the private elevator experience through to the grand ceilings, it was a perfect match for the vibe we were looking for. We checked out a lot of locations, and there were very few that stood out as much as this one, with a vibe that felt like a traditional golf club.”
Getting up there feels a little like you’re getting away with something. You fob in, take the private elevator up, hang a right, and climb a few marble steps under a ceiling that glows turquoise. Then you look up and there’s William Penn, two stories tall, staring down at you from the wall.
Be the Ball
Through the lion doors there are three bays tucked in between the old columns. All three bays run TrackMan, which is the same tech the pros use. You swing, the ball hits the screen, and about a second later the wall tells you how far it went and how fast you swung, plus a bunch of other numbers you may or may not have wanted. When we walked up, somebody had left a 78-yard wedge shot on the board. We’re not saying whose it was.
Each bay also has its own chairs and a coffee table, and that turns out to be on purpose.
“Each bay is private, clean, and feels more like a living room than a public venue,” Julian said. “It’s a great place to host friends or even clients. Perfect if you’re looking for a quiet, private space to get your swings in, too.”
Fun note: we spotted two full bags of clubs on a rack by the wall, so if you’re coming straight from the office, ask before you haul yours across town. And one rule to know: a booking maxes out at three hours, so nobody gets to camp out in a bay all Saturday.
It’s in the Hole (With Help)
Okay, this was our favorite part. The putting green runs down the whole far side of the room (the club calls it one of the largest in the city), and it has something called PuttView. Projectors up in the ceiling draw the line of your putt right onto the turf. Like, a glowing line on the floor, showing you where to hit it.
So You’ve Got That Going for You…
…which is nice! There’s no bar and no staff up here, so the club keeps the place stocked and trusts you with it. We found a coffee machine, a whole drawer of tea, baskets of snacks, and a drinks fridge. BTW, it’s BYOB.
Also here is a side room with a carved stone fireplace and a TV, for when you’d rather watch people who are good at this. And lockers, so your bag can live at the club instead of riding SEPTA with you.
With four other clubs under their belts, Julian says they’ve pretty much seen it all. Two things still surprised him here. The first is how often people ask to host events (“though if you see the club itself, maybe not too surprising,” he said, and… fair). The second is who’s showing up in the middle of the night.
“We have a lot of members who work off-hours in hospitality or even medical fields,” he said. “It’s great to see that our hours accommodate any schedule.”
We love that. Somewhere above 15th Street tonight, a bartender who just closed up is working on their short game.
No Judge Smails at the Door
Nobody’s checking your blazer, but you do have to apply. Per the club’s site, founding memberships run $300 a month for 10 hours, $450 for 15 hours, and $600 for unlimited, and all of them come with the fob and guest privileges. The top two also get you into the sister clubs.
Booking is easy. “We have a member portal,” the team told us. “You basically go in there and see when it’s open and you pick it straight from there.”
And why only 100 people?
“We prioritize the member experience above all else,” Julian said. “We cap memberships to avoid overcrowding and to ensure that you have a tee time if you want it. At the end of the day, finding a consistent tee time in a place that feels more like your club, which is a difficult thing to find in the city.”
Why Our Corner of Bushwood
Turns out the brothers kept seeing members commuting back and forth between New York and Philly, so they’ve had their eye on us for a while.
“That, plus it’s one of the most vibrant golf cultures in the country,” Julian said. “We wanted to be in the heart of the city, convenient for anyone within the city walls,” he said. “Rittenhouse and Center City were exactly what we had in mind, then the space itself sold us on initial sight.”
His pitch mostly comes down to time. “At the end of the day, most clubs require a fairly long drive,” he said. “Our model supplements that pretty well, since folks can keep golf in their routine without taking 5+ hours out of their day.”
They’re not the only ones who’ve noticed the desire for golf sim options; Five Iron Golf has been at 2116 Chestnut for years if you want a beer and a burger with your swing, and popular enough that the team opened up another location at 1 Logan Square. Another members club, The Caddie Room, is headed to One Penn Center in early 2027. For a neighborhood with zero actual fairways, we’re doing pretty well!
If you’re one of the 100, tell us how the green is rolling, and if you see a gopher up there, well, let us know as we have a sweet spot for gophers!
Follow along at @philadelphiagolfclub, and apply for membership here.
