Claus and Rebecca were living in Neshaminy, Bensalem, Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1740 when he contributed ten shillings to Gloria Dei, and also at the time of the church census on November 20, 1743.

In 1910, the membership decided to build a new course and chose thirty-two-year-old club member Hugh Wilson, a Princeton University graduate, and fine player, to design it.

[5] Merion has held eighteen United States Golf Association (USGA) championship tournaments, more than any other course.

A gallery of 9,000 was on hand for the start of the match; this swelled to 18,000 by the afternoon round, forcing the competitors to be escorted to the tees and greens.

Merion's 1950 U.S. Open was the site of Ben Hogan's comeback, sixteen months after a head-on collision with a bus which shattered his pelvis and nearly killed him.

[9] On the 72nd hole (and 36th of the day), in extreme pain[10] and facing a shot of over 200 yards (180 m) into the wind, Hogan needed a par to force a playoff, as he had just bogeyed the long par-3 17th (and the par-4 15th).

From the fairway, Hogan used a 1-iron to hit a superb shot which stopped on the distant green and two-putted from 40 feet (12 m) for par.

Following David Graham's win at the U.S. Open at Merion in 1981, it was felt by many that the relatively short course of about 6,500 yards (5,940 m), small course area of 111 acres (45 ha) (which limits gallery size), and lack of grounds to hold corporate tents and other infrastructure would preclude Merion from holding a major again.

[17] Justin Rose captured his first major by posting a score of one-over-par 281 for 72 holes, good for a two-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson and Jason Day.

Most of the players who competed in the 2013 Open had very high praise for the course, which featured long, difficult rough following a wet spring.

[19] As one story goes, when Hugh Wilson was in England studying their golf courses, he happened upon local sheep herders and their flocks.

Interestingly, the 1950 U.S. Open was the only USGA championship held at Merion East in which the pins were marked with flags instead of wicker baskets.

In 2013, club historian John Capers indicated that he did not know the reason for the substitution, but speculated that it came about because a player in the previous year's U.S. Women's Amateur, held on the same course, was unnerved when her ball bounced off a basket during match play.

[22] ^ 18 hole playoffs: 1950, 1971 Merion Golf Club plays a prominent part in the novel "Back Spin" by Harlan Coben.

The novel features a U.S. Open championship taking place at Merion Golf Club, during which the son of Jack Coldren, the golfer leading the pack, is kidnapped.