The SOCIETY #124

THE US OPEN WE HAVE FORGOTTEN

The United States Open has always been more than a championship. It is a traveling history lesson through the architecture, geography, and evolution of American golf. While modern fans often associate the championship with a familiar rotation of titans like Oakmont Country Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links, and Winged Foot Golf Club, the true story of the U.S. Open stretches far deeper into the game’s forgotten corners.

It’s called the U.S. Open, but only 19 of America’s 50 states have ever hosted a U.S. Open. New York remains the undisputed capital of the championship and will soon claim its 21st U.S. Open. No venue, however, defines the championship quite like Oakmont Country Club, which stands alone with ten U.S. Opens hosted — a staggering testament to the brutal brilliance of Henry Fownes’ masterpiece.

Yet beyond the celebrated venues lies another story: the lost hosts, the overlooked clubs, and the architectural treasures many golf fans scarcely realize once staged America’s national championship.

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Five Lost U.S. Open Venues

Some U.S. Open sites have faded almost entirely from the modern conversation.

• St. Andrew’s Golf Club

One of the oldest golf clubs in America and a foundational institution in American golf history, St. Andrew’s hosted the first pre-USGA U.S. Open in 1894 on a course it abandoned shortly after. Today, many fans have no idea this championship was born at one of the pillars of American Golf - Saint Andrew’s Golf Club.

• Country Club of Buffalo

The course, while not lost to time, is no longer known as the Country Club of Buffalo. The history of CCB dates back to 1889, and its championship course was renovated in 1911 in preparation for the 1912 U.S. Open, won by the first American-born major champion, Johnny McDermott.

Just a decade later, the club commissioned Donald Ross to design a new course at a different location. Their original U.S. Open venue was then opened to the public and renamed Grover Cleveland Golf Course.

Today, you can still walk the fairways of this 1912 U.S. Open host site for less than $22.

• Baltimore Country Club

The club’s Roland Park course hosted the 1899 U.S. Open before the club relocated in the 1920s to its Five Farms campus. A fun fact about the 1899 Baltimore Country Club at Roland Park course- it had no sand bunkers- thus becoming the only Major championship venue in the history of the game to be bunkerless.

It remains one of the sport’s great forgotten championship grounds.

Englewood Golf Club

Hosted the 1909 U.S. Open and once stood among the country’s premier clubs. Due to financial problems the club shuttered in 1977.

• Fresh Meadow Country Club

Hosted the 1930 PGA Championship and the 1932 US Open which was won by its head professional, a golfer by the name of Gene Sarazen. The course which hosted these two majors was designed by AW Tillinghast. In 1946 the club sold the property and relocated in 1947.

Five of My Favorite Historic Host Courses

There are some venues where the architecture and atmosphere still whisper the earliest chapters of American golf.

1. Newport Country Club

   

Host of the first USGA U.S. Open and still one of the most charmingly original championship sites in America. Renovated by AW Tillinghast, this course is a beautiful mix of great architecture and old world charm.

2. Myopia Hunt Club

A four-time host whose rugged, eccentric character feels gloriously untouched by modern trends. Myopia is both rugged and beautiful and despite the passage of time and technology it continues to be a challenging golf course.

3. Garden City Golf Club

One of the purest expressions of early American golf architecture and strategic design with an amazing history behind it. The course was originally designed by Devereaux Emmett and was for a very short time a public golf course. The course was expanded by Walter Travis and nearly became a 36 hole facility in its early days. The course does not include a lot of topography, thus is a masterclass in how to design a great golf course on one plain of land.

4. Chicago Golf Club

America’s first 18-hole golf course and one of the most historically significant clubs in the nation. To be fair, Chicago Golf Club has hosted three U.S. Opens, but none of which were truly contested on the course that members play there today. The early course was of the Victorian Design and it wasn’t until the 1920s that Seth Raynor renovated the course to what sits on the land today.

There were talks in the past couple of years between CGC and the USGA to bring the U.S. Open back to Chicago Golf Club, however to accomplish this task the club would have had to reroute and renovate a couple of its holes. Thank goodness the club turned down the prospect. Saving history is just as important as making history!

5. Interlachen Country Club

Renovated by Donald Ross- Interlachen has been on the National Stage many times, but perhaps none greater than in 1930, when Interlachen hosted the 3rd leg of Bobby Jones’ famous Grand Slam.

Three U.S. Open Courses You May Not Know

Several clubs hosted the championship yet somehow slipped from the modern consciousness.

• Philadelphia Cricket Club

I am assuming many of you have heard of Philly Cricket Club, but what makes this club unique is that most older clubs abandoned their Victorian Era golf courses during the Golden Age of Golf, when the Haskell ball made these ancient links obsolete. Philly Cricket quickly realized that the new ball required a new course, but rather than abandon the course that hosted the 1907 and 1910 US Open they preserved it.

Members and their guests have the option to play three courses at Philly Cricket including the St Martin’s course which hosted two US Opens and stretches out to a lovely gutta percha ball length of 2617 yards!

• Brae Burn Country Club

The 1919 U.S. Open was contested here during golf’s post-war resurgence. The 1919 major lived up to the most challenging major status- the 1919 US Open finished with Walter Hagen claiming the crown with a 4 round score of +17!!!

• Inwood Country Club

Hosted the 1921 PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen and the 1923 U.S. Open which was Bobby Jones’ first major championship victory.

The Society of Golf Historians is looking into hosting an outing at historic Inwood CC to play and learn more about its history.

Chicago: America’s True U.S. Open Capital?

While New York leads by state, no metropolitan area has hosted more U.S. Open venues than Chicago. The city and its surrounding clubs have staged an astonishing 13 U.S. Opens across an extraordinary collection of 8 courses:

• Glen View Club

• North Shore Country Club

• Skokie Country Club

• Midlothian Country Club

• Chicago Golf Club

• Medinah Country Club

• Onwentsia Club

• Olympia Fields Country Club

Chicago’s role in shaping championship golf is difficult to overstate. The region became a proving ground for architecture, competitive golf, and club culture long before many other parts of the country embraced the game.

Other Historic U.S. Open Hosts Worth Remembering

The depth of U.S. Open history extends well beyond the famous rotation.

• Minikahda Club

• Columbia Country Club

• Worcester Country Club

• Scioto Country Club

• Philadelphia Country Club

• Canterbury Golf Club

• Colonial Country Club

• Riviera Country Club

• Bellerive Country Club

• Champions Golf Club

• Interlachen Country Club

The modern U.S. Open rotation may continue to tighten around a select handful of venues, but the championship’s true soul lives in the forgotten fairways and lost host clubs that built its legacy. These courses remind us that the U.S. Open was never simply about crowning champions. It was about showcasing the evolving story of American golf itself.

PLAY A US OPEN COURSE WITH THE SOCIETY

We have had a couple openings left to play in our Society Summer Outing at Oak Hill CC in Rochester, NY on June 11th. Consider joining us!

THANK YOU!

Thank you for taking the time to read our SOCIETY Newsletter. If you know someone who might enjoy this week’s newsletter, feel free to share it. Golf is a better game when we realize where we came from.