Newport Country Club
Newport Country Club, founded in 1893, is a historic private golf club in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States that hosted both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open in 1895.
History
In 1893 the club was founded by American businessmen John Jacob Astor IV, Theodore Havemeyer and three members of the Vanderbilt family, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, Frederick William Vanderbilt, and William K. Vanderbilt. It was one of the five clubs which founded the United States Golf Association in that same year. At that time of its founding, Newport was at the peak of its prestige as the favorite summer colony of America's wealthy elite; the city had one of America's earliest golf clubs since the sport was played almost exclusively by the rich when it was first introduced to the United States.[1]
The clubhouse was designed by architect Whitney Warren. The course was designed in 1894 by William Davis, the club's first professional. Originally designed as a 9 hole course, it was expanded to 18 by architect Donald Ross. A. W. Tillinghast, famous for such designs as Winged Foot, Baltusrol, and the San Francisco Golf Club, was hired to remodel the course layout in 1924. Since 1995, restoration on some of the course has been completed by Ron Forse. The clubhouse went under extensive renovation in 2005.
In 1895 the club hosted both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open. In 1995, in celebration of the U.S. Amateur Championship centennial, Newport Country Club hosted the 1995 U.S. Amateur Championship, which was won by Tiger Woods. It was the venue of the 2006 U.S. Women's Open, which was won by Annika Sörenstam.[2]
References
- ^ Harper's magazine, Volume 95 Harper's Magazine Co., 1897, pg. 706
- ^ Richard J. Moss, Golf and the American country club: Sport and Society (University of Illinois Press, 2001), pg 39[1]
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