Wykagyl Country Club

Last updated
Wykagyl Country Club
Wykagyl seal.jpg
Club information
Location Wykagyl, New Rochelle, New York, USA
Established1898
Typeprivate
Total holes18
Events hostedHSBC Women's World Match Play Championship
Website http://www.wykagylcc.org/
Designed by A. W. Tillinghast & Donald Ross
Par 72
Length6,702 yards
Course rating 73

Wykagyl Country Club is a golf course in the Wykagyl section of New Rochelle, New York. [1] Through the years, the club has hosted major professional and amateur tournaments and is considered to be one of the premier "classic courses" in the country.

Contents

The club is private and application for membership is by invitation only.

History

Creation of the PGA

In February 1916 the Professional Golfers' Association was established in New York City. One month earlier, the wealthy department store owner Rodman Wanamaker hosted a luncheon at the Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle. This gathering of Wanamaker and the leading golf professionals of the day prepared the agenda for the formal organization of the PGA in New York City a month later. [2] The organization's first president was Robert White, one of Wykagyl's best known golf professionals of the time. Golf historians have dubbed Wykagyl "The Cradle of the PGA". [3]

Club grounds

The course was initially designed by Lawrence Van Etten and was completed in 1905. It quickly became famous for both its beauty and the cruelty of its hilly terrain. English golf pro Harry Vardon dubbed the 18th hole, also known as "cardiac hill," as "one of the greatest" he ever played. [4] Over the years Wykagyl has attracted a number of prominent golf pros including George Duncan, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, and Alex Smith. [4]

The design of the golf course has evolved over the years, although the greens on the 1st, 7th, 9th, and 16th holes remain essentially unchanged from the original design. In the 1920s, several holes including the 5th and 6th were redesigned by Donald Ross, one of the most noted architects of the period. A. W. Tillinghast made additional changes in the 1930s, eliminating holes and improving others. [5] In 1994, golf course architect Arthur Hills did a complete overhaul of the course to keep it in line with championship standards, such as being over 6,600 yards (6,000 m) long, with a 72 par. [6] Most recently, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw completed structural renovations aimed at preserving the rugged character of the course. [7]

In 2016, the course received a largely positive review by Golf Atlas publisher and leading golf course architecture expert, Ran Morrissett. In that review review, Bill Coore said of Wykagyl, "It's easy to make a course hard; it is a far greater challenge to make it interesting and that's what they have done at Wykagyl."

Significant events

Horace Rawlins, winner of the first U.S. Open Championship, held in 1895, later became head professional at Wykagyl. [8] In 1944 Wykagyl hosted its first notable charity event to benefit the American Red Cross, the 1944 New York Red Cross Tournament. The tournament ranked as one of the top events of 1944, as no U.S. Opens were held from 1942 through 1945 because of World War II and no Metropolitan Opens from 1941 through 1948. [5] The 1949 Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin at Wykagyl was the first golf tournament to be broadcast by a television network. [5] In 1977 the club hosted its first professional event, the LPGA Talk Tournament. Beginning in 1990, the JAL Big Apple Classic became a regular annual event at the club. Although the sponsors and names of the tournament changed over time, the venue remained constant for the next 17 years. [4] In 2007 Wykagyl was the site of the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship.

Course detail

Lawrence Van Etten, a Wykagyl member, laid out the original golf course when the club moved to New Rochelle in 1905. Over the years nine other golf architects have worked on the course, some very briefly, others more extensively: Walter Travis (1908), Donald Ross (1919), Tom Winton (1920), Roben White (1921–27), A. W. Tillinghast (1930), Trent Jones (1960), Hal Purdy (1963–70), Stephen Kay (1990), and Arthur Hills (1994). The most significant changes to the course occurred during the redesigns by Ross and Tillinghast.

The Wykagyl course is hilly, tree-lined and very beautiful accented by its stone tees. It is old fashioned, primarily because the three architects who were mainly responsible for the layout of the course - Lawrence Van Enen, Donald Ross and A. W. Tillinghast - all practiced their art over 60 years ago. Because of this it has small greens and more blind shots than any architect could get away with designing today.

The tee shots on Holes 1, 3, 8, 15 and 17 are blind, and there are several blind approach shots on Holes 2, 6 and 14. The second and third shots at Hole 9 are blind, depending on length. There also are several holes that are semi-blind; the surface of the green cannot be seen when playing approach shots on Holes 5, 10, 18, and on 15 (for the long hitter). These blind shots are only blind once. Still, they do make Wykagyl difficult to play for a golfer who has never seen it before. Wykagyl is unique in its mix of par threes, par fours and par fives. Most 18-hole courses have four par threes, four par fives and ten par fours, but Wykagyl has five par fives, five par threes and eight par fours.

HoleYards Par (M / W)Handicap (M / W)
14935 / 511 / 7
21604 / 47 / 13
34824 / 41 / 3
41973 / 317 / 17
54064 / 43 / 1
63675 / 59 / 5
72223 / 315 / 15
83654 / 45 / 11
93665 / 513 / 9
104015 / 52 / 4
113753 / 318 / 18
123985 / 56 / 2
131393 / 316 / 12
143794 / 414 / 14
154324 / 412 / 10
161643 / 414 / 16
173964 / 48 / 6
184814/ 410 / 8

Major tournaments at Wykagyl

The years 1908 through 1916 were very active for golf at Wykagyl. The Club hosted not only its own Invitational event but also the 1909 Metropolitan Open, won by Alex Smith. Smith also captained an American team that competed in the British Open and then played a match against France.

Several world-famous foreign professionals played at Wykagyl in exhibition matches, including George Duncan and Harry Vardon. In other matches, home grown players were the attractions - Jerry Travers and Chick Evans among the amateurs and Walter Hagen and Gil Nicholls from the professional ranks. Often, Wykagyl's Val Bermingham and Alex Smith were in the thick of battle in these contests.

Wykagyl was in the forefront of establishing the Westchester County Golf Association and hosted the first two Westchester County Amateur Championships.

YearTournamentWinnerScoreNotes
1909Metropolitan Open Gilbert Nicholls
1908Wykagyl InvitationalW.K.Gillette
1909Wykagyl InvitationalVal Bermingham
1910Wykagyl InvitationalGardiner White
1911Wykagyl InvitationalE.M. WildInvitational discontinued
1915Westchester Amateur John G. Anderson
1916Westchester AmateurR.F. Mundy
1922Spalding Pro Event Bobby Cruickshank
1925Westchester Amateur John G. Anderson
1927Metropolitan Open Johnny Farrell
1934Metropolitan AmateurT.S. Tailer, Jr.
1944 New York Red Cross Tourney Byron Nelson
1948 Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin Herman Barron +38
1949Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin Bobby Locke +66First telecast of a golf event by NBC
1950Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin Lloyd Mangrum +37
1951Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin Roberto De Vicenzo +40
1952Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin Sam Snead +57
1956Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin Gene Littler +55
1957Goodall Palm Beach Round Robin Sam Snead +41
1961 Triangle Round Robin Mary Lena Faulk +35
1964Wykagyl Round Robin Miller Barber
1965Ike Championship Jerry Courville, Sr.
1966Ike Championship James E. Fisher
1967Ike Championship Jerry Courville, Sr.
1968Ike Championship Denny Lyons
1976 Girl Talk Classic Pat Bradley 217 (+1)
1976Ike Championship Bob Housen
1977 Talk Tournament '77 JoAnne Carner 284 (-4)
1978 Golden Lights Championship Nancy Lopez 277 (-11)
1979Golden Lights Championship Nancy Lopez 280 (-8)
1980Golden Lights Championship Beth Daniel 287 (-1)
1982 Chrysler-Plymouth Charity Classic Cathy Morse 216 (E)
1984 MasterCard International Pro-Am Sally Quinlan 284 (-4)
1990 JAL Big Apple Classic Betsy King 273 (-15)
1991JAL Big Apple ClassicBetsy King279 (-5)
1992JAL Big Apple Classic Juli Inkster 273 (-11)
1993JAL Big Apple Classic Hiromi Kobayashi 278 (-6)
1994JAL Big Apple Classic Beth Daniel 276 (-8)
1995JAL Big Apple Classic Tracy Kerdyk 273 (-11)
1996JAL Big Apple Classic Caroline Pierce 211 (-2)
1997JAL Big Apple Classic Michele Redman 272 (-12)
1998JAL Big Apple Classic Annika Sörenstam 279 (-9)
1998Ike Championship Greg Rohlf.
1999JAL Big Apple Classic Sherri Steinhauer 265 (-19)
2000JAL Big Apple ClassicAnnika Sörenstam206 (17)
2001 Sybase Big Apple Classic Rosie Jones 272 (-12)
2002Sybase Big Apple Classic Gloria Park 270 (-14)
2003Sybase Big Apple Classic Hee-Won Han 273 (-11)
2004Sybase Big Apple ClassicSherri Steinhauer272 (-12)
2005Sybase Big Apple Classic Paula Creamer 278 (-6)2nd youngest winner in tour history
2006Sybase Big Apple Classic Lorena Ochoa 208 (-5)
2007 HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship Seon Hwa Lee 2&1
2007MET Amateur Greg Rohlf
2013Ike Championship Cameron Wilson
2018Metropolitan OpenAndrew Svoboda205 (-11)

Related Research Articles

The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major golf championships.

The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinehurst Resort</span> Golf resort in North Carolina, United States

Pinehurst Resort is a golf resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, United States. It has hosted a number of prestigious golf tournaments including three U.S. Open Championships, one U.S. Women's Open, three U.S. Amateur Championships, one PGA Championship, and the Ryder Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltusrol Golf Club</span> Golf course in New Jersey, USA

The Baltusrol Golf Club is a private 36-hole golf club in the eastern United States, located in Springfield, New Jersey, about twenty miles (30 km) west of New York City. It was founded 129 years ago in 1895 by Louis Keller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winged Foot Golf Club</span> Golf club in Mamaroneck, New York, United States

Winged Foot Golf Club is a private golf club in the northeastern United States, located in Mamaroneck, New York, a suburb northeast of New York City. The club was founded in 1921, by a group largely made up of members of The New York Athletic Club, and opened in June 1923. Winged Foot's name and logo are taken directly from a sculpture in the lobby floor of the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Cricket Club</span> Country club in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania.

Aronimink Golf Club is a private country club in the eastern United States, located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a suburb west of Philadelphia. Its championship layout is consistently rated among the nation's top golf courses. Aronimink is currently ranked 78th in Golf Digest's "Greatest Courses," 44th in "Toughest Courses" and 55th in Golfweek's "Classic Courses." In 2010, Aronimink was ranked #4 among the toughest courses on the PGA Tour by Links magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. W. Tillinghast</span> American golf course architect (1876–1942)

Albert Warren "Tilly" Tillinghast was an American golf course architect. Tillinghast was one of the most prolific architects in the history of golf; he worked on more than 265 different courses. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Par (score)</span> Expected strokes for a proficient golfer

In golf, par is the predetermined number of strokes that a proficient golfer should require to complete a hole, a round, or a tournament. For scoring purposes, a golfer's number of strokes is compared with the par score to determine how much the golfer was either "over par", "under par", or was "even with/equal to par".

Paul Dye Jr., commonly referred to as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Country Club</span> Country club in Boston, Massachusetts

The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is the oldest golf-oriented country club in the United States. It holds an important place in golf history, as it is one of the five charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association, and has hosted numerous USGA tournaments including the 1913 U.S. Open won by then-unknown Francis Ouimet. Although the club has 1300 members, it is known for its exclusivity.

The Sybase Classic was a women's professional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour for twenty years, from 1990 to 2009. The event was originally known as the "Big Apple Classic", but the name was dropped in 2007 when the tournament relocated from the New York City area to New Jersey. From 1992 through 2006, ShopRite sponsored the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Atlantic City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambton Golf and Country Club</span> Golf and tennis club in Toronto, Canada

The Lambton Golf and Country Club is a private golf and tennis club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The golf club was established by Albert William Austin in 1902. The golf club is presently members with Golf Canada, and the United States Golf Association., and has hosted a number of competitions including the Canadian Open, and the Canadian Amateur Championship.

Pelham Country Club is a country club located in Pelham Manor in Westchester County, New York. The club hosted the PGA Championship in 1923, in which Gene Sarazen defeated Walter Hagen after 38 holes of play.

Radcliffe-on-Trent Golf Club is a golf course in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machrie golf course</span> Golf course in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

The Machrie Golf Course, or "The Machrie Links", is located on Islay, in Scotland. The word "machrie" is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic machair, which means more or less the same as "links" did on the east coast of Scotland.

Vesper Country Club is a private club in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts. The club derives from two late 19th century institutions, Vesper Boat Club and Lowell Country Club, which merged in 1894. The following year, members started creating a golf course originally consisting of six "links." In the late 1910s, the course commissioned Donald Ross to create a full 18-hole course. Though the course met with praise the ensuing decades were hard for Vesper. In the 1920s the clubhouse burnt down and in the 1930s a flood nearly destroyed the course. Since then, however, the club's history has been largely stable and the course has hosted several notable events, including the Massachusetts Open and Massachusetts Amateur several times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club</span>

The Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club is a 36-hole golf complex located in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.

Herbert Bertram Strong was an English professional golfer. He was an organizer and founding member of the PGA of America and later became a successful golf course architect. As a player, Strong's best finish in a major championship was ninth place in the 1913 U.S. Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklawn Country Club</span>

Brooklawn Country Club is a private country club in Fairfield, Connecticut. Founded in 1895, Brooklawn became one of the earliest members of the United States Golf Association (USGA) when it was admitted on January 22, 1896. Sited on the property's highest point, the club's 57,667-square-foot clubhouse was opened in 1916.

References

  1. ↑ Hack, Damon (May 21, 2007). "Ochoa Gets a Victory to Match Her Ranking". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  2. ↑ Tollhurst & Barban 1998, pp. 28–30.
  3. ↑ Tollhurst & Barban 1998, pp. 1–2.
  4. 1 2 3 "Wykagyl County Club's Recipe for Success".
  5. 1 2 3 "Course Review:Wykagyl Country Club".
  6. ↑ "Wykagyl Country Club". www.wykagylcc.org. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Classic Courses:Wykagyl Country Club".
  8. ↑ Janke 2007, pp. 10–11.

Works cited

40°56′35″N73°47′36″W / 40.94306°N 73.79333°W / 40.94306; -73.79333

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.