Baltimore Country Club

Last updated

Baltimore Country Club
Roland Park Clubhouse.jpg
Roland Park Clubhouse
Club information
Location Baltimore (Roland Park)
and Lutherville, Maryland
EstablishedJanuary 13, 1898
TypePrivate
Total holes36
Events hosted 1899 U.S. Open
1928 PGA Championship
1988 U.S. Women's Open
1932 U.S. Amateur
1965 Walker Cup
2007–09 Senior Players Championship
2017–2018 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship
2026 U.S. Senior Amateur
2031 U.S. Women's Amateur
Website bcc1898.com
East Course at Five Farms
Designed by
Par 70
Length7,181 yards (6,566 m)
Course rating 75.1
Slope rating 141
West Course at Five Farms
Designed by Redesigned in 1990 by Bob Cupp and Tom Kite
Par 72
Length6,795 yards (6,213 m)
Course rating 73.0
Slope rating 133

Baltimore Country Club is a private club in Baltimore, Maryland, with two campuses, one in the city's Roland Park neighborhood and the other in the north suburb of Lutherville. It is one of only twelve clubs nationwide to operate two campuses. [1] The club was founded on January 13, 1898, and hosted the U.S. Open the following year. Its original golf course at the Roland Park campus was the first 18-hole course built in the state of Maryland. [2] The USGA lists Baltimore Country Club as one of the first 100 clubs established in the United States.

Contents

The club has hosted a U.S. Open, a PGA Championship, a Walker Cup, a U.S. Men's Amateur, a U.S. Women's Open, and a Senior PGA Tour major – one of only two clubs in the country to do so. [3] In addition to its two golf courses, BCC operates outdoor tennis, pickleball, platform tennis, single & doubles squash, three swimming pools, a duckpin bowling alley, two fitness centers, and dining at both clubhouses. In 2013, Links magazine named Baltimore Country Club as one of the 100 Most Prestigious Clubs in the World. Its East Course at the Five Farms location was ranked 75th best course in the United States by Golf Magazine in 2020. The Club proudly ranks #39 on Club Leader Forum's 2025-2026 Top 150 Platinum Clubs of America and made its debut at #103 on the 2024-2025 Top 150 Platinum Clubs of the World. [4]

History

The club opened in 1898 in its 125-acre (51 ha) Roland Park location with a membership of approximately 1,000. [5] Just one year after opening, the Club hosted the fifth United States Open Championship, which was won by Willie Smith of Scotland. By the 1920s the decision was made to acquire land to the north of the city and expand the popular golfing amenities to a second location. The East Course at Five Farms, designed by A. W. Tillinghast, officially opened in September 1926. Two years later, this new course held the 1928 PGA Championship.

In October 1930, the Roland Park Clubhouse sustained fire damage, and prior to completing repairs, it was virtually destroyed by a second fire on January 5, 1931. The new "in-town" Clubhouse was formally opened on April 1, 1932. The Federal-style detailing of the Georgian Room, the paneling and black Belgian marble of the foyer, and the rough stone and pine of the Grille remain practically unchanged to this date. The duckpin bowling lanes were built in 1932 and remain in use today. During the late 1930s and early 1940s the grass tennis courts at Roland Park were selected by the National Lawn Tennis Association to host the qualifying rounds for the Davis Cup matches. Teams from Australia, Cuba, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the United States all participated. The Roland Park Golf Course was officially closed in 1962 when all of the property on the west side of Falls Road was sold. That same year, the West Course at Five Farms opened. Two years later, the stately Olivier Mansion, which served as the original Five Farms Clubhouse, was demolished and replaced with a new building.

The businessman Nicholas Mangione alleged that he experienced anti-Italian discrimination at the Baltimore Country Club during the 1970s. [6]

Squash courts, now international, were added to the Roland Park facility in 1963. The Club continues to host professional squash tournaments. The Club expanded its racquets program and added paddle tennis courts to the Roland Park campus in 1976. The club's swim complex was first built circa 1960. Renovations began some thirty years later, and the current facility, consisting of three independent pools, opened at Five Farms in 1996. New tennis courts, also at Five Farms, debuted in 2007.

Starting in the fall of 2021, the clubhouse at Five Farms underwent a major renovation. The renovation remodeled nearly all of the first floor of the building, expanding the grill, adding a formal dining room, outdoor covered bar area and a rooftop bar. It opened in late summer of 2022.

Golf courses and rankings

Its current golf facility at Five Farms has two courses, the East Course and the West Course. Its East Course was designed by A. W. Tillinghast in 1926. In 2015, Keith Foster was brought in to restore the course. He removed trees, realigned the bunkers, upgraded the greens complexes, and re-grassed the fairways. [7] The East Course has received numerous accolades and still enjoys praise from numerous golf organizations:

RankCourseOrganizationListEdition
39East Course at Five Farms Golfweek Golfweek's Best 2020: Top 200 Classic Courses [8] 2020
52East Course at Five Farms Outpost Club Outpost Club US Top 100 [9] 2021
65East Course at Five Farms Top 100 Golf Courses Top 100 Golf Courses of the USA 2020 [10] 2020
75East Course at Five Farms Golf Magazine Top 100 Courses in the U.S. [11] 2020–2021
80East Course at Five Farms Outpost Club Outpost Club World Top 100 [12] 2022
102East Course at Five Farms Golf Digest America's Second 100 Greatest Golf Courses [13] 2021–2022
East Course at Five Farms
Tee Rating/Slope 123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Black75.1/141458496427157504586379362202357145743339918960745245123838436107181
Blue72.9/136436456379150452574354360180334138542738016457442542018036833236664
White70.6/129408418361138391566331307151307134838336914555941139715636231306201
Gold68.8/128400418347138385504331307151298134838331114550340648613135429675948
ParMen's444345443354443544343570
SI Men's511117739131512210184681614
Red73.6/140395410351124315501331303125285534137730913750140038412835029275782
ParWomen's554345443374543555343875
SI Women's731115519131748618210121614
West Course at Five Farms
Tee Rating/Slope 123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Blue73.0/133520191265549424402370182414331743236749622037543214541859334786795
White70.6/127511171248481398365370149386307941034145819933439013036256731916270
Gold68.1/124456145248446383365337130310282041031342017533433012033552829655785
ParMen's534544434364453443453672
SI Men's715171311913581421216418106
Red72.9/130456145200446383335337130310274238031342015530033011033545527985540
Green67.4/120252114185371323305311103258222230027732015525926311030045524394661
ParWomen's534544435364453443453672
SI Women's517151397131181021416418126

Golf tournaments

YearTournamentCourseWinnerScoreTo par
1899 U.S. Open Roland Park Flag of Scotland.svg Willie Smith 315+27
1928 PGA Championship East Course at Five Farms Flag of the United States.svg Leo Diegel 6 & 5
1932 U.S. Amateur East Course at Five Farms Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Ross Somerville 2 & 1
1965 Walker Cup East Course at Five FarmsTie: U.S. vs Great Britain & Ireland12 & 12
1988 U.S. Women's Open East Course at Five Farms Flag of Sweden.svg Liselotte Neumann 277-7
2007 Senior Players Championship East Course at Five Farms Flag of the United States.svg Loren Roberts 267−13
2008 Senior Players Championship East Course at Five Farms Flag of the United States.svg D.A. Weibring 271−9
2009 Senior Players Championship East Course at Five Farms Flag of the United States.svg Jay Haas 267−13
2017 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship East Course at Five Farms Flag of the United States.svg Illinois 829−11
2018 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship East Course at Five Farms Flag of the United States.svg Illinois 836−4
2026 U.S. Senior Amateur [14] East Course at Five Farms
2031 U.S. Women's Amateur [15] East Course at Five Farms

References

  1. "History – Baltimore Country Club". www.bcc1898.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. "Baltimore's Open shot". www.baltimoresun.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  3. "Golf – Baltimore Country Club". www.bcc1898.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  4. "Platinum Clubs of America" (PDF). www.platinumclubnet.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  5. "A New Country Club". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. June 4, 1898. p. 7. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  6. "Nicholas B. Mangione, self-made real estate developer, dies at 83". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  7. "Baltimore Country Club". www.golfdigest.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  8. "Golfweek's Best 2020: Top 200 Classic Courses". www.golfweek.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  9. "OC US Top 100". www.outpostclub.com. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  10. "Top 100 Golf Courses – USA". www.top100golfcourses.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  11. "Top 100 Courses in the U.S." www.golf.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  12. "OC World Top 100". www.outpostclub.com. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  13. "America's Second 100 Greatest Golf Courses". www.golfdigest.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  14. "Baltimore Country Club Awarded Two USGA Amateur Championships". www.pressboxonline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  15. "Baltimore Country Club Awarded Two USGA Amateur Championships". www.pressboxonline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  16. "Our Friend, Kevin Spacey". www.baltimorestyle.com. Retrieved December 12, 2020.

39°26′31″N76°39′47″W / 39.442°N 76.663°W / 39.442; -76.663