Kansas City Country Club

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Kansas City Country Club
Kc-country-club.jpg
Club information
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Coordinates 39°01′17″N94°37′13″W / 39.021518°N 94.620223°W / 39.021518; -94.620223
Location Mission Hills, Kansas
Established1896
TypePrivate
Owned byKansas City Golf Club
Operated byKansas City Golf Club
Total holes18
Designed by A. W. Tillinghast/Robert Trent Jones

The Kansas City Country Club (KCCC) was founded in 1896 in Kansas City, Missouri and today located in Mission Hills, Kansas. The Country Club District and Country Club Plaza of Kansas City are named for the club, which claims to be the third-oldest country club west of the Mississippi River. [1]

Contents

History

The club has its roots in an informal golf course in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. In 1896, Hugh C. Ward, Charles Fessenden Morse, Jefferson Brumback, H. L. Harmon, A. W. Childs, C. J. Hubbard, J. E. Logan, Gardiner Lathrop, St. Clair Street, Ford Harvey, E. H. Chapman, E. S. Washburn, and W. B. Clarke incorporated the Kansas City Country Club [2] and leased a pasture at what today is Loose Park in the Sunset Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. The tract of land belonged to Ward's father Seth E. Ward, a pioneer who made his fortune outfitting settlers on the Oregon Trail.

In 1907, J. C. Nichols began buying land surrounding the course to develop the Country Club District, and later to develop the Country Club Plaza. In 1925, the club moved its course a mile west to the banks of Brush Creek in Mission Hills. The club's former grounds then became Loose Park. The three J.C. Nichols Clubs became the most socially desirable in the Kansas City Metropolitan area with Kansas City Country Club being first, followed by Mission Hills followed by Indian Hills.

The course was originally designed by Tom Bendelow and later redesigned by A. W. Tillinghast. [3] The course par is 70. [4]

The club did not allow Jewish members until 1990 when it admitted billionaire H&R Block founder Henry Bloch. [5] The club had initially rejected Henry Bloch for being Jewish, but changed course after pro golfer Tom Watson resigned his membership in protest. [6]

Members

The club's most famous player is Tom Watson, who resigned in 1990 before rejoining after the club allowed its first Jewish member. [6] Ray Watson, Tom's father, still holds the amateur record of 64 for the course. Tom Watson holds the professional record of 60. Tom is currently a member of the club.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Mission Hills is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,594. The east city limits is the Kansas-Missouri state line at State Line Road. Mission Hills was originally developed by noted Kansas City developer J. C. Nichols beginning in the 1920s as part of his Country Club District plan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nichols Hills, Oklahoma</span> City in Oklahoma, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Country Club Plaza</span> Shopping mall in Missouri, United States

The Country Club Plaza is a privately-owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it was the first planned suburban shopping center and the first regional shopping center to accommodate shoppers arriving by car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. C. Nichols</span> American real estate developer (1880–1950)

Jesse Clyde "J. C." Nichols was an American developer of commercial and residential real estate in Kansas City, Missouri. Born in Olathe, Kansas, and a student at the University of Kansas and Harvard University, his most notable developments are the Country Club District and Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, which influenced suburban developments in other parts of the United States. He served leadership roles in local and national real estate organizations. Through these organizations, his ideas about real estate and planning helped to shape methods for racist and anti-Semitic restrictive covenants and zoning. His legacy has come under increasing scrutiny for these covenants, which prohibited Blacks, Jews, and other minorities from living in these neighborhoods.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ward Parkway</span> Large boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri

Ward Parkway is a boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Ward Parkway begins at Brookside Boulevard on the eastern edge of the Country Club Plaza and travels west 2.8 miles along Brush Creek as U.S. Route 56 before turning south near Kansas-Missouri state line. It continues south for 4 miles, terminating at Wornall Road near Bannister Road. A short spur, Brush Creek Parkway, connects Ward Parkway to Shawnee Mission Parkway at State Line Road.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seth Ward (businessman)</span>

Seth Edmund Ward was a trader on the California, Oregon and Santa Fe trails who parlayed his success into a real estate empire, some of which is part of today's Country Club District in Kansas City, Missouri.

Main Street or Main is a one of the major streets in Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. Main Street serves as the main administrative dividing line for house numbering and east–west streets in Kansas City; for example, it separates East 59th Street from West 59th Street. Address numbers on east–west streets increase in both directions as one moves away from Main Street. This should not be confused with the Kansas City "East Side" and "West Side," a cultural distinction which has arisen from a history of racist segregation in the city, separated by Troost Avenue approximately 1 mile east of Main Street.

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References

  1. "Illinois State Wins 2007 State Farm MVC Men's Golf Championship". mvc-sports.com. April 24, 2007.
  2. Kansas City Country Club - kchistory.org
  3. golflink.com
  4. "Tom Watson - thefirstteekc.org". Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  5. "Kansas City Country Club votes to admit Bloch". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  6. 1 2 Jaime Diaz (December 4, 1990). "Golf; Watson's Private-Club Protest May Be a Lonely One". The New York Times.