New Jersey

Originally laid out over 170 acres by John Reid in 1897, the course at Atlantic City Country Club was altered by Willie Park Junior in 1915 then by the William Flynn and Howard Toomey partnership ten years later. It remained unchanged for more than three quarters of a century before Tom Doak lovingly restored the grand old lady in the late 1990s.

Doak rerouted a number of holes on Atlantic City's front nine and on the back nine, the architect amalgamated holes 10 and 11 to create a strong par five. He also elongated the old 12th to fashion a testing par four and created new holes at 14 and 15. Every tee and green on the course was reconstructed and trees were removed around the marshland areas and replanted along the west side of the property to reinforce its seclusion.

, Tom Doak commented as follows: “This was the kind of project I don’t usually take on – a substantial modification of an historic old course with architectural pedigree. Yet the layout as it existed was a mish-mosh of three previous architects’ work, cut up by a few houses where land had been sold off to finance improvements to the course, and there were several flat holes on the upper end and several which went underwater down along the marsh. We tried to preserve the best of the older holes while fixing the problems.”


This venerable course has hosted national championships on several occasions over the years. First was when Walter Travis won the US Amateur in 1901, beating Walter Egan 5 & 4 in the final. Babe Zaharias would then claim the first of her three US Women’s Open titles here in 1948, before the ladies tournament returned again in 1965 and 1975 when Carol Mann and Sandra Palmer were the victors.

The club claim to have coined the golfing terms “birdie”. A couple of years after the course opened, George Crump, of Pine Valley fame, played his second shot very close to the hole at a par four after his first shot had struck a bird in flight. His playing partners used the term “birdie” to describe the score made in such circumstances and the idea soon spread amongst the membership that one under par for a hole should be called this.

The club was recently owned by Harrahs, the Las Vegas-based private gaming corporation, and they introduced a pay-and-play facility for non-members at certain times. In 2014 Ceasars sold the property to the Ottinger Golf Group, which also owns and operates Scotland Run Golf Club and Ballamor Golf Club.

Atlantic City

North America

This venerable course has hosted national championships on several occasions over the years and Atlantic City Country Club claim to have coined the golfing term “birdie”.

Colorado

Cherry Hills is located close to the “Mile High” city of Denver and Cherry Hills Village is one of the most sought after locations in Colorado. So it’s fitting that Cherry Hills Country Club is one of the best courses in the Centennial State.

A few of the older generation of readers may remember Arnold Palmer driving the 355-yard par four 1st on his way to victory in the 1960 U.S. Open – this was to be the King's only U.S. Open title. The club has hosted the U.S. Open on three occasions, most recently in 1978. Wisconsin-born Andy North won the 1978 title here and subsequently went on to win his second U.S. Open in 1985 at Oakland Hills.

William Flynn originally designed the layout in 1922 and if you do get the chance to play this famous course your driving distances will flatter to deceive. Denver is not called the Mile High city for nothing and Cherry Hills is certainly golf with altitude.

There are too many fine holes to mention them all, but we will touch on the par five 18th, which is named after President Eisenhower, a long standing Cherry Hills member. A lake on the left focuses the mind on this tempting closing hole and it’s certainly one of the finest finishing holes in golf.

Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design Inc. completed an eight-month, $7.6 million renovation project in May 2009, which included the rebuilding of some green complexes, the installation of new tee boxes, bunkers and a new irrigation system.

The upgraded 7,442-yard Cherry Hills provided a fitting test for the world’s best amateurs when the club hosted the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship, won by American Steven Fox. Two years later, the club staged the BMW Championship (formerly known as the Western Open), which Billy Horschel won by two shots from Bubba Watson.

Cherry Hills

William Flynn designed Cherry Hills in 1922 and if you do get the chance to play this famous course your driving distances will flatter to deceive. Denver is not called the Mile High city for nothing and Cherry Hills is certainly golf with altitude.

Virginia

The James River course is one of three impressive 18-hole layouts used by members of the Country Club of Virginia. The Westhampton course lies four miles from the other two, and it’s a Donald Ross creation from 1921.

On the main property, nine holes of the Tuckahoe Creek course were designed by Ed Ault in the late 1980s then Joe Lee added another nine soon after.

The James River course was originally laid out by William Flynn in 1928, five years after he designed the acclaimed Cascades course at The Homestead. Many believe that if more golfers were able to play the private James River layout, it might achieve a similar lofty ranking position to that of Flynn's earlier creation at Hot Springs.

Flynn originally mapped out two 18-hole courses – the “Valley” and “Hill” – but the final layout ended up with nine holes from each; the James River’s front nine on the more level part of the course was from the Valley whilst the more undulating back nine was taken from the Hill.

George O’Neil – who some credit with the original design of the Greenbrier course at White Sulphur Springs in 1924 – made some modifications to the course in 1938 then it was changed further before it hosted the US Amateur Championships in 1955, when Jack Nicklaus qualified for the first time. Rees Jones also added his architectural stamp during a full renovation in 1992, altering bunkers and greens.

During a Lester George restoration in 2003/04, a couple of lakes were built on the front nine to help with drainage and new holes were built at the 4th, 6th and 18th. The remaining greens were redone, twelve new tees were constructed and a number of fairway bunkers were rebuilt.

Andrew Green is the consulting architect at the Country Club of Virginia his intention is to gradually restore the James River course back to William Flynn’s original design intent.

Country Club of Virginia (James River)

The James River course is one of three impressive 18-hole layouts used by members of the Country Club of Virginia and it was originally laid out by William Flynn in 1928, five years after he designed the acclaimed Cascades course at The Homestead...

Ohio

The original 9-hole course at Elyria Country Club opened for play in 1905, established by executives from the Worthington Ball Company of Elyria to promote their business. Just a couple of years prior, the firm had purchased patents from Hunt Manufacturing in Massachusetts, one of which was for the production of a Haskell ball called “Bounding Billy”.

Twenty years after its formation, the club acquired additional land along the Black River, allowing it to call in William Flynn from Ardmore, Pennsylvania to fashion a new 18-hole layout on a 161-acre site. The new course was inaugurated on 4th July, 1926 and the first foursome used gold-plated golf balls, courtesy of the Worthington Ball Company, of course.

Built during the Golden Age of golf course design, Elyria is wonderful, tree-lined track which measures 6,750 yards from the championship tees, with water coming into play on half the holes. It’s a remarkable example of Flynn’s ability to design natural looking courses that still challenge golfers after almost a hundred years of operation.


Elyria

Bordered by the Black River, the old course at Elyria Country Club is a 1920s William Flynn layout that has handled the golfing tests of time rather well.

Illinois

William Flynn redesigned the original Herbert Tweedie course at Glen View Club in 1922 and it served the members for almost eighty years before Davis Esler lovingly restored it in 1999.

The Glen View Club hosted the US Amateur in 1902, won by Louis James, and the US Open in 1904, won by Scotland’s Willie Anderson.


The course is well-regarded by Tom Doak who commented as follows in 

: “The front nine sits up on a low, forested bluff, while the back nine sits down in the valley of the North Fork of the Chicago River, requiring water carries on every hole except the 15th and 16th.”

Glen View

Pennsylvania

The 18-hole course at Green Valley Country Club originally started out as a public layout named Marble Hall Golf Course. Designed and operated for twenty years by local architect William Flynn, it was sold to the membership of Green Valley in 1944 after they had decided to decamp from their Roxborough property, leaving their old Willie Park Junior-designed course behind.

Two years later, J. B. McGovern, a long-standing associate of Donald Ross, revised and re-sequenced the course. Writing in 

, Daniel Wexler said "there remains plenty of good golf here, with the front nine featuring the 525-yard 3rd (where a creek must be carried on the second) and a pair of pond-guarded par 3s, the 194-yard 4th and the 156-yard 8th."

Green Valley

The 18-hole layout at Green Valley Country Club originally started out as a public layout named Marble Hall Golf Course. Designed and operated for twenty years by local architect William Flynn, it was sold to Green Valley in 1944.

Perched amongst the trees at the foothills of Virginia's Allegheny Mountains lies the Homestead. It bills itself as America’s premier mountain resort and a haven for the sports enthusiast, so it seems wholly appropriate that the legendary William S. Flynn, who was a keen athlete in his youth, designed the Cascades, the Homestead's flagship course.

The mountain setting is truly delightful and the Cascades course looks totally natural with its ponds, streams and slopes. But the reality of the matter is that the Cascades required a great deal of manufacturing and Flynn used tons of dynamite to blast his fairways through the limestone. This was pioneering course architecture in the Roaring Twenties and eventually in 1923, after more than 12 months in the making, the Cascades opened for play.

If you use the naturally sloping terrain you can take advantage of the extra roll, so you may find that your score on the Cascades will improve the second or third time round. The Cascades certainly has magnetic appeal to golfers of all standards who return to this fabulous resort year after year to try and master the stern but totally unique Cascades. Sam Snead was born in Ashwood, near Hot Springs and he learnt his golf at the Homestead. We suspect few people will ever play the Cascades course better than Slammin' Sammy.

Robert Trent Jones renovated the Cascades course in 1961 but to maintain the integrity of Flynn's original 1923 blueprint, the course was closed over winter in 2005 for an extensive face-lift that concentrated on restoring the bunkers. In 2017, the course was enhanced further following a tree removal programme, which exposed creeks running along several fairways, thus improving strategy and shot selection.

Homestead (Cascades)

The Homestead mountain setting is truly delightful and the Cascades golf course looks totally natural with its ponds, streams and slopes, but the fairways were blasted through the limestone using tons of dynamite.

Huntingdon Valley Country Club is one of the elder statesmen of US golf clubs, inaugurated in 1887. As with many other older clubs, either side of the pond, it started out in life as a nine-hole layout, which was later expanded to 18 holes prior to moving to its present site at Huntingdon Valley in the 1920s.

Much of the site selected for the course was ground owned by W.W. Frazier, the club’s first President, and it was decided to construct an initial 27 holes on the understanding that more land could be acquired for an additional 9 holes if the club wished to expand to two 18-hole layouts.

William S. Flynn and Howard C. Toomey designed and built what was termed a “supercourse” in the local papers and it opened for play in April of 1928. Unfortunately, the harsh economic times that followed the Great Depression led the club to allow the “C” nine to fall into disrepair as only the other 18 holes were maintained.

When it was decided to restore the third nine to coincide with the club’s centenary, more than sixty years of overgrowth had to be cleared before the fairways – now called the Centennial nine – could be brought back into play by Ron Pritchard. The current practice area and several wetland areas had to be taken into consideration, resulting in slight changes to the original routing for this circuit.

On the Toomey nine, the par threes at 3 and 5 are highly rated one shotters whilst a winding stream comes into play at many of the holes on the Flynn nine. The closing trio of long par fours on the Centennial each measure over 430 yards and they form a demanding conclusion to this 9-hole circuit.

Huntingdon Valley (Toomey & Flynn)

Huntingdon Valley Country Club was fashioned in the 1920s as a 27-hole layout by William S. Flynn and it remains authentic to his original design principles.

Florida

Indian Creek Country Club is the heart of Indian Creek Island and it's located between Bal Harbor and Miami Beach. Here in splendid isolation lies one of America’s most exclusive communities which is reported to be obsessed with security having its own State police force which includes 24/7 armed boat patrols around the island.

This is not one of the most accessible venues for the visiting golfer, so you’ll need to befriend a member to tee it up on this classical William S. Flynn-designed course, which dates back to the 1930s. The clubhouse itself is not only huge, it’s also an architectural delight built in an Italianate-style with multiple terraces and loggias that overlook the golf course and the bay. Some people even reckon that Indian Creek's clubhouse has the best locker room in the country.

Apart from some new back tees, the course is pretty much a monument to Flynn. From the original tees it measures a modest 6,600 yards but there’s a real eclectic mix of long and short holes, including the par four 9th topping out at 470 yards and the par four 13th spanning a mere 309 yards. It’s this variation coupled with the simplicity and subtlety of the design that makes Indian Creek so special.

Very few people will be fortunate to tee it up here, but those that do will immediately notice that the course is polished to within an inch of its life. Some say that Indian Creek is better groomed than Augusta.

 author Daniel Wexler commented as follows: “Altered somewhat over the years, the course retains virtually all of Flynn’s routing and a fine dose of Golden Age ambience – though many original bunkers and natural waste areas had, by the end of the 20th century, been reshaped or removed altogether. Modern restoration work by Ron Forse has reversed this trend, leaving a layout which, beyond the remarkable nature of its location, boasts some very fine holes… Indian Creek – despite existing largely off the radar – rates as one of the nation’s more desirable visits.”

Indian Creek

Indian Creek Country Club is at the heart of Indian Creek Island and is located between Bal Harbor and Miami Beach. Here in splendid isolation lies one of America’s most exclusive communities...

Massachusetts

William Flynn and Fred Hood should each receive equal credit for the course at The Kittansett Club (native Indian for “near the sea”) which opened for play in 1922. Flynn provided the routing plan and Hood built the course and continued to "tweak" the layout for the next 20 years. The course is situated at the end of Butler Point which extends into Buzzards Bay. Its location offers spectacular views and challenging shot making in the ever-changing wind.

Only third in stature in the state of Massachusetts to The Country Club and Old Sandwich, Kittansett hosted the Walker Cup in 1953 when USA beat Great Britain & Ireland 9-3. The course was restored in the late 1990s by Gill Hanse who recaptured many of the original features that had been eroded over the decades. Hundreds of trees were removed for two reasons – first to reveal grassed over mounds alongside fairways, and second, to improve visibility of the Bay. Some disused bunkers were brought back into play and others were rebuilt to their original size and composition.

The signature hole is the 3rd, a 165-yard par three, which is an island hole requiring a tee shot that carries sand and water to reach the putting surface. The small green can be easily missed from the tee (especially if the wind is unkind and takes a tee shot offline) leaving the golfer with a recovery shot from the beach – if the tide is out!

Darius Oliver, in this short extract from the book 

, writes: “Enjoying scenic outlooks across the water to Cape Cod, Kittansett is a lovely setting for golf and the ever-changing nature of its holes ensure that a round here is constantly engaging. Somewhat reminiscent of a place like Humewood in South Africa, the course isn’t quite in the same league as the best from Britain, but it does rest comfortably among the premier seaside layouts in this part of the world.”

Kittansett

The Kittansett Club is situated at the end of Butler Point which extends into Buzzards Bay. Its location offers spectacular views and challenging shot making in the ever-changing wind.

A hundred and twenty nine golfers were listed as members at the inaugural AGM of Lancaster Country Club in 1901 and they played back then on some rented fields that were fashioned into a rudimentary 9-hole layout. In fact, so basic was the course, original scorecards display hole names but no yardages or par figures for each hole.

By 1920, the club had moved to its present location, employing William Flynn to lay out a new 18-hole course. Flynn, who would later redesign the magnificent 

 course in 1937, had been the green keeper at 

 Cricket Club (as the golf club was known then) and his ten months at Lancaster would hold him in good stead for future designs that are compared favourably nowadays with the likes of Colt and MacKenzie courses.

In the modern era, Lancaster Country Club now has three 9-hole circuits (each with a par of 35) plus a 6-hole “Sunset Six” short course, designed by William and David Gordon in 1959.

The original Meadowcreek and Dogwood nines (known as the Old or Flynn course) combine to form the foremost 18-hole combination here at Lancaster Country Club. However, all three loops having been constructed on rolling terrain with a river flowing through the middle of the landscape, allowing water to come into play at no fewer than fifteen of the holes on the property. The third 9-hole circuit, called Highlands, is a standalone course.

Lancaster (Meadowcreek & Dogwood)

The original Meadowcreek and Dogwood nines (known as the Old or Flynn course) combine to form the foremost 18-hole combination here at Lancaster Country Club...

Along the Little Lehigh Creek lies the private Lehigh Country Club which celebrated its centenary in 2008. The club moved to its present site in 1928 and the master router William S Flynn, who was perhaps the most respected and influential architect of the “Philadelphia School” of golf course design, designed the course.

The 206-acre site selected for the club’s new 18 holes were farms that belonged to the Kemmerer and Kline families and a syndicate of forty-two club members purchased the chosen land. Built by Flynn’s business partner Howard C. Toomey, the course was opened on Memorial Day, 1928 under the watchful eye of Paul Weiss, the former construction supervisor who became the first greens keeper on the new layout.

The routing of the fairways here has been acknowledged as nothing short of masterful with elevation changes in excess of one hundred feet negotiated during three of the four Creek crossings at the par four 4th, the par three 7th and par five 11th. Such is the severity of the topography in places, it’s doubtful if any architect would every contemplate laying out a modern course at the present location.

Flynn's courses are notable for their strong short holes and Lehigh follows that tradition with the Creek coming into play at two of them, the downhill 7th and the 184-yard 13th. There are only two par fives on the card, one on each nine, and they dogleg in opposite direction from tee to green at the 6th and the 11th holes.

Trees have been thinned out at Lehigh in recent years to allow for wider playing corridors and architect Ron Forse has been involved in a bunker restoration plan aimed at improved drainage.

Lehigh

Along the Little Lehigh Creek lies the private Lehigh Country Club which celebrated its centenary in 2008.

Founded as an eating club by a group of textile managers in 1887 and named the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia, the club moved from the city centre to its current location at Ridgewood Farm in 1925 to play on a newly fashioned William Flynn golf course. When the impressive clubhouse overlooking Sandy Run Creek was completed in 1933, the club changed its name to the present Manufacturers’ Golf and Country Club.

Of course, excellent dining is still on offer at the club, along with tennis and swimming. The hillside site extends to some 250 acres of the historical suburb of Fort Washington, where General George Washington thwarted a British attack on the colonists in 1777.

“It’s scary to think a course this good doesn’t always make lists of Philadelphia’s top 10”. Wrote Tom Doak in 

The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses – Volume 3 – The Americas (summer destinations)

. “(It would be there with room to spare on my own list).”

“Like most of its neighbours, it lies in a valley with some steep holes along the top edges and a creek in play on several holes along the bottom. The five par-3 holes offer great variety, from the strong uphill 199-yard 6th to the 117-yard 8th guarded by its own small quarry.”

Manufacturers'

The classic old William Flynn layout at Manufacturers’ Golf & Country Club lies in a valley where the Sandy Run Creek is brought into play at several of the holes.

The Pepper Pike Club’s next door neighbour, The Country Club, grabs most of the attention in this east end Cleveland suburb with both clubs sharing the architectural heritage of William Flynn. Only the lucky few will be invited onto the first tee of the ultra-exclusive and small membership Pepper Pike Club where Ian Andrew renovated the bunkers on this little-known and under appreciated Golden Age layout in 2019.

The club’s founders were members of Mayfield Country Club (now Mayfield Sand Ridge Club) who wanted to branch out and form their own club but World War I intervened and their plans were put on hold. The formal opening of the club took place a decade later, on 6th July 1925 to be exact, and today there are 240 members upholding the golfing traditions of almost a hundred years.

Pepper Pike recently renovated its clubhouse at a cost of $3.5 million and a further $1.5 million was invested in a four-year master plan to upgrade the course, which completed in 2020. The layout is now as close to the original design intent of architect William Flynn as when the course first debuted.

Pepper PIke

The Pepper Pike Club’s next door neighbour, The Country Club, grabs most of the attention in this east end Cleveland suburb with both clubs sharing the architectural heritage of William Flynn.

Philadelphia Country Club is one of the oldest in the country, formed by John C. Bullit in 1890. He acquired a 60-acre property on which a polo field was laid out (hence the horse head club emblem) at Bala Cynwyd and a 9-hole golf course followed two years later. In 1899 Ruth Underhill won the fifth edition of the U.S. Women’s Amateur on the Bala course, which no longer exists.

Land was purchased at Gladwyne in 1926 for the purpose of constructing an 18-hole layout and this was designed by the William S. Flynn and Howard C. Toomey company, opening in 1930 as the Spring Mill course.

To their credit, the club has only recently finished a refurbishment program which restored the course to the playing conditions intended by the architect 80 years ago.

In addition to the classic Flynn-designed 18 holes, Philadelphia asked Tom Fazio to create another nine holes, the “Centennial Nine,” when they reached their 100th year in 1990, resulting in an outstanding 27-hole golf complex that sits very nicely alongside the tennis and squash courts, swimming pool, shooting lodge and bowling alley at the club.

The U.S. Open was held here in 1939 when Byron Nelson claimed the title and in more recent times the U.S. Women’s Amateur championship took place in 2003.

Philadelphia (Spring Mill)

Philadelphia Country Club is one of the oldest in the country, formed by John C. Bullit in 1890. He acquired a 60-acre property on which a polo field was laid out (hence the horse head club emblem)...

Formed by a group of Springhaven Country Club members in 1924, Rolling Green Golf Club engaged the highly regarded architectural partnership of William Flynn and Howard Toomey to lay out a course over a 157-acre site and their 18-hole design duly opened for play in 1926.

Interestingly, most of the founding members of Rolling Green Golf Club were followers of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, from the nearby town of Swarthmore and their aim was to “omit all social frills that enter into the life of a country club, and make it a shrine where the skill and ingenuity of the lover of the game could have full play”.

With social drinking frowned upon, it wasn’t until 1970 that anyone could purchase alcohol from the bar – now how many clubs could have survived almost 50 years without such an important source of income? And when the club was honoured with hosting the US Women’ Open in 1976, most of the competitors would surely have been happy to drown their sorrows in the clubhouse after returning four round scores of +8 or more!

It’s easy to see why anyone will struggle to put together a score at Rolling Green when you examine the undulating landscape and the way the greens are designed to repel all but the most accurate approach shots to the pin. In fact, with a good number of holes played uphill, many of the putting surfaces will reward a running shot easier than an a ball arriving from a more aerial route.

The balance and variety of holes on this old classic makes it an absolute joy to play with the natural use of the topography by the architects so easy on the eye. Many regard the 12th as one of the finest short par fours in the game. From an elevated tee, a long iron played left of centre will set up an approach shot to a small green that lies on an upslope at right angles to the fairway. The putting surface is protected by one bunker to the right and four to the left, with a severe drop off to the rear - yet another brilliant example of a hole not having to be long to be difficult.

In July 2010, we received the following update from one of Rolling Green’s members: “In the Fall of 2008 the course underwent a $1 million restoration where all bunkers were restored to their original shape and size and more than 1,000 trees were removed from the course. While I may have some bias I strongly believe that Rolling Green is the 3rd best course in the greater Philadelphia area: Merion and Aronomink still rank ahead. We are currently in discussions with the USGA to host an upcoming Women’s US Amateur Championship.


We were notified in early 2022 that a course restoration under the direction of Gil Hanse began in October 2021, following a tree removal program which thinned out almost a thousand trees throughout the layout.

Rolling Green

It’s easy to see why it's a struggle to score well at Rolling Green Golf Club when you examine the undulating landscape and the way the greens are designed to repel all but the most accurate approach shots...

New York

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is an old club with old traditions and Scottish professional Willie Davis, aided by 150 Indians from the neighbouring Shinnecock Reservation, can take credit for what was probably the inaugural authentic US golf course design which dates back to 1891 when Davis laid out the first twelve holes. Head professional Willie Dunn added a further six holes by 1894.

When new land became available during the Great War, Charles B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor added six new holes and overhauled the course. The design firm of Howard Toomey and William Flynn built twelve new holes and altered Macdonald's design from 1929 to 1931. Some historians believe Dick Wilson should also be given some credit.

Not only was Shinnecock Hills Golf Club one of the five founding members of the USGA but also it was where one of the first specifically designed golf clubhouses was built. Stanford White designed the clubhouse in the shingled style of the region and it sits majestically on the highest point of the property. A few steps away from the white columned building is the first tee box from where you can see Peconic Bay shimmering in the distance and, in the foreground, lies the open, 300-acre expansive golf course which tumbles away from the clubhouse.

“Shinnecock Hills fully utilises the outstanding features of the area – the strong prevailing winds off the Atlantic to the southwest, the sandy and rolling terrain and the thick, reed-like grasses that border the fairways.” Wrote Charles Price in the 

. “While not truly linksland – the grass of the fairways and greens is more of an inland texture – the ambience and windy bleakness of Shinnecock Hills on an average day evoke feelings of the British seaside links.”

Ben Hogan was a fan of Shinnecock Hills and in a letter to a Shinnecock club member he once wrote: “Each hole is different and requires a great amount of skill to play properly. Each hole has complete definition. You know exactly where to shoot. All in all, I think it is one of the finest courses I have ever played.”

James Foulis won the first U.S. Open to be staged at Shinnecock Hills in 1896, but it was another 90 years before the club would host another. Raymond Floyd prevailed in 1986 and Corey Pavin in 1995. In 2004, Retief Goosen claimed his second U.S. Open title, beating Phil Mickelson by two shots in a controversial event. The tournament returned to Southampton for the fifth time in 2018 when (amid further controversy) Brooks Koepka successfully defended the title he won at Erin Hills in 2017.

2018 US Open - Shinnecock Hills ready for world’s best


Shinnecock's superb short holes - 118th US Open


Koepka defends US Open title at Shinnecock Hills


Shinnecock Hills

Not only was Shinnecock Hills Golf Club one of the five founding members of the USGA but also it was where one of the first specifically designed golf clubhouses was built.

Forty years after its formation in 1889, The Country Club moved to its present-day 300-acre site at Pepper Pike, where a new course was laid out for the members by William Flynn – a layout that later garnered national recognition by hosting the US Amateur Championships in 1935.

Gradually, down the years, the course lost its way a little. Playing corridors had become too narrow due to excessive tree growth and greenside bunker complexes had been added unnecessarily. To rectify this situation, the club enlisted Brit Stenson of IMG Design in 1992 to restore the layout to its former glory.

“Spread out over rolling parkland terrain, this relatively unheralded layout is one of the best in Ohio, and Ran prefers it to Flynn’s Philadelphia courses,” commented Tom Doak in 

. “This one mercifully hasn’t been overplanted with trees, and the wider fairway corridors allow golfers to access the strategy of the holes. Flynn remains an underrated designer, and his attention to detail shows on outstanding holes such as the par-3 9th and the par-4 15th and 17th."


The Country Club hosted the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2012 (won by New Zealand's Lydia Ko) when spectators and competitors appreciated such a fine example of William Flynn’s architectural expertise.

We received further information from Wayne Morrison in October 2022 and an edited version of this update appears below:


"William Flynn was hired to design a modern course for the club with Toomey and Flynn engaged to construct the course in the spring of 1928. The course formally opened in the summer of 1930. Flynn took full advantage of the ample grounds for golf. Though there is only sixty feet of elevation change, Flynn routed the holes brilliantly to incorporate the most interesting landforms and water features for golf.


There are no weak holes, with several world-class golf holes. As with all Flynn designs, the par three holes are all very strong and memorable, particularly the medium length par three 9th with a stream along the right side; the uphill par three 11th with its elevated green and numerousattractive bunkers, and the long and well-bunkered 14th with a right to left slope to the green.
Other holes of particular note include the short par four 3rd where the ideal angle of approach is from the outside of the dogleg to a green benched into a hillside; the uphill par four 4th with outstanding internal green contours; the long par four 15th requiring a good drive and an approach to an elevated second fairway with intervening bunkers.


The club is currently undergoing a historic restoration under the expert guidance of golf architect Gil Hanse with construction overseen by his Caveman Construction crew. The goal is to restore the course to its Flynn roots which includes tree management to restore the long views that highlights the ground movement; restore playing angles and strategic shot demands; and the recovery of lost green space that returns lost holelocations near falloffs, water features, and bunkers back into play."


The Country Club

Host to the US Women’s Amateur in 2012, the Country Club originally moved to Pepper Pike in the mid 1920s, where William Flynn laid out eighteen holes that were both stylish and strategic.

The Country Club in Brookline played host to the 1999 Ryder Cup matches between the USA and Europe. Team Captains were Ben Crenshaw (US) and Mark James (Europe). For the third successive time, a single point decided the Ryder Cup, which was dubbed the “Battle of Brookline”. Europe hoped for a third successive win and required only four points from the 12 singles matches on Sunday, but the Americans rallied and easily won the first six matches to take the lead. Europe’s chances rested on Jose-Maria Olazabal, who was battling with Justin Leonard. On the 17th, Leonard holed an unlikely long birdie putt that resulted in a premature US Team celebration, which deeply upset the Europeans. Unfortunately Olazabal missed his shorter putt for a half on 17 but went on to a birdie the last to halve the match. USA 14 ½ - Europe 13 ½. The Ryder Cup was played at 

The name may sound a little arrogant and for golfers in the know, there’s no need to explain that 

 Country Club was the first of its type in the USA. It’s set in the charming heart of New England but to be precise it’s located in the suburbs of Brookline, Boston Massachusetts.

Apparently there was talk of forming The Country Club way back in 1860, but the Civil War (in part) interrupted proceedings – the club was eventually formed in 1882. Soon afterwards, golf arrived in the shape of a simple 6-hole layout, which was soon extended to 9 holes by Willie Campbell. In December 1894, the Country Club became one of the five founder members of the American Golf Association, which was subsequently renamed the United States Golf Association. The other four charter members were: 

, St. Andrew's Golf Club (Yonkers, N.Y.), and 

By 1910, golf had caught on in the Boston area and the course was extended to a full 18 holes. Little did they know that three years later, a defining moment in American golf would take place in the shape of the 1913 US Open, which saw amateur Francis Ouimet – a young, unknown twenty-year-old and a former caddy at the Country Club – defeat the legendary professionals, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in an exciting 18-hole play-off. Ouimet’s victory injected huge interest in golf in the United States and it gave hope to ordinary Americans by proving that normal people could achieve success alongside those who were more financially fortunate.

The 27 holes in play today at The Country Club were constructed at different times with input from numerous architects. Francis Ouimet won the US Open on the original course (Clyde & Squirrel), but the modern-day championship layout consists of fifteen holes of the original eighteen, with four holes from William Flynn's Primrose nine-hole loop (two Primrose holes are combined to make one tough and long tournament par four).


In 2009, Gil Hanse was entrusted to deliver a Master Plan for the restoration of all 27 holes.

The Country Club (Clyde & Squirrel)

The name may sound a little arrogant and for golfers in the know, there’s no need to explain that The Country Club at Brookline was the first of its type in the USA.

An under-the-radar 1907 Donald Ross design that was later modified by William Flynn, the course at Washington Golf and Country Club (the oldest private country club in Virginia established in 1894) has been re-imagined by Renaissance Golf Design.

Project architect Eric Iverson described the $14 million-dollar initiative as more renovation than restoration. “The course evolved from a Donald Ross design on a surprisingly small amount of land, with lots of very short holes taking advantage, or yielding to, pretty severe topography,” explained Iverson. “It was later expanded by William Flynn, with an additional 40 acres purchased by the club. That course remained essentially intact into the 50s, but at some point soon thereafter, Flynn’s version began to be undone by numerous renovations by the club.”

Iverson said it was “impossible to put the Flynn course back in its entirety,” but old photos and an aerial map were used as a point of reference when rebuilding the holes.

A few routing changes were implemented “to remedy what was clearly the worst hole on the course, the former par-five fifteenth,” commented Iverson. “The real standout feature of the course is the topography. It’s a short course, somewhere between 6,300 and 6,400 yards even after we’ve stretched it out but configured in a way that makes it play much longer than that.”

Before Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design firm had been commissioned for the renovation, Doak commented as follows in 

: “Just five miles from the Washington Monument, this is a short but difficult test (and walk), with never a flat lie for your second shots.”

Soon after William Flynn’s revised layout reopened in 1922, the club became known as the 

. According to Washington Golf and Country Club’s history: “Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, and Calvin Coolidge were all members and Taft, Wilson and Harding were active golfing members at the club.”

This is one of Renaissance’s boldest renovations where layers of former changes have been stripped back in an audacious attempt to find the course’s Golden Age roots dating back to the early 19th century. The 2020 in-your-face bunkering is, to say the least, bold, and Washington Golf and Country Club’s new millennium layout is certainly memorable.

Washington Golf & Country Club

An under-the-radar 1907 Donald Ross design that was later modified by William Flynn, the course at Washington Golf and Country Club (the oldest private country club in Virginia) was re-imagined by Renaissance Golf Design in 2020.

Squeezed into a tight and rather hilly property, the course at Whitemarsh Valley Country Club hosted the 1934 U.S. Women's Amateur and the Philadelphia Open between 1963 and 1980. Five of its holes utilize the Wissahickon Creek as an intimidating water hazard.

Originally designed by Philadelphian George C. Thomas Jr. in 1908, Whitemarsh Valley was later revised by William Flynn and then by Donald Ross in 1930. Andrew Green performed a sympathetic renovation in 2015 when he expanded the green complexes to their original sizes, rebuilt all bunkers and oversaw a tree removal project.

Whitemarsh Valley

Philadelphia’s eastern suburbs actually lie in New Jersey, and thus the region enjoys all the benefits of the Philadelphia School that bloomed during the Golden Age of golf course architecture. Woodcrest Country Club was blessed with such a design from William Flynn and constructed by his associate Howard Toomey.

Flynn was not afraid to confront water features as part of his designs, and that certainly rings true at Woodcrest. Both the opening hole and the fourth hole involve multiple creek crossings, and the stream that crosses the entire property will return later during the back nine. Maxing out at 6,500 yards, accuracy is the main defense at Woodcrest, with trees guarding the fairways and small greens requiring pinpoint targeting upon approach.

Woodcrest Country Club sits in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, but the name Cherry Hill Country Club never would have done, due to the inevitable confusion that would come with comparisons to Flynn's more famous Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver.

Woodcrest

Set out within a 178-acre property, the course at Woodcrest Country Club is a William Flynn design which was constructed by his associate Howard Toomey in 1929. Narrow fairways and an imaginative routing combine to keep golfers alert around here.

William Flynn was raised in Milton, outside Boston, where he competed against Francis Ouimet in inter-scholastic golf matches when playing for the school team. Flynn’s career in golf got under way at Merion Cricket Club when he was part of the construction team on what’s now the East course at Merion Golf Club.

He worked under his brother-in-law Frederick Pickering when the course was being built then he later looked after the course as superintendent, assisting Hugh Wilson when he redesigned the layout.

Flynn made Philadelphia his home base and he became the only non-Pennsylvania native in the famous Philadelphia School of Golf Architecture, the group of architects responsible for many of America’s greatest golf courses.

Before the onset of World War I, Flynn was responsible for laying out two fine courses in Pennsylvania – Doylestown Country Club and the Country Club of Harrisburg – but when the war ended he teamed up with Howard Toomey, a railway civil engineer to form the firm of Toomey & Flynn, specialist in golf design and construction.

Throughout the 1920s, the company fashioned dozens of well-regarded golf courses, including Lancaster County Club (1920), Cherry Hills Country Club (1923), Rolling Green Country Club (1926), Huntington Valley Country Club (1927) and Philadelphia Country Club (1927).

Flynn also worked on the redesign of Shinnecock Hills at the end of the 1920s and many consider this to be his finest achievement. He was also among a profusion of architects who shaped the completion of Pine Valley after the death of George Crump.

"Based on his ability to link classic ideals to modern philosophies, Flynn, as a golf architect, was highly innovative. Flynn first drew his layouts using topographic maps, before modifying them in the field. Flynn’s golf courses were built precisely to the architectural plans he developed, with assistance from his partner Howard Toomey. Both men spent a considerable amount of time on-site to ensure every detail was developed to its fullest potential." 

“William Flynn was one of golf architecture’s greatest strategists. His routing skill was certainly one strength of his work and varied to working with the land or running intentionally hard against the contour when he wanted to increase the challenge.

He is one of the few architects to really embrace the intentional use of hard cross-slopes and reverse cants to really ratchet up the pressure and difficulty on his courses. While some would dismiss this as a poor choice in the routing, this is far cleverer than most would give him credit for.” Ian Andrew

“He laid out his first course at Hartwellville Vermont in 1909 and was then hired to assist Hugh Wilson with completion of the East Course at Merion GC in Pennsylvania. Flynn found his services as a course architect much in demand as a result of his work at Merion.

He and Wilson had hoped to form a design partnership, but Wilson’s failing health prevented it. Instead, Flynn joined forces after World War I with Wilson’s friend Howard Toomey, a prominent civil engineer. Flynn was responsible for design and construction, Toomey handled business and financial matters and Hugh Wilson continued to collaborate on courses until his death in 1925.

 all started out as assistants with the firm of Toomey and Flynn and later became prominent designers in their own right.” 

“Flynn was one of the most forward thinking architects, evidenced by how many of his golf courses remain intact today with their original design. Flynn’s strongest skill was his ability to route a golf course and he did is so well, he is possibly the greatest of all-time.

Flynn’s routing came from meticulous mapping, planning and a great understanding of the land for his sites. Flynn’s routing philosophy was rooted in selecting the greens first and building the holes from there. His routings led to dramatic vistas and courses with great variety and unique setups.

Along with routing, Flynn’s forefront skill was his ability to naturally blend heavily engineered areas with their natural landscape. Flynn also loved to use the natural hills and slopes on his courses as a defence to the course. It wasn’t uncommon for Flynn to test players with approach shots that called for the opposite shape shot than the slope of the fairway yielded.

Flynn was also one of the early proponents of having short grass around greens. He believed that it would lead to a greater number of shots that a player would need to possess in their short game.” The Fried Egg (friedegg.co)

Based on his ability to link classic ideals to modern philosophies, Flynn, as a golf architect, was highly innovative. Flynn first drew his layouts using topographic maps, before modifying them in the field. Flynn’s golf courses were built precisely to the architectural plans he developed, with assistance from his partner Howard Toomey. Keith Cutten

William Flynn

Yorkshire

England

Ganton Golf Club played host to the 1949 Ryder Cup matches between the USA and Great Britain. Team Captains were Ben Hogan (US) and Charles Whitcombe (GB). The U.S. Non-playing Captain Ben Hogan raised a concern about the grooves on the clubs of some British players. A meeting was called with R&A Rules Official Bernard Darwin, who concurred that the clubs should be repaired to meet conforming standards. Despite the USA team being without three key players, Hogan’s side claimed victory after dominating the singles, USA 7 - GB 5. The Ryder Cup was played at 

To classify Ganton as a heathland course is a misnomer – one could just as easily categorise it as an inland links, as it’s situated in the rural Vale of Pickering, nine miles from the sea. This sandy, gently undulating site was once a North Sea inlet. Consequently, it has all the characteristics of a links and a heathland course. Either way, Ganton Golf Club is a perfect place to play golf.

The Scarborough Golf Club (as it was originally called) opened for play in 1891, laid out by St Andrews’ Tom Chisholm. The great Harry Vardon became the club’s pro in 1896, the same year he won his first Open title at 

. This immediately put Ganton on the map.

In 1905, Ted Ray, along with James Braid, J.H. Taylor and Vardon implemented major alterations to the layout. Harry Colt, Alister MacKenzie, Tom Simpson and C.K. Cotton made further changes over the next 50 years.

Ganton is surely one of the few inland courses in the British Isles good enough to hold an Open Championship. It would make a pleasant change to break with tradition and hold an Open somewhere inland. After all, Ganton is used to holding important competitions – it hosted the 1949 Ryder Cup, the 2000 Curtis Cup and the 2003 Walker Cup.

The bunkering is quite extraordinary, a real feature of the course. With over 100 cunningly placed bunkers, some of which are simply huge, both in breadth and in depth, whilst others are small. Only lucky (or very good golfers) will avoid the sand traps at Ganton. Bernard Darwin wrote in 

, that Ganton “possesses by far the vastest and generally most gorgeous bunker that is to be found, as far as I know, on any inland course. It is a huge pit of sand, with just the depths and shallows, the bays and promontories of the genuine seaside article. It is so large that, by its unaided efforts, it provides highly effective bunkering for the tee shots to the last two holes; and as regards its dimensions, I shall not be flattering it very grossly if I compare it to the bunker in front of the fifth tee at 