Essex County Club

The Essex County Club dates back to 1893 and when the club opened that year, it was the proud owner of the first 9-hole course in New England. The five founding members of the United States Golf Association (1894) – St Andrews, Newport, Shinnecock Hills, Chicago and the Country Club in Brookline – gradually began to invite other clubs to join and so the Essex County Club became the sixth member of the USGA.

Donald Ross, Dornoch’s most famous son, became the professional at the Essex County Club in 1910 and Ross set about expanding the layout to 18 holes and redesigning the original 9 holes during a seven-year tenure as Essex County Club professional.

Darius Oliver, in this short extract from the book Planet Golf USA, writes: “Essex is a wonderful old golf club and in its rugged, natural state perhaps best reflects how the architect himself would have preferred his most famous courses to remain. With the exception of his work at Pinehurst, Ross probably spent more time personally working on these holes than at any other course he designed. Despite its low profile, those who can tolerate the bouncy fairways, wild greens and uneven lies will rejoice at having discovered one of golf’s truly hidden gems.”

The par five 3rd hole at Essex County Club is a monster and it is nearly as long as the sum of the first two par fours that precede it. But there’s much more to this hole than length alone. The hole was routed over a tidal flood plain and the drive must avoid the run off area or channel, which contains sand and pebbles. A stream on the left, and huge bunkers on the right make it challenging to reach the green in regulation. The 3rd green, which dates back to the club’s inauguration in 1893, is considered to be the oldest in the country and is notable not only for its age but also for its deep swale at the front left of the putting surface.

Host to the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1897 and 1912, the Essex County Club has been out of the limelight for almost 100 years. But that changed in June 2010 when the club proudly hosted the Curtis Cup, which is an amateur event that matches the best lady golfers from the USA against Great Britain and Ireland. Team USA won a sixth consecutive Curtis Cup at St Andrews in Scotland in 2008 and team Britain and Ireland was unable to stop the USA’s winning streak at Essex County Club.