Knickerbocker Country Club

According to Business World Magazine; “the word ‘Knickerbocker’ has historically alluded to natives or residents of New York, in a not-so-far-away area of New Jersey, the expression is more often associated with something else, in this case, a century-old country club.”

Knickerbocker Country Club dates back to 1914 and has remained at its original location in Tenafly since Donald Ross first designed the course. Herbert Strong subsequently modified the layout before Ron Forse, the Donald Ross restoration man, returned the course to its original design intent in 2007-08.

Only six professionals have been attached to Knickerbocker; the club’s first head professional, William Collins, taught golf to President Woodrow Wilson, according to Kathryn Levy Feldman’s book, Knickerbocker Country Club – The First 100 Years. The club’s third head pro, William Walker, was the brother of Cyril Walker, who won the 1924 U.S. Open – defeating legend Bobby Jones by three shots – and Otto Greiner, the club’s fourth head professional from 1952 to 1984, played in 10 U.S. Opens – five of them while representing Knickerbocker.

The golf course itself is quintessential parkland, with a combination of flat topography for some holes with other holes playing over more interesting ground. “I was surprised at how docile these Ross greens were for the first 4-5 holes,” commented blogger Paul in Rudo’s Golf Travels, “but then as the round continued, the greens had greater overall slope… and overall very large (having been expanded back to original size by Forse).”

Paul continued: “There were some very good maintenance practices employed on the course, such as maintaining grass at the entrances to all fairway and greenside bunkers at fairway height (so that bunkers act as “gathering point hazards”) and Knickerbocker has a whole bunch of superbly placed cross bunkers, which must be carefully considered after placing a drive in the rough. My favorite hole was #6, a 191-yard par 3 with a diamond shaped green.”