Cherry Valley vs Garden City Country Club

During the first two decades of the twentieth century a prosperous, suburbanizing America was building golf clubs all up and down the east coast. Garden City was no exception, and one of the most distinguished of these new clubs was born there out of sheer necessity.

The original, Central Section of the village had its Garden City Casino; and when the growing community expanded westward into Garden City Estates, a new clubhouse rose on North Avenue. All residents of the Estates section were automatically members, but the club, although a social center of the community, had no golf course, and members had to use the increasingly crowded public Salisbury Links nearby. In 1916 Salisbury became a private club�Cherry Valley�and many longtime players there were excluded.

George Tarbell, head of Garden City Estates (and also the builder of the very handsome Westchester County Club) moved quickly; before that same year of 1916 was out, he had organized the Garden City Country Club. The new club leased the estate of a prosperous local resident, and approached Walter Travis to design a championship 18-hole golf course.

At the time he accepted the commission Travis was one of the most famous golfers in America, and he had been designing courses since 1899. The course opened on June 1, 1917, and played at 6,408 yards. It soon became an acknowledged classic, and although trees were planted on the relatively bare terrain during the early 1930s (club records show they cost eight dollars each), it is a tribute to Travis�s vision that the modern course still closely resembles the original one�especially after a careful and thorough rejuvenation by the architect Brian Silva.

As it did everywhere, the Great Depression hit the Garden City Country Club hard and, with it and Cherry Valley both hovering near bankruptcy, there was serious talk of a merger. It never happened, because neither club�s membership was willing to move to the other�s premises. The crisis was resolved in 1938 when a former club president, Maurice A. Gilmartin, bought the entire property for $175,000 and set in motion a complete financial reorganization that saved the institution.

Today the club is just emerging from an ambitious restoration that has left its historic architectural core intact while improving or replacing many later additions that did not live up to the founders� original ambitions. And so the Garden City Country Club moves, with the unique blend of vigor and serenity that has distinguished it from the beginning, toward its second century.

The Garden City Golf Club is a private golf course in Garden City, New York. The club was founded in 1899, and is also known as the "Garden City Men's Club" or simply the "Men's Club" to distinguish it from the Garden City Country Club, and Cherry Valley Club, all of which are located in Garden City, NY. It remains one of the few men-only golf clubs in the United States.[1]

The course first opened on May 29, 1897 as the Island Golf Links, a nine-hole layout for guests of the Garden City Hotel.[2][3] Designed by Devereux Emmet, it was soon expanded to eighteen holes with a total length of over 6,000 yards (5,500 m), making it the longest course in the United States.[4] The expanded course was incorporated as the Garden City Golf Club on May 17, 1899. Its club house was designed by Richard Howland Hunt.[5]

Garden City Golf Club hosted the U.S. Open in 1902, which was won by Laurie Auchterlonie. It marked the first time that a player had shot lower than 80 in all four rounds.[6] Amateur Walter Travis, a founding member of the Garden City Golf Club, finished second in the tournament. A few years later, Travis redesigned the layout of his home course, adding numerous bunkers and modifying the greens.[7] During the U.S. Amateur at the Garden City Golf Club, Travis hit a ball into a new pot bunker near the eighteenth green, which led to his defeat in a semifinal match against Jerry Travers.[8] In addition to hosting the U.S. Amateur in 1908, Garden City Golf Club also hosted the tournament in 1900, 1913, and 1936.[9] Garden City was also the host of the Walker Cup in 1924.[10]

After the death of Walter Travis, the Garden City Golf Club renamed its Spring Invitational to the Walter J. Travis Invitational in 1927. Held annually since 1902, it has now become one of the premier mid-amateur golf tournaments in the New York metropolitan area.[11]

In 2013, the Garden City Golf Club was ranked 26th overall in Golf Magazine's list of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S., 47th in Golf Magazine's list of the Top 100 Courses in the World, 55th in Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses, and 9th among Golf Digest's golf courses in New York City.[12][13][14]

Course Layout[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ O'Keefe, Michael (11 June 2003). "Pol: No Women, No Tax Breaks". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
2. ^ "Garden City Golf Club". Links Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
3. ^ Quirin, William L. (2002). America's Linksland: A Century of Long Island Golf. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. p. 46. ISBN 1-58536-087-2.
4. ^ "For Longer Golf Courses; Many Clubs Are Preparing to Have the Full Eighteen Holes Next Season". The New York Times. 19 December 1897. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
5. ^ Smith, Mildred H. (1998). Garden City, Long Island, in Early Photographs, 1869-1919. New York: Dover. p. 38. ISBN 0-486-40669-5.
6. ^ Anderson, Dave (14 June 2009). "For the 22nd Time, The U.S. Open Is the New York Open". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
7. ^ "Garden City GC". GolfClubAtlas.com. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
8. ^ "The Greatest Long Island Golf Moments". United States Golf Association. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
9. ^ "List of Past Champions". United States Golf Association. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
10. ^ "Match Results: 1922 to 2007" (PDF). Merion GC Walker Cup Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
11. ^ Herrmann, Mark (18 May 2008). "Walter Travis Remains an Honored Name in Golf". Newsday. Long Island.
12. ^ "Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the U.S." Golf Magazine. September 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
13. ^ "Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the World". Golf Magazine. September 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
14. ^ "2013-14 Ranking: America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses". Golf Digest. February 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2014.

External links[edit]

• GCGC on Golf Club Atlas.com

Coordinates: 40°43′36″N 73°38′33″W / 40.726554°N 73.642416°W

How much is Garden City Country Club membership?

What is the most exclusive country club in Colorado?

What is the most prestigious golf club in the United States?

How much does it cost to join the minikahda club?