The Old Course is a charming, elegantly simple layout designed by British architect Herbert Strong. Strong hailed from Royal St. George’s, a course noted for its natural beauty; thus, it is no surprise that his designs involved little or no disruption to the land. Among Strong’s best-known works are Canterbury Golf Club near Cleveland, OH; Engineers Club in Roslyn, NY; and the Ponte Vedra Club in Florida, home to one of golf’s first “island” greens. The course has undergone minor renovations by William Gordon and then by Perry Maxwell and most recently by Tom Marzolf of the Fazio Group. Not overly difficult from the member’s tees (6,781), the course shows its strength from the championship markers (7,129). It traverses the gently rolling terrain that was once a working farm. The USGA has chosen the Old Course for thirteen of its national championships: the 1951 U.S. Amateur, the 1983 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 1987 U.S. Senior Amateur, the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and three U.S. Senior Opens (1992, 2000 and 2022), in addition to the upcoming 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur, 2032 and 2042 U.S. Senior Opens, 2038 U.S. Women's Amateur and 2051 U.S. Amateur. Always in superb condition, the Old Course is the favorite of the membership. One of the many beautiful holes is the par four 13th. Fronting the old Georgian clubhouse, it is a relatively short hole that demands accuracy due to a series of six bunkers positioned down the left side of the fairway and four perfectly placed on the right. A drive to a narrow landing area leaves a short iron approach to a well-guarded, undulating green.
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