Alabama is home to several renowned golf courses and country clubs, the oldest of which is The Country Club of Birmingham. The online publication Top 100 Golf Courses lists its West Course as the third best in the state behind The Ledges Country Club and Shoal Creek. Founded in 1898, The Country Club of Birmingham was located in Lakeview until the mid-1920s, when it moved to its current location at Mountain Brook.
Legendary course architect Donald Ross was tasked with developing the club’s East and West Courses at its Mountain Brook location. The West Course opened in 1925 and underwent substantial upgrades during the late 1950s and mid-1980s. Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and Pete Dye, who, along with Ross, are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, completed the architectural upgrades. Dye led regrassing efforts and irrigation and water efficiency improvements in the late 2000s and contends that the West Course is the only course in the world to which this trio of acclaimed architects have contributed.
Today, the West Course is a par-71 with five sets of tees, the longest of which is the green tees that play a total of 7,226 yards. The shortest distance is from the 5,286-yard red tees. The par-5 No. 4 and No. 10 holes are considered the most difficult on the course, while the 431-yard, par-4 No. 18 can also be challenging.
The West Course has hosted many United States Golf Association (USGA) qualifiers, in addition to prominent tournaments such as the 2016 Men’s State Team Championship and 2013 US Mid-Amateur Championship. Michael McCoy won the latter in 2013 with the third-largest margin of victory since the tournament adopted a 36-hole format in 2001. The West Course will also host the 2022 US Amateur Four-Ball from May 14-18.
The East Course, opened a year after the West in 1926, has a more benign look than its counterpart, but is just as challenging. The par-70 course is relatively unchanged from Ross’ original design. Slight alterations have been made to facilitate an expansion of the practice range and improve playability. The course plays at 6,644 yards from the blue tees and 4,756 yards from the red tees.
Although it is one of the more distinguished clubs in the Southern United States, The Country Club of Birmingham struggled to survive during the Great Depression. Club president Owen G. Gresham played a large role in its survival during this time, as he organized many successful fundraising events, including a Gay Nineties Ball in celebration of its 32nd anniversary and the “Hard Times” Party. The following decade, University of Virginia junior Dixon Brooke became the first member of the club to win the NCAA Championship.
Another highlight in the club’s history was when past president Elbert Jemison, Jr. met with US President Gerald Ford and golfer Arnold Palmer at the White House during the 1970s to discuss plans for the creation of the USGA Associates Program. The program now has nearly 700,000 members, and Jemison is a two-time recipient of the Grainer Award for his service to the USGA.
The Country Club of Birmingham celebrated its centennial in 1998 by creating a permanent trophy room that displays the awards won by its members in golf, tennis, swimming, and diving.
from WordPress https://ift.tt/3otn3pm
via IFTTT
