2 minute read
Golf History
As we begin the new year, golf fans
are now looking forward to this year’s U.S. Open golf tournaments for both the men and women.
For the men, defending champion Jon Rahm of Spain and the worldwide field of competitors will travel to Brookline, Massachusetts to play their 72-hole event at The Country Club. They will be playing for the right to have their name engraved on the 18inch, 8.5-pound U.S. Open trophy. The event will be June 16-19.
For the women, defending champion Yuka Saso of the Philippines and the global field of lady golfers will be based in Southern Pines, North Carolina. There, they will play their 72-hole tournament at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club. The tournament dates are June 2-5. The women will be playing for one-year ownership of the Harton Semple Trophy.
This will be the 122nd U.S. Open for the men and the 77th U.S. Open for the women. This will be the fourth time that the U.S. Open will be contested at The Country Club, while Pine Needles will be hosting the U.S. Women’s Open for the fourth time. What’s newsworthy and noteworthy is that both venues are Donald Ross course designs. The Country Club opened for play in 1921, while Pine Needles has been in existence since 1927.
Since 2022 can unofficially be celebrated by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as the Year of Donald Ross, this is an appropriate time to recognize the many Donald Ross-designed golf courses in Florida which are part of the Florida Historic Golf Trail. In all, Ross designed 44
Donald Ross
golf courses in Florida. Of those 44 golf courses, 10 of them are part of the Florida Historic Golf Trail: Biltmore Golf Course in Coral Gables, Bobby Jones Golf Club in Sarasota, Daytona Beach (South) Golf Club, Dunedin Golf Club, Delray Beach Golf Club, Fort Myers Country Club, Crane Creek Reserve Golf Course in Melbourne, Miami Shores Country Club, New Smyrna Beach Golf Course, and the Pinecrest Golf Course in Avon Park. It’s worth noting that Ross also designed the Palatka Golf Club, which is a former member of the Florida Historic Golf Trail.
It’s worth noting that while only one U.S. Open Golf tournament has ever been held in Florida – the 1969 U.S. Women’s Open at the Scenic Hills Country Club in Pensacola won by Donna Caponi – the spirit and virtual presence of Donald Ross is always as strong along the Florida Historic Golf Trail as it will be this coming June at Pine Needles in North Carolina and The Country Club in Massachusetts. Delray Beach GC Clubhouse
Miami Shores Country Club Hole 2
