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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Baltimore Country Club

Baltimore Country Club is a private club in Baltimore, Maryland, with two campuses, one in the city's Roland Park neighborhood and the other in the north suburb of Lutherville. It is one of only twelve clubs nationwide to operate two campuses. The club was founded on January 13, 1898, and hosted the U.S. Open the following year. Its original golf course at the Roland Park campus was the first 18-hole course built in the state of Maryland. The USGA lists Baltimore Country Club as one of the first 100 clubs established in the United States.

The club has hosted a U.S. Open, a PGA Championship, a Walker Cup, a U.S. Men's Amateur, a U.S. Women's Open, and a Senior PGA Tour major – one of only two clubs in the country to do so. In addition to its two golf courses, BCC operates outdoor tennis, pickleball, platform tennis, single & doubles squash, three swimming pools, a duckpin bowling alley, two fitness centers, and dining at both clubhouses. In 2013, Links magazine named Baltimore Country Club as one of the 100 Most Prestigious Clubs in the World. Its East Course at the Five Farms location was ranked 75th best course in the United States by Golf Magazine in 2020. The club was also named in 2020 a Platinum Country Club in America and was ranked 47th.

History

The club opened in 1898 in its 125-acre (51 ha) Roland Park location with a membership of approximately 1,000. Just one year after opening, the Club hosted the fifth United States Open Championship, which was won by Willie Smith of Scotland. By the 1920s the decision was made to acquire land to the north of the city and expand the popular golfing amenities to a second location. The East Course at Five Farms, designed by A. W. Tillinghast, officially opened in September 1926. Two years later, this new course held the 1928 PGA Championship.

In October 1930, the Roland Park Clubhouse sustained fire damage, and prior to completing repairs, it was virtually destroyed by a second fire on January 5, 1931. The new "in-town" Clubhouse was formally opened on April 1, 1932. The Federal-style detailing of the Georgian Room, the paneling and black Belgian marble of the foyer, and the rough stone and pine of the Grille remain practically unchanged to this date. The duckpin bowling lanes were built in 1932 and remain in use today. During the late 1930s and early 1940s the grass tennis courts at Roland Park were selected by the National Lawn Tennis Association to host the qualifying rounds for the Davis Cup matches. Teams from Australia, Cuba, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the United States all participated. The Roland Park Golf Course was officially closed in 1962 when all of the property on the west side of Falls Road was sold. That same year, the West Course at Five Farms opened. Two years later, the stately Olivier Mansion, which served as the original Five Farms Clubhouse, was demolished and replaced with a new building.

The businessman Nicholas Mangione alleged that he experienced anti-Italian discrimination at the Baltimore Country Club during the 1970s.

Squash courts, now international, were added to the Roland Park facility in 1963. The Club continues to host professional squash tournaments. The Club expanded its racquets program and added paddle tennis courts to the Roland Park campus in 1976. The club's swim complex was first built circa 1960. Renovations began some thirty years later, and the current facility, consisting of three independent pools, opened at Five Farms in 1996. New tennis courts, also at Five Farms, debuted in 2007.

Starting in the fall of 2021, the clubhouse at Five Farms underwent a major renovation. The renovation remodeled nearly all of the first floor of the building, expanding the grill, adding a formal dining room, outdoor covered bar area and a rooftop bar. It opened in late summer of 2022.

Golf courses and rankings

Its current golf facility at Five Farms has two courses, the East Course and the West Course. Its East Course was designed by A. W. Tillinghast in 1926. In 2015, Keith Foster was brought in to restore the course. He removed trees, realigned the bunkers, upgraded the greens complexes, and re-grassed the fairways. The East Course has received numerous accolades and still enjoys praise from numerous golf organizations:

Rank Course Organization List Edition
39 East Course at Five Farms Golfweek Golfweek's Best 2020: Top 200 Classic Courses 2020
52 East Course at Five Farms Outpost Club Outpost Club US Top 100 2021
65 East Course at Five Farms Top 100 Golf Courses Top 100 Golf Courses of the USA 2020 2020
75 East Course at Five Farms Golf Magazine Top 100 Courses in the U.S. 2020–2021
80 East Course at Five Farms Outpost Club Outpost Club World Top 100 2022
102 East Course at Five Farms Golf Digest America's Second 100 Greatest Golf Courses 2021–2022
East Course at Five Farms
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Black 75.1/141 458 496 427 157 504 586 379 362 202 3571 457 433 399 189 607 452 451 238 384 3610 7181
Blue 72.9/136 436 456 379 150 452 574 354 360 180 3341 385 427 380 164 574 425 420 180 368 3323 6664
White 70.6/129 408 418 361 138 391 566 331 307 151 3071 348 383 369 145 559 411 397 156 362 3130 6201
Gold 68.8/128 400 418 347 138 385 504 331 307 151 2981 348 383 311 145 503 406 486 131 354 2967 5948
Par Men's 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 4 3 35 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 4 35 70
SI Men's 5 1 11 17 7 3 9 13 15 12 2 10 18 4 6 8 16 14
Red 73.6/140 395 410 351 124 315 501 331 303 125 2855 341 377 309 137 501 400 384 128 350 2927 5782
Par Women's 5 5 4 3 4 5 4 4 3 37 4 5 4 3 5 5 5 3 4 38 75
SI Women's 7 3 11 15 5 1 9 13 17 4 8 6 18 2 10 12 16 14
West Course at Five Farms
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Blue 73.0/133 520 191 265 549 424 402 370 182 414 3317 432 367 496 220 375 432 145 418 593 3478 6795
White 70.6/127 511 171 248 481 398 365 370 149 386 3079 410 341 458 199 334 390 130 362 567 3191 6270
Gold 68.1/124 456 145 248 446 383 365 337 130 310 2820 410 313 420 175 334 330 120 335 528 2965 5785
Par Men's 5 3 4 5 4 4 4 3 4 36 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 5 36 72
SI Men's 7 15 17 1 3 11 9 13 5 8 14 2 12 16 4 18 10 6
Red 72.9/130 456 145 200 446 383 335 337 130 310 2742 380 313 420 155 300 330 110 335 455 2798 5540
Green 67.4/120 252 114 185 371 323 305 311 103 258 2222 300 277 320 155 259 263 110 300 455 2439 4661
Par Women's 5 3 4 5 4 4 4 3 5 36 4 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 5 36 72
SI Women's 5 17 15 1 3 9 7 13 11 8 10 2 14 16 4 18 12 6

Golf tournaments

Year Tournament Course Winner Score To par
1899 U.S. Open Roland Park Scotland Willie Smith 315 +27
1928 PGA Championship East Course at Five Farms United States Leo Diegel 6 & 5
1932 U.S. Amateur East Course at Five Farms Canada Ross Somerville 2 & 1
1965 Walker Cup East Course at Five Farms Tie: U.S. vs Great Britain & Ireland 12 & 12
1988 U.S. Women's Open East Course at Five Farms Sweden Liselotte Neumann 277 -7
2007 Senior Players Championship East Course at Five Farms United States Loren Roberts 267 −13
2008 Senior Players Championship East Course at Five Farms United States D.A. Weibring 271 −9
2009 Senior Players Championship East Course at Five Farms United States Jay Haas 267 −13
2017 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship East Course at Five Farms United States Illinois 829 −11
2018 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship East Course at Five Farms United States Illinois 836 −4
2026 U.S. Senior Amateur East Course at Five Farms
2031 U.S. Women's Amateur East Course at Five Farms

References

  1. ^ "History – Baltimore Country Club". www.bcc1898.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  2. ^ "Baltimore's Open shot". www.baltimoresun.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "Golf – Baltimore Country Club". www.bcc1898.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  4. ^ "Platinum Clubs of America" (PDF). www.platinumclubnet.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "A New Country Club". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. June 4, 1898. p. 7. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  6. ^ "Nicholas B. Mangione, self-made real estate developer, dies at 83". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  7. ^ "Baltimore Country Club". www.golfdigest.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  8. ^ "Golfweek's Best 2020: Top 200 Classic Courses". www.golfweek.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "OC US Top 100". www.outpostclub.com. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  10. ^ "Top 100 Golf Courses – USA". www.top100golfcourses.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Courses in the U.S." www.golf.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "OC World Top 100". www.outpostclub.com. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  13. ^ "America's Second 100 Greatest Golf Courses". www.golfdigest.com. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  14. ^ "Baltimore Country Club Awarded Two USGA Amateur Championships". www.pressboxonline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  15. ^ "Baltimore Country Club Awarded Two USGA Amateur Championships". www.pressboxonline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  16. ^ "Our Friend, Kevin Spacey". www.baltimorestyle.com. Retrieved December 12, 2020.

39°26′31″N 76°39′47″W / 39.442°N 76.663°W / 39.442; -76.663