From the August 9, 2021 - Morning Read by Ken Klavon

During the early 1920s, the preeminent course architect was churning out course designs by the dozens. Now, many of those clubs are recognizing the 100th anniversary of that work.

See the Centennial Celebrations Article Here

 President Brad Becken attended Teugega’s Centennial Anniversary celebration last weekend and was on a panel discussion with Brad Klein and Barry Jordan who has been the architect for the club’s ongoing restoration efforts.

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From the Article in the Rome Daily Sentinel:

Link to the Article

Teugega celebrates 100th anniversary of its Donald Ross-designed golf course

GOLF EXHIBITION — New York Giants punter Riley Dixon, former PGA Tour standout Wayne Levi, Teugega Country Club Pro Steve Campanaro and Korn Ferry Tour golfer and Rome native Matt Campbell pose for a photo during their exhibition match at Teugega Country Club on Saturday. The foursome played the exhibition to honor Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen during the club’s 100th anniversary celebration. (PHOTO SUBMITTED)

Posted Tuesday, July 6, 2021 9:00 am

Teugega Country Club celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Donald Ross-designed golf course over the weekend.

On Saturday, Teugega golf pro Steve Campanaro was joined by former PGA Tour standout Wayne Levi, of New Hartford; Korn Ferry Tour golfer and Rome native Matt Campbell and current New York Giants and former Syracuse University punter Riley Dixon, of Blossvale. The foursome played in an exhibition at the course to honor Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen. Those two played an exhibition when Teugega celebrated its grand opening in 1921.

Levi, the 1990 PGA Tour Player of the Year, went on to win four tournaments that year, the BellSouth Atlantic Golf Classic, Centel Western Open, Canon Greater Hartford Open and the Canadian Open. He has 12 career wins on the tour. In 1991, Levi represented the United States on the Ryder Cup team and in the World Cup. He then jumped to the PGA Champions Tour in 2002, finishing in 28th on the money list during his first full season. In 2003, he won his first event, the 3M Championship, since winning the 1990 Canadian Open.

Dixon was a seventh round draft pick by the Denver Broncos in the 2016 NFL draft. He was traded to the Giants during the offseason in 2018.

Campbell is a two-time Rome City Men’s Amateur Golf Tournament Champion, winning back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007. He is a current member on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Photo: Teugega Country Club

See our Featured Club - Bradenton Country Club

 

Happy Birthday Donald Ross

It’s Donald Ross’ birthday today, born November 23, 1872!

The Donald Ross Society was founded in 1989 to promote the recognition of Donald Ross, the excellence of his golf architecture and the preservation or restoration of his courses. 

In a reversal of roles, he has left us 350+ presents in the form of courses just awaiting our discovery when we all get back to traveling again. Please stay safe and we look forward to seeing you soon.

The Donald Ross Society collaborated with board member Vaughn Halyard’s StoryLounge Films and The Society of Golf Historians to explore the history of the Hyannisport Club. 

The podcast and companion short film will explore the Donald Ross gem from both historical and architectural perspectives. 

Produced by Vaughn and Connor Lewis, the project features conversations between Connor, the Hyannisport Restoration Architect Ron Forse, the author of the Hyannisport Club History Dr. William Healy, and Course Superintendent Tom Colombo, who was also a collaborator on the club's history book. 

From Alex Findlay and Donald Ross to the Kennedy family, it will be a fascinating journey across multiple eras of the storied club; incorporating great golf, golf architecture, and American history. 

Recorded and filmed across multiple technologies and time zones in mid October, the full piece is scheduled for release Late October/Early November.
Please see a preview of the video below.

View Preview Video Here

On September 27, 2020, Schuylkill Country Club in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania began its centennial celebration by turning back the clock. The membership along with Donald Ross Society members Brad Becken, Phil Simmons and Chris Grupp played the original nine holes, using hickory clubs for the original fourth hole (currently the seventh hole).

SCC’s first nine holes were designed by Willie Park Jr.. In 1921, SCC welcomed its first golfers on the Park nine. In 1945, the legend of golf architecture, Donald Ross, took the existing Park design and crafted an eighteen hole masterpiece in the foothills of the Appalachians. Ross’s patented style is evident at SCC still in 2020, as the greens remind the player that no putt is a gimmie.

In advance of the celebration, SCC created special bag tags and updated their logo as seen in the photo below.

We congratulate the members and staff of Schuylkill Country Club on one hundred years of operation and commend them for their exemplary efforts in maintaining their Donald Ross legacy.

Schuylkill CC History and Website

See the Newspaper Article Here

   

DRS Member and Historian Michael Jamieson wrote a piece on Peninsula Golf and Country Club for Winter 2020 NCGA (Northern California Golf Association) Magazine.  

Teugega is hosting their 2019 Donald Ross Invitational September 6-7th, 2019.  

All are welcome to sign up. 

Teugega Country Club

• Rome, NY

  The Donald Ross Invitational 2019

  Event: 36 Hole Two Person Better Ball 

  When: Friday Sept. 6th & Saturday Sept. 7th

1^stRounds - Friday afternoon 1:00 Shotgun

2^ndRound - Saturday morning tee times

Name:___________________________      Name: __________________________

Address: __________________________     Address: ________________________
E-Mail: ___________________________     E-Mail:_________________________
Phone: ____________________________    Phone: __________________________
Club Affiliation: ____________________    Club Affiliation: __________________

Entry Fee: $400.00 per Team

Contact: Steve Campanaro, email: stcamp817@hotmail.com

Donald Ross Society Featured Club

U.S. Jr. Amateur event link

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CINCINNATI, OHIO, JUNE 18, 2019- During the Spring of 1919, the Board of the Hamilton County CC accepted the recommendation of member Tom Otterbein and hired Donald Ross of Pinehurst NC to redesign their course in suburban Cincinnati, OH.  1919 was a busy year for Mr. Ross as he prepared Inverness for the 1920 Open and on the rail line between Toledo and Cincinnati he worked on three other projects (Dayton CC, Miami Valley CC and Mohawk GC in Tiffin OH).  The Hamilton County CC had originally started as the golfing part of Avondale Athletic Club in 1897, moving its operation to Bond Hill and occupying Tom Bendelow’s new 6,000-yard course in 1910.  

Ross’s complete 1919 redesign and re-routing also started operation with a name change to Maketewah CC – the Shawnee name for the local Mill Creek that was Cincinnati’s main commercial artery to the north in the 1700’s.  Ross also returned in 1929 to redesign two new holes and completed the routing that is in place today.

Since that time, Maketewah CC has been a key part of Cincinnati’s golf history.  It has been one of the USGA’s longest tenured US Open Qualifying sites, first operated in 1931 and now continuously running since 1976 except for one year.  Site Qualifiers include amateur Jack Nicklaus in 1958 and numerous PGA Touring Professionals. The club has also hosted the first Ohio Open (in 1917) as well as two other Ohio Opens and two Ohio Amateurs. 

It was also the home course for amateurs such as Maurice McCarthy, Marion Miley and Tony Blom. And it has been the course used most for the city’s amateur championship (the Met) – fifteen times – while having the most individual members to have won the championship (ten).  These include 2017 winner Alex Rodger and 2018 winner, Palmer Cup player, and two-time US Open player Will Grimmer.

The course is unique as the only Ross course with Holes #9 and #18 as par 3’s.  Known for its challenging greens, Ross characteristics that feature risks and rewards and the requirement to use all of the clubs in the bag, its layout of less than 7,000 yards typically will defend Par of 71, even during the Open Qualifiers.

The club also shares practice facilities with Xavier University that include a new indoor facility that includes a 5,000-foot putting green, four hitting bays and an indoor video room.  It has been voted one of the nation’s fifty best practice facilities by Golf Range Association of America.

Maketewah Country Club is ranked among Ohio’s finest courses and is honored to celebrate 100 years as a masterful Donald Ross design. 

If you would like more information, please contact: Gerry Lanham at glanham560@aol.com.

Maketewah CC Home Page