When
a blazer lapel slips to reveal the simple, prestigious logo of Winged Foot, when
the links at Shinnecock Hills is declared the ultimate championship test, when a
record book opens to that list of Baltusrol’s 11 U.S. Opens and Amateurs, the
heart of a Ridgewood Country Club member scarcely skips a beat.
New
York City
is all about bragging rights and pecking orders. And private golf clubs are a
common entry in the status contests. But spend a summer day or two at Ridgewood—amid the manorial beauty, the tradition and the
warmth that pervades it—and you’ll understand why envy never enters the front
gates.
This
club that’s so comfortable in its own skin dates back to 1890 and the golf
ambitions of William Rosencrantz. A well-to-do cotton mill owner, Rosencrantz
lived in the village of Ho-Ho-Kus on an estate called the
Hermitage, which had once been the home of Aaron Burr. After being exposed to
golf in England, Rosencrantz
returned to build, with the help of some neighbors, what is thought to be
the first course in New
Jersey, a two-hole layout across the street from his
estate.
Two
years later the Ho-Ho-Kus Golf Club was established, expanding to become a
nine-hole layout by 1897. The club moved to the town of Ridgewood in 1901 and
officially changed its name to Ridgewood Golf Club. It wasn’t until 1911 that
members had their first 18-hole layout, when the club moved to a rolling piece
of property—known as the “Billy Goat” course—in the southwestern part of town.
Even revisions undertaken by Donald Ross couldn’t keep the establishment from
moving in 1927, this time to its current Midland Avenue location in Paramus.
The
club entrusted its 220-acre Paramus tract to Albert Warren Tillinghast, who had
built his reputation in greater New
York with triumphs at Baltusrol and Winged Foot. Tillie
and the club decided on a 27-hole complex, consisting of East, West and Center
nines.
Tillinghast
did some of his best work here. Each of the three nines provides a distinct
challenge that showcases his trademark course features—back-to-front sloping
greens that ripple with undulation and deep, steep-faced bunkers, to name just
two.
Center
opens with a classic “Cape” hole design that
demands precision more than power. The 536-yard 4th was named “Briars” by
Tillinghast, but around the club it’s known as the “Cemetery Hole,” in reference
to a graveyard that hugs the right-hand side. Ridgewood’s most recognizable hole is the 291-yard 6th,
nicknamed the “Five and Dime.” (If you don’t get a five, you’ll make
10.)
No.
5 West is the best hole on the property. A framed tee shot to a bottleneck
fairway sets up an approach to the most difficult green here. It’s essential to
be on the correct level of the two-tiered, back-to-front sloping green, where no
putt is ever a gimme.
The
East is likely the most difficult nine from the back tees, and contains the best
two par 3s in the complex as well. Holes 4 through 7 are the toughest four-hole
stretch at Ridgewood, certain to make or break
your round.
In
1935 head pro George Jacobus hired a young Byron Nelson as an assistant. Nelson
Nelson stayed on until the end of the 1936 season, when the Texan joined the PGA
Tour.
Jacobus’
immediate successor was Harry Dee, who began his career working for the
legendary Claude Harmon. When Bill Adams took over for Dee in 1982 at the age of 28, he sought to make his mark
as a teacher. Adams achieved Master
Professional status from the PGA in 1988—the highest level a club professional
can reach—and served the club more than 20 years.
Today,
Ridgewood’s golf program is in the capable hands of David Reasoner, who took
over head-pro duties in 2003 after training under Adams for three years. There’s a symbolism in the tenures
of this club’s golf directors. Dating back to Jacobus, each has served a new
generation.
Class,
comfort and continuity: These qualities are certain to mark Ridgewood for generations to come.
