You cant form the thoughts. It was there that the first National Amateur Golf Championship was held in October 1894, when L. B. Stoddard of Saint Andrews defeated Charles B. Macdonald of Chicagoone of the best golfers of the time and later known as the father of golf-course architecture (he designed Sleepy Hollow Country Clubs courses, among many other great tracks). Its classic layout and entertaining amenities are something that all members and their guest are sure tomore, An incredibly beautiful place with a large hotel building and adjoining territory, of course it is a pity that I was at work here But for a couple of days. And by the way, I had never thought of myself as A Jewish rich kid until that moment. 100 Shadow Tree Lane, Briarcliff Manor Charles B. Macdonald, assisted by Seth Raynor, designed the golf course, which was later tweaked by A. W. Tillinghast. 7 Old Mamaroneck Road, Scarsdale I grew up in a similar environment in similar circumstances. They had not only an opulent clubhouse, but also a yacht basin with a private dock and their own railroad depot, not to mention a golf course built by 20 men and 50 teams of horses. 290 East Grassy Sprain Road, Yonkers 914.944.0900 HFS provides print and digital distribution for a distinguished list of university presses and nonprofit institutions. Never one to let such slips go unchallenged, I missed such a cue about six years ago when my wife and I invited a seemingly charming woman we met in her used bookstore to visit us in our home. I also have experienced burning moments of silence that have stayed with me. The event included lunch, a golf tournament, and a black tie dinner. In 2000 our membership decided it was necessary to built a kids area and kids pool at the club. But put them altogether and St. Andrew's can play their low ball for atmosphere." Jessica Ursells excellent memoir has obviously touched a lot of nerves and memories. 100 Route 202, Lincolndale On November 14, 1888, following some golf and a jolly dinner, Reid, Upham, and three other friendsHenry Tallmadge, Kingman Putnam, and Harry Holbrookofficially formed St. Andrews Golf Club of Yonkers [now The Saint Andrews Golf Club]. It was really different time. There were pioneering clubs throughout Westchester. WebIt is my great pleasure to introduce you to Brae Burn Country Club. 914.967.6161 Thank you Jessica for this beautiful and poignant piece on what it feels like to be a Jew a lot of the time. YP, the YP logo and all other YP marks contained herein are trademarks of YP LLC and/or YP affiliated companies. 914.723.6000 Shames Jewish Community Center on the Hudson Health Clubs Sports Complexes 5. Golf and Saint Andrews continued to grow. Your writing is so captivating. Salems10thhole (above) and6thhole (below). Saxon Woods Golf Course in White Plains was added in 1931. Thanks for sharing this memory. - Mickey Mantle. Quaker Ridge hosted the Walker Cup and Century and Old Oaks are regular sites for US Open qualifying. It wouldn't be summer without the organized swim team and many swim games each weekend. And while you maybe have been more Clark Kent than Superman at that moment unable to reveal your true self thank you for reminding us to never be bystanders. Golf Roars in the Twenties 914.949.4840 Learn More. For the world? As we try to forgive others their trespasses, so we must forgive ourselves when we falter. Westchester is where the greatest golfers of every age, from Harry Vardon and Gene Sarazen to Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, teed it up in the most important tournaments of their day. Indeed, 39 posted responses, so far, is much higher than on other posts Ive read. Thank you Jessica for writing this poignant reflection. HFS clients enjoy state-of-the-art warehousing, real-time access to critical business data, accounts receivable management and collection, and unparalleled customer service. Westchester Country Club hosted annual PGA Tour events for nearly 50 years and in 2015 was the site of a PGA of America major, the first KPMG Womens Here are some more photos. And for me, once I was an adult and had children of my own, the solution was to move to New York City, which has a large Jewish population. At home we werent religious. The club has two 18-hole courses designed by Walter Travis as well as a parthree course and extensive practice facilities. And, in fact, the individual that prompted me to write this essay told me years later that she didnt understand what was wrong with the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia where Heather Heyer was murdered by neo-Nazis shouting Jews will not replace us. She proudly told me over the phone that she herself might have been at that rally and when I tried to explain to her, incredibly still giving her the benefit of the doubt, how wrong and evil those neo-Nazis were, she seemed to get it but as her subsequent social media posts demonstrate she hasnt learned a thing and has clutched tightly to her prejudices. So I never said anything. Private. We werent elite, even though my parents were elated as they moved us out of the Amalgamated Workmens Circle housing in the Bronx to the cushy azalea filled suburbs of Westchester. It is obvious now. But I failed here. I need to clarify that this incident took place after middle school. One club manager, who asked not to be identified, said his club had some Jewish members but that they were members of families which had converted to Christianity. Each and every summer season we look forward to a packed swimming pool and kids area. All 18 tees and many bunkers have recently been renovated and upgraded. Vanderlip was the creator of the club, which he founded on property he and Rockefeller had purchased from Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard, a granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt. NYAC is in the city and not as hard to join. Im glad we are friends from across the sea and I hope to meet you one day. The Bedford Tennis Club added golf in 1896; Scarsdale Golf Club opened in 1898; Waccabuc Country Club in 1912; and Blind Brook, where President Dwight Eisenhower was a member, was built in 1915. I think sometimes we are so shocked (especially at a young age), that we dont even know how to react and have to process. (I kept wondering who the friend was.) I was sent to ask the head partner of the camp for a decision. I hope our childrens generation have not had similar ones. Clearly this incident helped to clarify and solidify things in this authors mind. With warehouses on three continents, worldwide sales representation, and a robust digital publishing program, the Books Division connects Hopkins authors to scholars, experts, and educational and research institutions around the world. They also offer a lighted driving range and practice greens. Did she not see the irony? It is, at once, deeply personal and universal in nature. It has some lineage, traceable to Colt and Allison, but was also butchered by William Harries. Forgive yourself for not speaking up. The only lesson that I can take from this event that still burns on the walls of my consciousness all these years later, the only lesson that I can draw strength from today, is that one must never be a bystander, nor must one ever participate in self erasure. My grandparents in St. Louis had to belong to a Jewish country club; they were not welcome at a Christian country club. It resonated with me so much as did the idea of your writing a letter after the fact and then not sending it because you felt the lesson was yours to learn. My children and family experienced antisemitism in school and in our town only 10 years ago. I like to go back and unravel events and have them make sense. It not only has an interesting version of the Biarritz but also holes such as a Capestein, Alpsberg, Redanowitz and the Schmear. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Very well written and thank you for sharing. You might be being a bit hard on your younger self. 914.231.3461 Three of the clubs - Huguenot, American and Larchmont YC - are yacht clubs and have more of a boating than beach focus, but lots of members dont boat. By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org, Search JTA's historical archive dating back to 1923. It was not something skimming the edges of our skin but bone deep. Are there any "historically Jewish" public clubs in the country? This phenomenon is happening throughout the country. During luncheon, the woman began railing against the dirty Orthodox Jews who summered in her New Hampshire town of Bethlehem. Jewishness was less of my identity than Jessicas but this same feeling of angst permeated me for weeks (a lifetime for a middle schooler). The A.W. Generally, only a few negative votesin some clubs, only oneneed be cast to blackball an applicant. When I finally biked miles to his house one morning, he couldnt hang out because his dad told him he didnt want that Jewish rich kid being seen with his son. Our youngest Westchester Hills members are still utilizing that same kids pool with mushroom today! The day finally arrived. A. W. Tillinghast was commissioned in 1916 to create the course on property where the British army camped in 1776 before defeating George Washington in the Battle of White Plains. Eloquent, thoughtful beautiful and relevant! Your friend, well, she will have her own memory from that day seeing Superman but she will never possess the feeling, that you so beautifully own, of what being Jewish means to you. At the Country Club with Superman. Let the picturesque views of the golf course serve as the backdrop and our newly remodeled clubhouse provide a welcoming environment for you and your guests. Personally, I never expended any brain cells on whether we should try to join one of the several country clubs in our little exclusive enclave edged against the water of the Long Island Sound. I think those moments that we are silent, or silenced, haunt us as much, if not more than those times we regret our words. 18 High Ridge Road, Pound Ridge YP advertisers receive higher placement in the default ordering of search results and may appear in sponsored listings on the top, side, or bottom of the search results page. I dont think he truly understood it either. So does the scenic wonder of Turnberry and the haunting incredibility of Prestwick, and the pleasant deception of Troon. I remember having friends who belonged to the country clubs, and though I knew that these places had traditionally denied membership to Jews, I also wanted to be included in my friends activities. Preferred listings, or those with featured website buttons, indicate YP advertisers who directly provide information about their businesses to help consumers make more informed buying decisions. Soon, I realized we werent doing that anymore. You were eager for an experience that you would treasure. Web925 Westchester Avenue, Suite 200, White Plains, NY 10604-3002 | (914) 328-7001 | info@wjcouncil.org. Horace Rawlins, winner of the first official US Open in 1895, preceded him. When will we ever learn? Only one historically Jewish club, Scarsdales Quaker Ridge, has been perennially ranked among Golf Digests coveted top 100 American golf courses, although some of this may be a product of biases toward the longstanding elite (and invariably WASP-dominated) courses (I can think of three Philadelphia area historically Jewish clubs that It hit you like a punch to the solar plexus and you did what we all have done. Our ancestry & family guide us into who we become in time as we grow. Its facilities include a fitness, From Business: Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club, located in Boynton Beach, Fla., is a private, member-owned community club. It is very well written. One of which was Friday night Kaddish. And then it happened. Belmont CC outside of Boston is a Ross course that was recently renovated, I believe. Fenimore Road, Mamaroneck Frequent topics included: books (Art Spiegelmans Maus); philosophy (Bertrand Russell, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli); art (Picassos Guernica); and politics lots of politics; music, too. But the good revelation is that there are sites like this one which allow us to share and discuss our thoughts. For our community? From my limited understanding, Sunningdale in N.Y. is worthy of study on many levels. Its practically part of our DNA. The blithe ignorance and the way the edict, Dont act too Jewish, slid so smoothly off her tongue still smolders in my mind to this day. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. With irrigation came tall rough surrounding narrow fairways. That turned out to be Willie Dunn, the pro at Shinnecock Hills, who also designed the original Ardsley Casino course (now Ardsley Country Club) and became its first club pro when it opened in 1896. 777 Albany Post Road, Briarcliff Manor Id already dealt with a few of my husbands less enlightened acquaintances, and had no problem saying anything. The renovation included green expansions of over 20,000 sq. Their sons, born in the 1920s, went to a post private school, but for school dance or whatever, they could only date Jewish girls. Not far from Century in Purchase is Old Oaks Country Club, which began in 1925 as the Progress Country Club and went through several iterations until merging with the Oak Ridge Club in 1936. And, in truth, I know that it was obvious even then. Nor were there yearly pilgrimages to synagogue on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, let alone on any of the other holidays. "It's unbelievable how much you don't know about the game you've been playing your whole life." Maybe so but I have to think that people so casually ignorant like the woman in your example and the one in mine will never be attuned enough to recognize their ignorance tossed out in a familiar comfortable way as if the remarks were not laden with cruelty couched in a casual offhanded barb. My parents didnt belong to a country club. I think we all have times like this, where we cant quite recall the outcome. Broadmoor in Indianapolis is a real pearl. The only course in Westchester designed by legendary Pete Dye, Pound Ridge features a distinctive layout lined with rock walls, nature preserves, and glorious vistas. Im not a person who particularly minds feeling angry. In that moment I became a bystander in her attempt to have me erase my essence. Member Lawrence Van Etten, a prominent civil engineer who designed many residential communities in New Rochelle and later the original course at Wykagyl, laid out the first 18 holes at Knollwood, a par-69 test at 5,305 yards. 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