1888: St. Andrews Golf Club in Yonkers, (America’s Oldest Club) Was Founded
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The St. Andrews Golf Club in Yonkers, New York is America’s oldest golf club (1888) and a founding member of the USGA. Only 20 miles from New York City, the Membership and their guests enjoy the game in a spectacular setting, and…
Play one of the area’s best-conditioned and exciting layouts — a challenging par-71 golf course, redesigned by Jack Nicklaus in 1983.
St. Andrews Golf Club of Yonkers, the Oldest in America
The History of the St. Andrews Golf Club
The legend goes that in February 1888, a Scottish sportsman named John Reid and his friends took an armful of clubs, some gutta percha balls to a pasture in Yonkers for a friendly round of “Gowf.”
The club started as a three-hole course in a cow pasture, with an apple tree where they hung their coats, which they called their “clubhouse”. This was the birth of what was to become the oldest continuously existing golf club in the United States.
St. Andrews Was Groundbreaking in Its Own Right
The history of Saint Andrew’s is replete with “firsts” in American golf. Saint Andrew’s hosted the first “open” championship. It was a founding member (along with The Country Club, the Chicago Golf Club, the Newport Golf Club, and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club) of the United States Golf Association.
In 1988, Saint Andrew’s was the venue for the celebration of the first 100 years of golf in America. An event that brought together many of the greatest names in the history of the game, including:
- Gene Sarazen
- Ben Hogan
- Sam Snead
- Arnold Palmer
- Gary Player
- Kathy Whitworth
- Nancy Lopez
- Jack Nicklaus
In 1995, Saint Andrew’s hosted the “Founders Cup” matches, a competition held among the five original founding members of the USGA to honor that organization’s centennial year.
The Golf History Legacy Continues at St. Andrews
Saint Andrew’s has never lost sight of its Scottish heritage. The club continues tournament relationships with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Saint Andrews (Scotland).
St Andrew’s members also enjoy a schedule of interclub matches both with clubs in the New York metropolitan area and with other historically significant clubs across the country.
The club also participates in the Julian Curtiss Cup matches. A series held exclusively between clubs at least 100 years old, including Baltrusrol, Baltimore C.C. and Greenwich C.C.
