Saint Andrew's Celebrates 125th Anniversary

John Reid

When the Saint Andrew’s Golf Club—the oldest continuously existing golf club in America, founded in 1888—commemorates its 125th Anniversary this June, one of the highlights of the week-long celebration will be a star-studded panel of golf luminaries gazing into a crystal ball to predict the game’s future.

On Saturday, June 8, the famed Waldorf Astoria in midtown Manhattan will host the club’s Gala Anniversary Dinner Dance. A major part of the evening’s program will be a round table conversation on the “The Present and Future of Golf,” featuring notables from across the golf world. Hosting the discussion will be Jimmy Roberts of NBC Sports, who also will serve as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies. Joining him in focusing on the game will be:

• Billy Casper, Jr., one of golf’s most prolific winners, two-time U.S. Open champion, winner of The Masters, and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame
• Ted Bishop, current president of the PGA of America and Director of Golf/General Manager of The Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Indiana
• Michael Breed, 2012 PGA National Teacher of the Year, author, and host of “The Golf Fix” on Golf Channel
• Stina Sternberg, Global Golf Director for Golf Digest 

Following the round table, the dinner’s keynote speech will be given by actor and golf enthusiast John O’Hurley, who has become famous—when not playing golf—by playing J. Peterman on “Seinfeld” as well as performing on Broadway and around the country.  Another highlight of the evening will be a special presentation by USGA President Glen Nager, recognizing the association’s five founding clubs for their pioneering vision in organizing the game of golf in America.

The New York-based PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) and its IZOD brand is the title sponsor for Saint Andrew’s week-long anniversary celebration, which will honor the past, present and future of golf, while raising funds for charity.  In addition to IZOD, PVH Corp. markets many of the most famous brands in men’s wear worldwide, including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen and ARROW.

The gala evening is the culmination of a week of events honoring The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club. Highlights of the week include the Folds of Honor Pro-Am Golf Tournament (Tuesday, June 4) to support the families of killed or disabled members of the military; the Celebration of Women’s Golf (Wednesday, June 5), marking the history and growth of women’s golf in America; and the Celebrity-Am Golf Tournament (Friday, June 7), an invitation-only event at Saint Andrew’s Golf Club featuring celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment, paired with amateur golfers.

Continuing its legacy of charitable involvement, Saint Andrew’s has designated The First Tee of Metropolitan New York and the Folds Of Honor Foundation as the two key beneficiaries of the celebration, which has already attracted a variety of distinguished supporters and participants, from renowned golf champions and current tour pros to public figures, celebrities and sports legends.

“The founders of our club were motivated by a passion for golf, and a desire to organize and grow the game in America,” stated George Miller, President of Saint Andrew’s.  “Our anniversary celebration has been designed to honor that legacy, by giving back to the community around us, and supporting the next 125 years of golf in America.”

To inquire about participating in The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club 125th Anniversary events, to purchase tickets for the Gala Anniversary Dinner Dance or to make a contribution to The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club 125th Anniversary Fund, contact Karen Degnan at (914) 478-3500, or visit www.125yearsofgolfinamerica.com.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Saint Andrew's Scores First After First

Here are a few historical facts about St. Andrew's Golf Club in Hastings, NY, guaranteed to astound your friends and golf trivia fanatics:

 • Saint Andrew’s is the oldest continuously existing golf club in the United States, established on November 14, 1888.

The first photograph of golf in America.
Harry Holbrook, A.P.W. Kinnan, J.B. Upham, and John Reid
 with caddies Warren and Frederic Holbrook at St. Andrew’s.
photo courtesy of the club

• The first photograph of golf in America was taken at Saint Andrew’s in 1888.

• The first recorded mixed foursome in America was played at Saint Andrew’s. Mrs. John Reid, paired with J. B. Upham, defeated the team of Miss Carrie Law and John Reid on March 30, 1889.

• The first known American golf “clubhouse” with its rudimentary “19th hole” (the famous apple tree) was established at Saint Andrew’s in 1892.

• Saint Andrew’s was a participant in the first inter-club team matches played in the US on October 9, 1894, along with Tuxedo (host), Brookline, and Shinnecock Hills. Saint Andrew’s tied for first place with Brookline but was unable to stay another day for a play-off, since the first US Amateur/US Foursome/US Open tournaments (October 11-13) were beginning in two days time at Saint Andrew’s.

• Saint Andrew’s was the host of the first U.S. Amateur Championship, held under match-play format (as all the UK tournaments of the period were conducted), in 1894.*  The first U.S. Amateur Championship was won by a Saint Andrew’s member, L. B. Stoddart, in 1894.*

• Saint Andrew’s hosted the first US Open Championship, in 1894.*

• Saint Andrew’s hosted the first U.S. Foursome (two players per team playing alternate shots) Tournament, in 1894.  Held in conjunction with the above-mentioned U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open championships, this event was short-lived on the national scene.

• The team of L.B. Stoddart and J.B. Upham from Saint Andrew’s won the inaugural US Foursomes Tournament, 1894. They defeated another Saint Andrew’s pair, T.C. Ten Eyk and W.E. Hodgeman, in the all-Saint Andrew’s final.

• Saint Andrew’s member/official Henry O. Tallmadge suggested and organized the December 22, 1894, meeting of five golf clubs at the Calumet Club in NYC, which resulted in today’s USGA.

• Saint Andrew’s published the first Club Yearbook (or Club Handbook) in the U.S. containing a list of members, officers of the club, the various committees, and constitution and by-laws, in 1895.

• The first golf club in the U.S. formed by women was the Saegkill Golf Club, organized by Saint Andrew’s women (Mrs. John Reid among them), in 1895.

• Saint Andrew’s organized and funded the first U.S. Public Links Tournament at Van Courtlandt Park (the first public course in the U.S.), with a field of 50 golfers officiated by John Reid, in 1896. This tournament was “for players who did not belong to a club in the United States Golf Association.”

• Saint Andrew’s member Charles E. Sands won the first-prize gold medal for golf at the Paris Olympic Games in 1900, the first year golf was included in the Olympic Games.

*These championships are regarded by some as unofficial, as they were held prior to the formation of the USGA the following year. However, there is no dispute that they were the first amateur and open national golf championships ever held in the U.S.

For more Westchester golf history, check out the May issue of Westchester and Hudson Valley Magazines.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf