Atlantic City Country Club

Key Events Held: U.S. Amateur (1901), U.S. Women’s Open (1948, 1965, 1975), U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur (1967), U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (1997), PGA Inaugural Seniors (1980), Atlantic City Commemorative (2004), Atlantic City Celebrity Kids’ Classic (2000-01), Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge (1999-present).

Awards Won: GolfDigest ranked ACCC as the #1 Public Daily Fee Golf Course (New Jersey) – Golf Week (2006), Top 100 Classic Golf Courses in America – Golf Week (2006), Ranked 5th among Golf Digest’s best in state (New Jersey), Named by Golf & Travel as one of America’s Best 40 Resort Courses.

HISTORY: When one first talks about the history of Atlantic City Country Club, the first thing that comes to mind, is the proud distinctions of "The Birthplace of the Birdie," as well as being the site where the term "Bird" was coined.

Founded in 1897, AC Country Club first hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1901 won by Walter J. Travis. Travis, who designed Westchester Country Club’s West Course, Garden City Golf Club and Equinox Golf Links, was a three-time winner of the U.S. Amateur and a six-time medalist in the event. Travis took up golf at age 36 and won his three U.S. Amateurs by age 42.

The U.S. Women’s Open made its first stop in Atlantic City in 1948, as Mildred Didrikson, Babe Zaharias was the winner. The "Babe," as she was called, posted a score of 300 and defeated Elizabeth Hicks by eight strokes.

Seventeen years later the USGA made a return visit to AC Country Club and Carol Mann came away with victory. Mann opened with 78, but rebounded with rounds of 70-70-72 to win by two shots over Kathy Cornelius. In 1965 a couple of firsts were marked, as the final round was telecast nationally for the first time and the last two rounds were played in two days instead of one as before.

The U.S. Women’s Open returned in 1975, as Sandra Palmer recorded one of only two rounds under par all week to win by four. Palmer finished at seven-over-par to finish ahead of JoAnne Carner, Sandra Post and amateur Nancy Lopez. The wind, which was extremely strong all week, grew fiercer during the final round and Palmer was one of just three players to shoot par on the last day. The second place result was one of Lopez’ four runners-up finishes at this event, the only coveted title that eluded her throughout her career.

Legendary amateur champion Carol Semple Thompson captured the 1997 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Atlantic City. Thompson, who has played in this event since its inception in 1987, also captured the tournament in 1990. Playing the course at just under 6,000 yards and a par of 72, Thompson defeated Leslie Shannon, 2 & 1 in the championship match. Shannon was one down heading into the 16th, but dumped her approach into the water and she could not recover.

The PGA’s Champions Tour made its first foray into golf back in 1980 at Atlantic City, as Don January defeated Mike Souchak by two shots. The tournament was one of just four events in the inaugural season.

The first American to capture the U.S. Open, John J. McDermott was the first professional at Atlantic City Country Club. The course has had a handful of architects throughout the years, tweaking and updating the land, most recently by Tom Doak.

The course, now owned by Harrah’s Entertainment, brought in Doak and his Renaissance Golf Design team to preserve the century-old history of the course while improving conditions. According to Renaissance Golf Design, "the character of the property was changed by excavating along the upper fairways to give the course more rolling topography, and using the earth to screen adjacent homes to provide more privacy for golfers." They added that, "trees in the middle of the course were also transplanted to open up views of the marsh and of Atlantic City across the way. Large expanses between holes were returned to the open, sandy look which was a feature of the course in the early 1900’s." Of the 18 greens, only four were preserved per their original design, while the remaining surfaces were modified to suit the shot values of the modified golf holes and the green speeds.

Doak made significant changes to the course, as he shortened the second hole, lengthened the fifth, combined the 10th and 11th holes into a par five and added 70-plus yards to the 12th. The 14th and 15th holes brought about the most changes, as a new section of tidal marsh was dug into the original 15th to create a more challenging, short par-4 from a peninsula tee, while the following hole was crafted to play back into the wind, a difficult 184-yard par three. The final hole was also shortened into a par-four that plays back into the wind.

When arriving and leaving Atlantic City Country Club, you’ll notice a bell hanging in the drive by the clubhouse. This bell was used back in the early 1900s to remind golfers that the last trolley was about to leave for Atlantic City. A beautiful reminder of the old days. Compliments of a review on Golf Online.com.