Beverly Country Club
Encyclopedia
Beverly
Country Club, located in the American
city of Chicago, Illinois, is one of Chicago's historical cornerstones. The club was founded in 1908 and initially designed by George O'Neil, also the club's first professional golfer. Shortly after, well-known golf course architect Tom Bendelow
helped fortify the layout. In 1918, the legendary architect Donald Ross created and executed a master plan to renovate the course. Since, the Beverly Country Club has been a mainstay in American golfing circles. In 2002, the members of the Beverly Country Club adopted a plan to completely restore and rejuvenate the golf course. Under guidance of golf course architect and restorer Ron Prichard
, the course has recaptured the design concepts which Ross himself included in his original work at the Beverly Country Club.
The genius of Ross's work lies in the routing of the golf course, in which no two consecutive holes run in the same direction, despite the fact that the course is laid out within a perfect rectangle that is hemmed in and bisected by three arterial streets and a railroad line. Donny Ross made excellent use of the dominant geological feature of property: a prominent ridge that runs from behind the fifth green eastward through the promontory above the second fairway.
Five holes on the front nine are designed around this ridge, which had been part of the southern shore of prehistoric Lake Chicago
, a forgotten body of water that deposited sand dunes along Beverly's back nine. Students of Ross's design “school” will recognize his mark throughout the course, particularly in the tee and green complexes.
With its golf course stretching beyond 7,000 yards, Beverly is now honored as being one of Golfweek's Top 100 Classic Golf courses in the United States
.
(2011); four Western Open
s (1910, 1963, 1967 and 1970); one Western Amateur
(1930); three Women's Western Opens (1937, 1960 and 1965); and the 1943 Chicago Victory National Open, a wartime substitute for the National Open.
(WGA) Western Junior
, making it one of only a handful of clubs which will have then hosted the full complement of the three WGA Golf Championships which includes the BMW Championship (formerly the Western Open
), the Western Amateur
and the Western Junior. In 2014, Beverly will again host the Western Amateur for the first time since it did so in 1930. In July 2008, the WGA announced that the Beverly Country Club was selected to host the Western Amateur on a rotational basis along with six other leading Chicago-area clubs including Conway Farms Golf Club, Skokie Country Club
, North Shore Country Club
, Exmoor Country Club, Olympia Fields Country Club
and Rich Harvest Farms.
and the Western Golf Association, a charitable trust which provides full-tuition scholarships renewable for up to four years to deserving caddies. The program started in 1930 and was originally endowed with the donated golf winnings of Chick Evans
, all of whose golf winnings went toward the scholarships as a way of preserving his amateur status. Today the Evans Scholarship Program is supported by tens of thousands of contributors across the country, one of the largest of which is the Beverly Country Club. With nearly 300 of the total 8,500 Evans Scholar alumni, the Beverly Country Club also boasts the record for the largest number of Evans Scholar alumni of any club in America.
Beverly, Chicago
Beverly is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the South Side on the southwestern edge of the city. Beverly Hills was built by English engineers as an exclusive streetcar suburb and the homes and large lots reflect this historic distinction...
Country Club, located in the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
city of Chicago, Illinois, is one of Chicago's historical cornerstones. The club was founded in 1908 and initially designed by George O'Neil, also the club's first professional golfer. Shortly after, well-known golf course architect Tom Bendelow
Tom Bendelow
Tom Bendelow , nicknamed "The Johnny Appleseed of American Golf", was a prolific Scottish American golf course architect during the first half of the twentieth century. He is credited with having designed some 600 courses in a 35-year span....
helped fortify the layout. In 1918, the legendary architect Donald Ross created and executed a master plan to renovate the course. Since, the Beverly Country Club has been a mainstay in American golfing circles. In 2002, the members of the Beverly Country Club adopted a plan to completely restore and rejuvenate the golf course. Under guidance of golf course architect and restorer Ron Prichard
Ron Prichard
Ron Prichard is an American golf course designer and restorer. His original designs include the TPC at Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee, now home of the Stanford St. Jude Championship...
, the course has recaptured the design concepts which Ross himself included in his original work at the Beverly Country Club.
Architectural history
Beverly's mark on American golf was firmly made when club officials decided to ask legendary architect Donald Ross to create a master plan to renovate the course and bring it back to major championship standards. Over the course of nearly a decade, the entire Ross plan was adopted. In a fitting touch of déjà vu, a dedicated group of Beverly members recently led the club through a restoration of the golf course that reclaimed many of the Ross features that had been lost over the decades.The genius of Ross's work lies in the routing of the golf course, in which no two consecutive holes run in the same direction, despite the fact that the course is laid out within a perfect rectangle that is hemmed in and bisected by three arterial streets and a railroad line. Donny Ross made excellent use of the dominant geological feature of property: a prominent ridge that runs from behind the fifth green eastward through the promontory above the second fairway.
Five holes on the front nine are designed around this ridge, which had been part of the southern shore of prehistoric Lake Chicago
Lake Chicago
This article is about the prehistoric lake, For other geographic features with this name, see ChicagoLake Chicago was a prehistoric proglacial lake that is the ancestor of what is now known as Lake Michigan, one of North America's five Great Lakes....
, a forgotten body of water that deposited sand dunes along Beverly's back nine. Students of Ross's design “school” will recognize his mark throughout the course, particularly in the tee and green complexes.
With its golf course stretching beyond 7,000 yards, Beverly is now honored as being one of Golfweek's Top 100 Classic Golf courses in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Tournament history
Over the years, Beverly has been the host of one U.S. Amateur (1931); one U.S. Senior Amateur (2009); one Western JuniorWestern Junior
The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the midwest. From 1914 to 1998, it was played with stroke play qualifying...
(2011); four Western Open
Western Open
The Western Open, a professional golf tournament, was first played in 1899. At the time of its 2006 playing, the Western Open was the 3rd oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open and U.S. Open...
s (1910, 1963, 1967 and 1970); one Western Amateur
Western Amateur
The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association....
(1930); three Women's Western Opens (1937, 1960 and 1965); and the 1943 Chicago Victory National Open, a wartime substitute for the National Open.
Future tournaments
Continuing its longstanding support of amateur golf, the Beverly Country Club has been designated to host club a number of golf championships over the next several years. In 2010, the club will host the Illinois State Amateur Championship run by the Chicago District Golf Association (CDGA). The Beverly Country Club will also host the 2011 Western Golf AssociationWestern Golf Association
The Western Golf Association is one of the United States' oldest golf organizations, and its headquarters are located in Golf, Illinois. The WGA sponsors three prestigious golf tournaments: the Western Junior, the Western Amateur and the BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup playoff event...
(WGA) Western Junior
Western Junior
The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the midwest. From 1914 to 1998, it was played with stroke play qualifying...
, making it one of only a handful of clubs which will have then hosted the full complement of the three WGA Golf Championships which includes the BMW Championship (formerly the Western Open
Western Open
The Western Open, a professional golf tournament, was first played in 1899. At the time of its 2006 playing, the Western Open was the 3rd oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open and U.S. Open...
), the Western Amateur
Western Amateur
The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association....
and the Western Junior. In 2014, Beverly will again host the Western Amateur for the first time since it did so in 1930. In July 2008, the WGA announced that the Beverly Country Club was selected to host the Western Amateur on a rotational basis along with six other leading Chicago-area clubs including Conway Farms Golf Club, Skokie Country Club
Skokie Country Club
Skokie Country Club is a private country club in Glencoe, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.Founded in 1897, it features a 6,913 yard 18-hole course. In 1922, it hosted the U.S. Open that was won by Gene Sarazen. It has also hosted the Western Open in 1909 and the United States Senior Men's Amateur...
, North Shore Country Club
North Shore Country Club
North Shore Country Club is a private country club in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.Founded in 1917, it features a 7,031 yard 18-hole golf course. In 1933, it hosted the U.S. Open that was won by Johnny Goodman. It has also hosted the Western Open on one occasion and the U.S. Amateur on...
, Exmoor Country Club, Olympia Fields Country Club
Olympia Fields Country Club
Olympia Fields Country Club is a golf club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago, about 25 miles south of The Loop. It is a private club with two eighteen-hole courses, the North and the South. The North Course is considered one of the top three courses in the Chicago area, and...
and Rich Harvest Farms.
Famous tournament champions
- 1910 Western OpenWestern OpenThe Western Open, a professional golf tournament, was first played in 1899. At the time of its 2006 playing, the Western Open was the 3rd oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open and U.S. Open...
won by Chick EvansChick EvansCharles E. "Chick" Evans, Jr. was a leading amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a feat he achieved in 1916. Evans went on to win the U.S. Amateur in 1920, while finishing runner-up three times... - In 1925, Virginia Van WieVirginia Van WieVirginia Van Wie was an American amateur golfer, best known for winning three U.S. Women's Amateurs, 1932-34. The Illinois-born golfer was the daughter of wealthy parents, and learned the game at the Beverly Country Club, and during the summers, she would go with her parents to summer homes in...
captured one of her first championships at Beverly - 1931 U.S. Amateur won by Francis OuimetFrancis OuimetFrancis DeSales Ouimet was an American golfer, who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the 1913 U.S. Open, and was the first American elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews...
- 1963 Western OpenWestern OpenThe Western Open, a professional golf tournament, was first played in 1899. At the time of its 2006 playing, the Western Open was the 3rd oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open and U.S. Open...
won by Arnold PalmerArnold PalmerArnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955... - 1967 Western OpenWestern OpenThe Western Open, a professional golf tournament, was first played in 1899. At the time of its 2006 playing, the Western Open was the 3rd oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open and U.S. Open...
won by Jack NicklausJack NicklausJack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a... - 1970 Western OpenWestern OpenThe Western Open, a professional golf tournament, was first played in 1899. At the time of its 2006 playing, the Western Open was the 3rd oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open and U.S. Open...
won by Hugh Royer - Patty BergPatty BergPatricia Jane Berg was an American professional golfer and a founding member and then leading player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Her 15 major title wins remains the all-time record for most major wins by a female golfer...
and Babe ZahariasBabe ZahariasMildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias was an American athlete who achieved outstanding success in golf, basketball, and track and field...
have each held the women's course record which is still held by Susie Maxwell
Proud caddie tradition
The Beverly Country Club has a long, proud relationship with the Western GolfWestern Golf Association
The Western Golf Association is one of the United States' oldest golf organizations, and its headquarters are located in Golf, Illinois. The WGA sponsors three prestigious golf tournaments: the Western Junior, the Western Amateur and the BMW Championship, a FedEx Cup playoff event...
and the Western Golf Association, a charitable trust which provides full-tuition scholarships renewable for up to four years to deserving caddies. The program started in 1930 and was originally endowed with the donated golf winnings of Chick Evans
Chick Evans
Charles E. "Chick" Evans, Jr. was a leading amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a feat he achieved in 1916. Evans went on to win the U.S. Amateur in 1920, while finishing runner-up three times...
, all of whose golf winnings went toward the scholarships as a way of preserving his amateur status. Today the Evans Scholarship Program is supported by tens of thousands of contributors across the country, one of the largest of which is the Beverly Country Club. With nearly 300 of the total 8,500 Evans Scholar alumni, the Beverly Country Club also boasts the record for the largest number of Evans Scholar alumni of any club in America.
Holes
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