Buffalo received the focus of all eyes in the
world of golf when, for two days in the month of August, 1912,
it set forth a challenge for the major exponents of the sport.
The entire Western New York golfing community was abuzz with the
onset of one of the sport's most important championships, to be
held at the region's most revered club. Professional and amateur
competitors from across the globe made their way to the jewel
of the great lakes, the Queen City, to contest the USGA's Men's
Open Championship. What did it take to bring such an esteemed
championship to Buffalo? And the course, what of its subsequent
history?
The Country Club of Buffalo was incorporated in
1899 on the Bronson Rumsey farm at the corner of Elmwood and Nottingham
(across from the present-day Buffalo and Erie County Historical
Society), at the time considered to be the outskirts of the city.
The initial six holes of golf in Buffalo were built in 1894, the
subsequent expansion of the course was the result of the combined
efforts of Charles Blair Mcdonald (world-renowned competitor and
course architect) and club member George Hibbard. The original
course varied during its short tenure on the site. Fate intervened
as the century turned and in 1899 the land was secured by the
organizers of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. The golfing gentry
was forced to look elsewhere for grounds. In 1900, several members
of the Country Club of Buffalo purchased seventy acres of land
at Main Street and Bailey Avenue. In 1901, Ganson Depew, "the
grand old man of Buffalo Golf," laid out the first nine holes
at the new site....
To read the rest of Ronald
S. Montesano's story, see page 42 in the Summer/Fall 2003 issue.
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