Mountain Lakes Club history

In 1916, Seth Raynor designed and built the golf course and Olmsted leant a hand providing the rough design routing and laying out the irrigation system.

Seth Raynor built Mountain Lake, a millionaires’ winter retreat, in two stages, completing one nine in 1917 and the other four years later.

Surprisingly, the same lake-front property, which was the last available suitable site for a public beach on the Big Lake, had been up for auction in 1927, and through either good judgment or good fortune, the Borough acquired it.

The fire started in the kitchen around 5:30 on New Year’s Eve, 1928.

As the needs of the members evolved, changes were made to the golf course in 1929 by Raynor protégé Charles Banks, who modified fourteen holes.

As you leaf through these brief reminiscences you will encounter occasional reflections on the transformation Mayor Frederick described in his 1939 State-of-the-Borough Report quoted above, filtered through the eyes of a young citizen who watched the drama unfold.

Connoisseurs of golf books will recognize the author of this 156 page, 2017 club history: Andrew Mutch, a former director of the USGA Museum and a professional designer and artist, who authored Pine Valley’s most recent history, Crump’s Dream, which also focused on that club’s formative years.