Wykagyl Country Club history

In 1904, however, a new owner acquired the land and immediately ordered the Club to vacate his property.

A court order was signed decreeing that as of June 15, 1905, the old Pelham Country Club would henceforth be known as The Wykagyl Country Club, and so it has been to this very day.

In 1913, Wykagyl was the site of a match between Smith and his brother Macdonald Smith (an assistant professional at Wykagyl) against Harry Vardon and Ted Ray immediately following Francis Ouimet’s upset victory in the United States Open at the Country Club in Brookline.

Up until 1915 it had been the old Disbrow farmhouse, but on October 20th of that year, a remodeled and refurbished clubhouse opened.

In 1919, Donald Ross redesigned several holes, in the process introducing superior playing angles (notably at the 8th and 15th holes) and adding several bunkers, including the Hell’s Half Acre on 12.

The Club bulletin of 1925 claimed the name was from wigwos (birch bark) and keag (country), the country of the birch bark.

In the middle of the “boom years” the Club invested $234,000 to build the men’s locker house, a greatly admired structure around the metropolitan area when it opened in October of 1928.

In 1930, A.W. Tillinghast added his touch, eliminating two holes and replacing them with two holes as a part of a broader reconfiguration of the course.

Play on the Tillinghast-modified course began on Labor Day, 1931.

Bobby Locke, defending champion Herman Barron, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead before 1949 Palm Beach Round Robin

Sam Snead, Sugar Ray Robinson, Ed Sullivan at Round Robin Celebrities' Day 1957

A beautiful new pool was opened during the summer of 1964, adding to the attractiveness of the Club grounds.

In spite of primitive conditions, the young club flourished. It was not until 1972 that the present courts were built.

He began his career with Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City in 1983.

Wykagyl completed a multimillion dollar clubhouse renovation in 2001.

Happily, the restoration trend arrived at the club in 2003, and the leadership wisely tapped Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to restore their treasured layout while addressing drainage and irrigation issues.

Paula Creamer, Sybase Big Apple Classic Champion 2005 (1st LPGA win)

In 2006, in a continuing effort to maintain the quality of its golf experience and infrastructure, Wykagyl once again commissioned a preeminent architectural firm, Coore & Crenshaw, to spearhead a multimillion dollar renovation.

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (March 22, 2016) - Our next history lesson from the MGA archives comes from Wykagyl Country Club, which helped provide early leadership for the PGA of America and developed into a course highly regarded by LPGA greats.