Inverness Club is a private golf club in Toledo, Ohio.
Opened in 1903, the club has hosted four U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships. From 1935 to 1954, it also hosted the Inverness Invitational Four-Ball. Byron Nelson served as the club's head golf professional from 1940 to 1944 and considered it his "home course." S.P. Jermain, the club's founder and first Board President, was credited with conceiving the idea for the Ryder Cup. The championship course was designed by renowned architect Donald Ross.
Inverness Club is to host the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2021 Solheim Cup.
Video Inverness Club
History
Inverness was founded in 1903, when many of Toledo's wealthiest citizens purchased a parcel of land and built a nine-hole golf course. The course was eventually expanded to 18 holes. In 1916, the club hired Donald Ross to construct a championship-caliber golf course, which was finished by the end of 1918. In his unpublished book, Golf Has Never Failed Me, Ross discussed the design of Inverness and only six other courses, out of the hundreds he designed.
In 1945, Lloyd Gullickson became the head professional at Inverness Club, succeeding Byron Nelson, who was the professional from 1940 - 1944. Gullickson remained at Inverness as the head professional until his retirement in 1965.
The course has been refurbished three times: once after the 1920 Open by A.W. Tillinghast and Dick Wilson; then in 1978 by George and Tom Fazio; and finally in 1999 by Arthur Hills. Currently Inverness is ranked #37 on Golfweek Magazine's America's Best Classic Courses, and #41 by Golf Digest.
Maps Inverness Club
Introduction of golf professionals to the clubhouse
Before 1920 in the United States, golf professionals were prohibited from entering the clubhouse, as they were once seen as little more than servants to their patron members of the country club. As professional golf tournaments began to appear in the early part of the 20th century, the visiting pros were treated the same as the home pros.
By 1920, attitudes had begun to change. Sylvanus Pierre Jermain, considered "the father of public golf in Toledo", lobbied the USGA and the members of Inverness to agree to allowing all players, including pros, into the clubhouse at the upcoming 1920 U.S. Open. Both parties agreed, and Inverness thus became the first golf club in the U.S. to allow pros in the clubhouse.
As a gift for the boldness and generosity Inverness had shown, Walter Hagen gathered other professional golfers when the U.S. Open returned to Inverness in 1931 so that a gift could be purchased for the club. Together they purchased a grandfather clock for the club house which is still housed there today. On the brass plate of the clock, this inscription was written:
- God measures men by what they are
- Not by what they in wealth possess
- This vibrant message chimes afar
- The voice of Inverness
Tournaments
Winners of major tournaments held at Inverness Club include:
- U.S. Open
- 1920 - Ted Ray
- 1931 - Billy Burke
- 1957 - Dick Mayer
- 1979 - Hale Irwin
- U.S. Amateur Championship
- 1973 - Craig Stadler
- PGA Championship
- 1986 - Bob Tway
- 1993 - Paul Azinger
- U.S. Senior Open
- 2003 - Bruce Lietzke
- 2011 - Olin Browne
- Future championships
- 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur
- 2021 Solheim Cup
References
External links
- Inverness Club
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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