The Garden City Golf Club is an 18-hole golf club dates to 1899 and the thoughtful design of Devereux Emmet. It was reworked in 1926 by Walter Travis and again in 1958 by Robert Trent Jones.
Not only is the membership private, but it is also primarily limited to men although member’s wives can play on select days or any woman can be invited at the discretion of the executive committee.
Garden City Golf Club hosted the U.S. Open in 1902, which was won by Laurie Auchterlonie. It marked the first time that a player had shot lower than 80 in all four rounds. Amateur Walter Travis, a founding member of the Garden City Golf Club, finished second in the tournament. A few years later, Travis redesigned the layout of his home course, adding numerous bunkers and modifying the greens.
Ironically, Travis hit a ball into a new pot bunker near the eighteenth green during the 1908 U.S. Amateur at the Garden City Golf Club, which led to his defeat in a semifinal match against Jerry Travers. In addition to hosting the U.S. Amateur in 1908, Garden City Golf Club also hosted the tournament in 1900, 1913, and 1936. Garden City was also the host of the Walker Cup in 1924.
After the death of Walter Travis, the Garden City Golf Club renamed its Spring Invitational to the Walter J. Travis Invitational in 1927. Held annually since 1902, it has now become one of the premier mid-amateur golf tournaments in the New York metropolitan area
Also known as “the Men’s Club” or “Garden City Men’s” for obvious reasons, the club golf course remains a major attraction. Its natural, links-style layout on mostly flat terrain offers wide and generous, rough-lined fairways, excellent quality greens and a seamless flow from hole to hole. Water hazards, grass and sand bunkers abound. The course is 6,882 yards from its longest tees and has been given a par-73 value and a 73.6 rating.
In 2013, the Garden City Golf Club was ranked 26th overall in Golf Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S., 47th in Golf Magazines list of the Top 100 Courses in the World, 55th in Golf Digests list of America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, and 9th among Golf Digest’s golf courses in New York.
. The Garden City Golf Club course has been ranked 8th among the many golf courses of New York State and is considered by many to be among the 50 top golf courses in the world.
The clubhouse feels much like an English or Scottish club, complete with a moose head on the wall and that charming old-world ambiance. Dining facilities and a full bar invite socializing before and after a friendly game