America’s oldest golf resorts combine the elegance and traditions of days gone by with some fun and challenging courses
In 1766, two years after the Old Course at St. Andrews shrank from 22 holes to 18, an 18-room wooden hotel opened near a series of natural hot springs in Virginia’s Allegheny Mountains. Golf didn’t come to The Homestead Resort for another 126 years, but that property still holds the titles of both first resort and first resort golf course in the country. A number of other early American golf resorts—all listed among the Historic Hotels of America, part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation—are still going strong, offering the chance to enjoy the modern game at long-tenured venues. Here are the 10 oldest.
The Omni Homestead Resort & Spa
Hot Springs, Virginia (1766)
Three veterans of the French and Indian War bought 300 acres in the Allegheny Mountains, then built a small resort and bathhouses to take advantage of the seven natural springs nearby. The property changed hands numerous times over the years, and it was in 1892, while owned by a group that included J.P. Morgan, that golf was added to the amenities. Six holes became nine in 1898 and 18 in 1913 when Donald Ross completed what is now known as the Old Course. A second layout, Cascades, was designed by William Flynn in 1924, and has hosted nine USGA championships with the 2029 Senior Amateur next up.
Tubac Golf Resort & Spa
Tubac, Arizona (1789)
It’s a little generous to say this Spanish Colonial style resort is 236 years old, but the ranch that preceded it traces its roots to a land grant from the Spanish monarchy to build a homestead in what was then called Pimeria Alta, less than 25 miles from the Mexican border. The area became part of the U.S. in 1853, and the property became a resort in 1959 when it was purchased by a group of investors including Bing Crosby. They hired architect Robert “Red” Lawrence, well known for his work in the Southwest, to build an 18-hole course. The resort now offers 27 holes, some of which were featured in the movie Tin Cup.
Woodstock Inn & Resort
Woodstock, Vermont (1793)
After the American Revolution, Woodstock became a hub for craftsmen and manufacturing. Serving the trade, Israel Richardson opened a two-story tavern in 1793; subsequent owners enlarged and changed the structure. Tourism, based largely on skiing, took over as the area’s major industry, and in 1892 the property was rebuilt as the Woodstock Inn, with a 400-foot verandah and more than 100 rooms. Responding to a guest’s request, a nearby cow pasture became a rudimentary 9-hole golf course in 1896; it was replaced in 1906 by a new layout in the shadow of Mt. Peg, then stretched to 18 holes by architect Wayne Stiles in 1925. In 1963, Laurance Rockefeller bought the Inn and hired Robert Trent Jones Sr. to redo the course, adding challenge to its limited yardage.
Omni Bedford Springs Resort & Spa
Bedford, Pennsylvania (1806)
Ten years after Dr. John Anderson purchased 2,200 acres of the Cumberland Valley in 1796—including mineral springs that had been enjoyed by Native Americans for generations—he opened a 24-room inn. One of the first guests was rumored to be Aaron Burr, on the lam after dueling with Alexander Hamilton. The resort became a favorite of U.S. Presidents beginning with Thomas Jefferson, later by Union generals and their families during the Civil War. The first golf course was designed by Spencer Oldham in 1895 and subsequently redone by A.W. Tillinghast in 1912 and Donald Ross in 1923; a 2007 renovation by Ron Forse lovingly restored historic features from all three progenitors.
French Lick Resort
French Lick, Indiana (1845)
Another resort built around mineral springs, the first hotel at French Lick went up in 1845. It was quickly joined by other health facilities, including West Baden Springs, which after going from riches to rags has been luxuriously redone and is now part of the same ownership. Together, the two properties have nearly 700 guest rooms as well as a casino and tons of indoor and outdoor activities. The first golf course, built by Donald Ross in 1917, hosted the 1924 PGA Championship; a 2007 renovation retained the deep-faced bunkers and roller-coaster greens. Pete Dye’s 2009 layout is long, hard, and held the 2015 Senior PGA. There’s a third 18-holer, as well as two short courses, one based on a 1907 Tom Bendelow design.
Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa
Point Clear, Alabama (1847)
Long known as the “Queen of Southern Resorts,” the original Grand Hotel opened on Mobile Bay with 40 rooms and a shaded gallery. Its military service began in 1863 as a makeshift hospital for the Battle of Vicksburg (a cemetery sits near the 18th tee of the Azalea course), and was later a World War II Army Air Corps training site. Perry Maxwell—famous for Southern Hills, Old Town Club, and numerous renovations—opened the tree-lined Dogwood course in 1947. A second 18, Azalea, was finished in 1983. Both courses are part of the state’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
Mohonk Mountain House
New Paltz, New York (1869)
This 259-room Victorian castle atop a mountain in New York’s historic Hudson Valley began as a 10-room inn on Lake Mohonk. Along with year-round indoor and outdoor adventures, and options for day or overnight stays, is a 9-hole course created by hotel founder Albert Smiley in 1897 on the property’s dairy farm. Redesigned more than once, in 1925 it grew to 18 holes: The new Hillside nine was so steep it became a ski slope in 1963, then closed in 1968. The scenic 9-holer that remains features the twists, turns, uneven lies, and blind shots common to early American golf.
The Sagamore Resort
Bolton Landing, New York (1883)
By the late 19th century, the mountains and lakes of New England and northern New York were popular destinations for the wealthy families of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. The Sagamore—on Green Island in Lake George—was built to capture that audience, which it did, then calling on those loyal patrons often during its first 100 years to save it from disasters natural and economic. But the Great Depression also helped the resort, allowing it to buy a struggling Donald Ross-designed golf course on the mainland a year after it opened in 1928. Along with tree-lined fairways, rolling greens, and plenty of elevation change, it still features spectacular views of the lake and Adirondack Mountains.
Jekyll Island Club Resort
Jekyll Island, Georgia (1886)
Founded as “the richest, the most exclusive, the most inaccessible club in the world,” Jekyll Island Club attracted the Gilded Age’s wealthiest families to one of Georgia’s barrier islands. Over the following years, the “cottages” of the rich were joined by a clubhouse, other buildings, and, in 1927, the Great Dunes course designed by Walter J. Travis. Having shrunk to nine holes during World War II, it’s recently been reworked as an 18-holer with both original and “Travis-inspired” creations. World War II ended the club’s heyday, but it reopened as a resort in the late 1980s with two other 18-hole courses, Pine Lakes and Indian Mound.
Grand Hotel
Mackinac Island, Michigan (1887)
One of the first resorts in the Midwest, the summer-only Grand Hotel opened in 1887, accessible by steamer through the Great Lakes. Originally known for the longest front porch in the world, the hotel kept expanding and now has 388 guest rooms including 40 “Signature Suites” that reflect the life and times of Presidents, First Ladies, and other notables. The two nines that comprise the Jewel course rely on a horsedrawn carriage to shuttle players between them: the short, parkland Grand nine was laid out by Tom Bendelow in 1901; it was renovated by Jerry Matthews, who added the thick-with-trees Woods nine in 1994.
