The Kansas City Country Club (KCCC) was founded in 1896 in Kansas City, Missouri and today located in

Mission Hills, Kansas Mission Hills is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,594. The east city limits is the Kansas-Missouri state line at State Line ...

. The Country Club District and

Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately-owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it was the first planned suburban shopping center and the first regional shoppi ...

of Kansas City are named for the club, which claims to be the third oldest

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

History

The club has its roots in an informal golf course in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. In 1896, Hugh C. Ward,

Charles Fessenden Morse Charles Fessenden Morse (September 22, 1839 – December 11, 1926) was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and, afterward, an influential businessman and civic leader in Kansas City, Missouri. Early life Morse ...

, Jefferson Brumback, H. L. Harmon, A. W. Childs, C. J. Hubbard, J. E. Logan, Gardiner Lathrop, St. Clair Street, Ford Harvey, E. H. Chapman, E. S. Washburn, and W. B. Clarke incorporated the Kansas City Country Club and leased a pasture at what today is Loose Park in the Sunset Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. The tract of land belonged to Ward's father Seth E. Ward, a pioneer who made his fortune outfitting settlers on the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

. In 1907,

J.C. Nichols Jesse Clyde "J. C." Nichols (August 23, 1880 - February 16, 1950) was an American developer of commercial and residential real estate in Kansas City, Missouri. Born in Olathe, Kansas, and a student at the University of Kansas and Harvard Univer ...

began buying land surrounding the course to develop the Country Club District, and later to develop the

. In 1925, the club moved its course a mile west to the banks of

Brush Creek A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped durin ...

in Mission Hills. The club's former grounds then became

Loose Park Loose Park is the third largest park in Kansas City, Missouri, located at 51st Street and Wornall Road. It has a lake, a shelter house, Civil War markers, tennis courts, a water park, picnic areas, and a Rose Garden. The Rose Garden hosts all ...

. The three J.C. Nichols Clubs became the most socially desirable in the Kansas City Metropolitan area with Kansas City Country Club being first, followed by Mission Hills followed by Indian Hills. The course was originally designed by Tom Bendelow and later redesigned by A.W. Tillinghast. The course par is 70.

Members

The club's most famous player is Tom Watson, though Watson did resign as a member in 1990 over the club's refusal to admit billionaire

H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R Block operates approxim ...

founder

Henry Bloch Henry Wollman Bloch (July 30, 1922 – April 23, 2019) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the co-founder and (since 2000) the chairman ''emeritus'' of the American tax-preparation company H&R Block. Henry and his brother, Ric ...

because he was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Ray Watson, Tom's father, still holds the amateur record of 64 for the course. Tom Watson holds the professional record of 60. Tom is currently a member of the club.

References

External links

*{{official website, kccc.com 1896 establishments in Kansas Golf clubs and courses in Kansas Golf clubs and courses in Missouri Sports in the Kansas City metropolitan area Golf clubs and courses designed by A. W. Tillinghast Golf clubs and courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Buildings and structures in Johnson County, Kansas

History

Members

See also

References

External links