Losantiville Country Club (LCC) is a private

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 offer ...

founded in 1913 located in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, which operates golf, tennis and platform tennis, and swimming facilities, and provides food, beverages and services. LCC's facilities include an 18-hole Championship

Golf Course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

, a swimming complex, Har-Tru clay tennis courts, platform tennis courts and a full-service Clubhouse.

History

The original lease for the Losantiville Club, named after the original name of Cincinnati, was signed in February, 1902 upon the site of the old Oakley race track. Part of the track's grandstand was converted into our original Clubhouse with showers and a locker room. By 1905, the Membership had grown to 100, creating strong sentiment for upgraded facilities and amenities. Founded as a

Jewish country club Jewish country clubs are country clubs whose members are predominantly Jewish, having been excluded from other elite social clubs during periods of rising anti-Semitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a result, many major cities acro ...

, in response to the unavailability of membership for Jews at established clubs of the time, LCC has not limited its memberships to Jews for decades; today's membership, although still reflecting the club's tradition and history, is a cross-section of Cincinnati demographics and is skewing younger on almost a weekly basis, especially as some of the neighboring communities like Pleasant Ridge continue to

gentrify Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the econ ...

. The leading golf architect of the time was

Tom Bendelow Tom Bendelow (1868–1936), nicknamed "The Johnny Appleseed of American Golf" and "The Dean of American Golf", was a Scottish American golf course architect during the first half of the twentieth century. He is credited with having designed some ...

, the “

Johnny Appleseed John Chapman (September 26, 1774March 18, 1845), better known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern coun ...

of American Golf”. Mr. Bendelow was engaged to design our course in Pleasant Ridge. Mr. Bendelow, using broom straws and the blueprint of the property, created a course that both fit within the boundaries of the blueprint and promised years of enjoyment. Thus, the final decision was made to move forward with acquisition of the present site. The club was then reorganized as the Losantiville Country Club and incorporated on March 23, 1906, with the official dedication of the new Clubhouse taking place in May, 1907. Over the intervening years there have been many changes and improvements to the club, including the addition of a pool in 1935, most recently renovated in 1995. The golf course has been continuously improved. The number of tennis courts have increased and benefited from the installation of lights for night play. The Clubhouse has been remodeled throughout the years, always with the goal of improved Member experience as the goal. In the spring of 2002, Losantiville CC and Crest Hills Country Club, established in 1939 and located near LCC in Amberly Village, voted to merge and become one. The decision was driven by the prescience of the leaders of these two Clubs as they adapted to demographic changes affecting golf in general and their mutual desire to provide the best possible current experience and most advantageous future for their respective Members. Emerging as a new entity, and uniting the history, amenities and communities of the two neighbors, this union was initially, and appropriately, christened The Ridge Club. Recognizing that the Losantiville golf course's unique character and tradition, resulting from the pairing of Mr. Bendelow's naturalistic design with the benefits realized from over a century of evolution and continuous improvements, was enjoyable and challenging for all skill levels of golfers, the combined Membership again voted and chose to preserve the Losantiville course & facilities as the site of the new Ridge Club. These 18 holes of golf were considered the “gem” of The Ridge Club and, next to the committed & passionate Membership, the new Club's most valuable asset. In September 2009, the Clubhouse of The Ridge Club was totally remodeled, re-opening in May, 2010. At this time, the then current Membership, in recognition of the importance of preserving the rich history & tradition of the club, voted overwhelmingly to change the name from the “Ridge Club” back to the familiar and resonant “Losantiville Country Club”. In early 2016, LCC invested in new practice facilities.

References

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History

See also

References