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The Meadow Brook Club is a private golf club in
Jericho, New York Jericho is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island, approximately 29 miles (47 km) east of Midtown Manhattan. Its population was 13,567 as of the U.S. 2010 Cen ...
, Long Island, New York, United States. From 1894 to 1954 it was part of a hunting club, which soon evolved into a major
polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
club. After the original grounds were expropriated for urban development, it moved to its present location and became primarily a golf club. The
Meadowbrook Polo Club The Meadowbrook Polo Club (originally styled as the "Meadow Brook Club"), located in Old Westbury, New York, is the oldest continuously operating polo club in the United States, first established in 1881.Marie, Kim (August 27, 201The Power of The ...
is now a separate entity.


Origins

The club originated as the Meadow Brook Hunt Club, established in 1881 in
Westbury, New York The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a Village (New York), village in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is located a ...
and home of the Meadow Brook Hounds. The hunt club had its headquarters in Westbury, but convened in different rural parts of Nassau County where the hounds and horses could run free. Future President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
was a member of the hunt club, which met at his home in Oyster Bay in 1886. The members sometimes hunted foxes, but often drag hunted, where the hounds followed a trail of anise scent. The Hunt Club gave birth to the
Meadowbrook Polo Club The Meadowbrook Polo Club (originally styled as the "Meadow Brook Club"), located in Old Westbury, New York, is the oldest continuously operating polo club in the United States, first established in 1881.Marie, Kim (August 27, 201The Power of The ...
, whose founders included the polo player and millionaire
Thomas Hitchcock, Sr. Thomas Hitchcock (23 November 1860 – 29 September 1941) was one of the leading American polo players during the latter part of the 19th century and a Hall of Fame horse trainer and owner known as the father of American steeplechase hor ...
(1862-1941). Hitchcock was one of the founders of the Meadow Brook steeplechase races in 1883, and in 1889 became master of the Meadow Brook Hunt. The club in Westbury had eight polo fields, and was the leading polo center in the United States. During the first half of the 20th century the polo club was often the site for national or international polo championships.


First course

A nine-hole golf course was built for the Meadow Brook Club in 1894. It was located in
Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead and Oys ...
. In 1895 the first national women's golf tournament was held at Meadow Brook. The winner was Lucy Barnes, wife of Charles S. Brown, with 132 strokes for the eighteen-hole match. The club became an early member of the
United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...
. On 31 March 1897 the Metropolitan Golf Association was formed at
Delmonico's Delmonico's is the name of a series of restaurants that operated in New York City, with the present version located at 56 Beaver Street in the Financial District of Manhattan. The original version was widely recognized as the United States ...
in New York City, at first called the Metropolitan League of Golf Clubs. Oliver W. Bird of Meadow Brook Golf Club was a member of the five-person formation committee. In 1936
Sam Snead Samuel Jackson Snead (pronounced English_phonology">sni:d.html" ;"title="English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d">English_phonology.html" ;"title="nowiki/>English phonology">sni:d May 27, 1912 – May 23, 2002) was an ...
won two matches at the Meadow Brook Club, earning a $10,000 fee. This gave him the money he needed to start playing professionally full time.


Present course

The original polo ground and golf course was requisitioned by New York City Park Commissioner
Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...
for a parkway extension. The
Meadowbrook State Parkway The Meadowbrook State Parkway (also known as the Meadowbrook, the Meadowbrook Parkway or the MSP) is a parkway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. Its southern terminus is at a full cloverleaf interchange with the Bay and Ocean ...
extension of 1954 cut through the club property from north to south. The polo club moved to Post Road in
Old Westbury, New York Old Westbury is a village in the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury ...
, in 1954. A new entity was formed, now called the Meadowbrook Polo Club, which continued to arrange polo matches on Long Island. In the 1990s it hosted two U.S. Open Championships at
Bethpage State Park Bethpage State Park is a New York state park on the border of Nassau County and Suffolk County on Long Island. The park contains tennis courts, picnic and recreational areas and a polo field, but is best known for its five golf courses, inclu ...
. A new site for a golf course in
Jericho, New York Jericho is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island, approximately 29 miles (47 km) east of Midtown Manhattan. Its population was 13,567 as of the U.S. 2010 Cen ...
was selected in October 1953 by
Dick Wilson Dick Wilson (July 30, 1916 – November 18, 2007) was an American actor who was best known as grocery store manager Mr. George Whipple in more than 500 Charmin bathroom tissue television commercials (1965–89, 1999–2000). Biography Dick Wi ...
, the architect of the course. Wilson drew up plans for the course in just six weeks. Construction began in April 1954 by Troup Brothers of Miami, who undertook the heavy-duty earth movement. Irrigation and drainage pipes and tile beds were installed in the summer, and grass sown in the fall. Seaside bent was used for the greens and a mix of Astoria bent and Chewings fescue for the fairways. With the move to Jericho the Meadow Brook Club changed into a golf club. The course was officially opened for play on 4 June 1955. The course has championship tees up to in length. It has been host to regional tournaments such as the Metropolitan PGA Championships, the
Metropolitan Open The Metropolitan Open is a golf tournament organized by the Metropolitan Golf Association. In the early 20th century it was one of the top events in the country and was retroactively given PGA Tour-level status. History The tournament has been ...
and the
Lightpath Long Island Classic The Commerce Bank Championship was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It started as non-sanctioned event in 1987, before becoming a regular Senior event in 1988. The tournament was played annually in either June or July until 2008. It was la ...
. Recently Tripp Davis renovated the course, placing more emphasis on interest than on challenge.


References

Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meadow Brook Club Oyster Bay (town), New York Golf clubs and courses in New York (state) 1894 establishments in New York (state)