The Reading Country Club is a historic
country club and municipal
golf course located within and currently owned by
Exeter Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Exeter Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 25,500 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous municipality in Berks County after the city of Reading and Spring Township. Daniel Boone Hom ...
. The country club takes its name from the nearby city of
Reading, Pennsylvania
Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Philade ...
, the
fourth-largest city in the state as of 2020.
History
20th century
The club was founded in 1923. Alexander Findlay, a pioneer of golf in the United States, designing the original nine hole course for the club and later expanded the course to 18 holes in 1925. The current course is mostly original, with only minor changes being made to the 10th and 17th holes.
The original clubhouse for the facility burned down in 1930. A new clubhouse was built in its place,
designed by Reading-based architect Harry Maurer.
The building was designed in the
Tudor style to pay homage to
Reading, Berkshire, the historic large
market town in England for which Reading, Pennsylvania is named after.
In 1937,
Byron Nelson was hired as the club pro, shortly after winning his first
Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...
.
While serving as club pro, Nelson won his only
U.S. Open in 1939. Nelson was succeeded by Henry Clay Poe, who served as club pro until 1965.
In the 1940s, due to a slow recovery from the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and America's entry into the
World War II, the club faced financial difficulties that forced the club into bankruptcy, though golf continued to be played. In 1944, a group of 20 local businessmen bought the club for $80,000 and invested another $20,000 into refurbishing the course.
In 1949, the Reading Country Club hosted the
Reading Open The Reading Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the ev ...
, a
PGA Tour event from that ran from 1947 to 1951 and was usually hosted at the Berkshire Country Club in nearby
Bern Township. During the tournament,
Sam Snead set the course record of 63.
21st century
Following several changes in ownership in the late 20th century, the club was purchased by Exeter Township in 2006, saving the land from development and opening the course to the public.
The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on May 31, 2018,
becoming one of under 100 golf courses on the Register. The club was recognized both for the historic clubhouse and golf course, which is an important example of Alexander Findlay's design and a significant work of landscape architecture.
Further reading
Reading Country Club: Celebrating Our Heritage, Preserving Our Future.
References
{{Reflist
Golf clubs and courses in Pennsylvania
Tourist attractions in Berks County, Pennsylvania
National Register of Historic Places in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Sports venues completed in 1923
1923 establishments in Pennsylvania