Inverness Club
Encyclopedia
Inverness Club is a country club in Toledo, Ohio
that is famous for its golf
course (and also has an Olympic-sized pool and several tennis courts). The golf course is so well known since it has hosted four U.S. Opens
, two U.S. Senior Opens, two PGA Championship
s, and a U.S. Amateur. It also hosted the Inverness Invitational Four-Ball
from 1935 to 1953.
Inverness Club was founded in 1903, when many of Toledo's wealthiest citizens purchased a parcel of land and built a nine-hole golf course. The course was eventually expanded to eighteen holes. In 1916, the club hired Donald Ross to construct a championship-caliber golf course, which was finished by the end of 1918. In his unpublished book, Golf Has Never Failed Me, Ross discussed Inverness's design, one of only seven of his hundreds of courses to be given a discussion.
The course has been refurbished three times: once after the 1920 Open by A.W. Tillinghast and Dick Wilson; then in 1978 by George
and Tom Fazio
; and finally in 1999 by Arthur Hills
. Currently Inverness is ranked #37 on Golfweek Magazine's America's Best Classic Courses, and #41 by Golf Digest.
As a gift for the boldness and generosity Inverness had shown, Walter Hagen gathered other professional golfers when the U.S. Open returned to Inverness in 1931 so that a gift could be purchased for the club. Together they purchased a grandfather clock for the club house which stands there to this day. On the brass plate of the clock an inscription was written that left no doubt concerning the shift that had happened just 11 years before:
U.S. Open
U.S. Amateur Championship
PGA Championship
U.S. Senior Open
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
that is famous for its golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course (and also has an Olympic-sized pool and several tennis courts). The golf course is so well known since it has hosted four U.S. Opens
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
, two U.S. Senior Opens, two PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
s, and a U.S. Amateur. It also hosted the Inverness Invitational Four-Ball
Inverness Invitational Four-Ball
The Inverness Invitational Four-Ball was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1935 to 1953. It was played at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.-Format:...
from 1935 to 1953.
Inverness Club was founded in 1903, when many of Toledo's wealthiest citizens purchased a parcel of land and built a nine-hole golf course. The course was eventually expanded to eighteen holes. In 1916, the club hired Donald Ross to construct a championship-caliber golf course, which was finished by the end of 1918. In his unpublished book, Golf Has Never Failed Me, Ross discussed Inverness's design, one of only seven of his hundreds of courses to be given a discussion.
The course has been refurbished three times: once after the 1920 Open by A.W. Tillinghast and Dick Wilson; then in 1978 by George
George Fazio
George Fazio was an American professional golfer and a golf course architect.Fazio, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a respected player in the mid-twentieth century and competed in seven Masters Tournaments from 1947 to 1954...
and Tom Fazio
Tom Fazio
Thomas Fazio, ASGCA is a golf course architect.Fazio graduated in 1962 from Lansdale Catholic High School and was inducted into its "Hall of Fame" in 2007. He began his career in golf course design with his family's firm in suburban Philadelphia, which he left in the 1960s; he established his own...
; and finally in 1999 by Arthur Hills
Arthur Hills
Arthur Hills is an American golf course designer who achieved a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University. He has designed more than 180 new golf courses, including private, resort, upscale, and public golf courses...
. Currently Inverness is ranked #37 on Golfweek Magazine's America's Best Classic Courses, and #41 by Golf Digest.
Point of Interest
Before the 1920 U.S. Open, golf professionals were not treated as the stars they are today. Inverness changed all of that by becoming the first club to allow professional golfers into the club house marking a paradigm shift in the way professional golfers would be treated forever.As a gift for the boldness and generosity Inverness had shown, Walter Hagen gathered other professional golfers when the U.S. Open returned to Inverness in 1931 so that a gift could be purchased for the club. Together they purchased a grandfather clock for the club house which stands there to this day. On the brass plate of the clock an inscription was written that left no doubt concerning the shift that had happened just 11 years before:
- God measures men by what they are
- Not by what they in wealth possess
- This vibrant message chimes afar
- The voice of Inverness
Tournaments
Winners of major tournaments held at Inverness Club include:U.S. Open
- 1920 - Ted RayTed Ray (golfer)Edward R. G. "Ted" Ray was a British professional golfer born on the Isle of Jersey. He won two major championships and contended in many others during the early years of the 20th century.-Biography:...
- 1931 - Billy Burke
- 1957 - Dick MayerDick MayerAlvin Richard Mayer was an American professional golfer.Mayer was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He apprenticed with renowned player and teacher Claude Harmon at the Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York City....
- 1979 - Hale IrwinHale IrwinHale S. Irwin is an American professional golfer. He is one of the few players in history to have won three U.S. Opens and was one of the world's leading golfers for much of the 1970s and 1980s. He has also developed a career as a golf course architect.Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri, but was...
U.S. Amateur Championship
- 1973 - Craig StadlerCraig StadlerCraig Robert Stadler is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level....
PGA Championship
- 1986 - Bob TwayBob TwayRobert Raymond Tway IV is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including eight PGA Tour victories. He spent 25 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 1986-87....
- 1993 - Paul AzingerPaul AzingerPaul William Azinger is an American professional golfer and occasional on air golf analyst. He spent almost 300 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1988 and 1994.-Early years:...
U.S. Senior Open
- 2003 - Bruce LietzkeBruce LietzkeBruce Alan Lietzke is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level.Lietzke was born in Kansas City, Kansas...
- 2011 - Olin BrowneOlin BrowneOlin Douglas Browne is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour as well as the Champions Tour.Browne was born in Washington, D.C. He graduated from St. Albans School in 1977. He then went on to Occidental College in 1981. He turned professional in 1984. He lives in Hobe Sound,...