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Knickerbocker Country Club golf course, established in 1914 in Tenafly, NJ, was the original brainchild of Donald Ross (with subsequent input from Herbert Strong) and restored in 2007 by modern traditionalist Ron Forse.
This full color hardcover book was written by Kathryn Levy Feldman to commemorative the first 100 years of the club’s history (1914 – 2014).
The book measures approximately 11″ x 9″ with 80 pages and wonderful photographs by Jim Krajicek (click here).
To visit the Knickerbocker C.C. website click here.
Knickerbocker C.C. has been ranked in the top 200 Classic Golf Courses (courses opened prior to 1960) coming in at #144 in 2014 GOLFWEEK’s Best Classic Courses ranking (click here).
Click here to visit the Donald Ross Society website.
Click here to visit the Forse Design website.
An excerpt from a recent NJ news article (click here for full story) adds,
There’s plenty of history at Knickerbocker, it’s just a little more personal. And if you look close enough, there are plenty of connections to some of the most famous names in golf.
“I think the history that most of our members connect with really is in our head professionals,” said Phil Fabrizio, golf chairman and longtime Knickerbocker member. “Ed Whitman and Otto Greiner – that gives some richness to the experience. That we’ve had only six.”
The club’s first head professional, William Collins, taught golf to President Woodrow Wilson, according to Kathryn Levy Feldman’s book, “Knickerbocker Country Club – The First 100 Years.”
The club’s third head pro, William Walker, was the brother of Cyril Walker, who won the 1924 U.S. Open – defeating legend Bobby Jones by three shots.
And that’s not even the club’s most famous connection to the legendary Jones. In 1930, Jones won the final leg of his famed Grand Slam by capturing the U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club in Haverford Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia. He beat Gene Homans that day. Homans was a member at Knickerbocker from the 1930s through the 1950s, but never won the club championship.
Greiner, the club’s fourth head professional from 1952 to 1984, played in 10 U.S. Opens – five of them while representing Knickerbocker. His Bergenfield home was just off the 13th fairway, allowing him the opportunity to offer an average of 30 lessons per week.
Whitman took over for Greiner in 1984, and was the club’s head professional until 2011. He’s now the director of golf. Whitman matched Greiner’s record of 64 seven times. He is one of New Jersey’s most accomplished pros, having won the State Open a record-tying four times – all while building on the rich history at Knickerbocker.