In 1895, a group of amateur golfers who called themselves the Mosholu Golf Club petitioned the city to build a golf course in Van Cortlandt Park. Nobody knew what golf in a public park would look like. Nobody had asked the question before. The city said yes.
The original layout was nine holes. Tom Bendelow — who else — was brought in to consult. The course expanded to 18 and became the proving ground for a generation of New York golfers. Willie MacFarlane, who would beat Bobby Jones in a playoff to win the 1925 U.S. Open at Worcester, learned the game at Van Cortlandt. So did Bessie Anthony, the early women's champion. The course didn't just serve the public — it produced champions.
The clubhouse, built in 1902, is still standing. The course is still public. It's still taking tee times. 130 years of continuous operation, through two world wars and a dozen recessions and every cycle of disinvestment and neglect that public golf has endured. Van Cortlandt is the origin story of everything this manifesto is about. The first public course in America is still a public course. That's not preservation. That's endurance.
Bronx, NY · Est. 1895 · First public course in America · Tom Bendelow consulting · 130 years continuous operation · Mosholu Golf Club founders
Part of The Muni Manifesto series. Read: Dyker Beach · Forest Park · Marine Park · Silver Lake