Myopia Hunt Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Myopia Hunt Club is a private country club at 435 Bay Road in South Hamilton, Massachusetts founded in 1882.[1] The five founders of the Hunt Club all wore glasses, hence its name, Myopia.[2] Originally intended for hunting and riding, the club became well known for golf. The U.S. Open was held at the club in 1898, 1901, 1905, and 1908. The 72-hole winning score by Fred Herd in 1898 was 328, a record high that still stands today.[3] Herbert Corey Leeds was the course designer.[4] The first nine was completed in 1896, but the second nine was not finished until 1901, so the 1898 U.S. Open was actually played on eight rounds of nine holes.
This is the only course in the United States to have been listed by "GOLF Magazine" as having two of this country's top 100 signature holes, Myopia's fourth and ninth.[5]
In 1902 a real tennis court was opened at the Myopia Hunt Club, but has since been converted to other uses.[6]
Myopia also boasts the oldest continually running polo field in the nation. Polo is still played on Sunday afternoons and is open to the public for a small fee.
From 1995-2005, the course underwent a series of major improvements under the leadership of Club president Michael Greene. Greene, along with Captain of Golf Steve Warhover (and with the consent of the voting members of the club), lengthened the course with new tees on the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 15th, and 18th holes. In addition, many trees throughout the links course were removed and replaced with traditional mounds, as the historic design of Herbert Corey Leeds demanded.
[edit] Trivia
William H. Safrin, PGA Master Professional, is the Top Professional. He is assisted by Erik Sorenson.
Myopia continues to boast a substantial caddy program, as they had three Francis Ouimet Scholars in 2005-06.
The cross-bunker on the 10th hole is named Taft's Bunker for the former President who frequented Myopia often. Legend has it that every time the President was able to get his ball out of the bunker, Leeds told his men to "dig it deeper."
[edit] References
- ^ John Steele Gordon. The Country Club. Retrieved on April 25, 2006.
- ^ GolfClubAtlas.com. Myopia Hunt Club, MA, USA. Retrieved on April 24, 2006.
- ^ Peter F. Stevens. Golf Online: Myopia Misery. Retrieved on April 24, 2006.
- ^ GolfClubAtlas.com. Myopia Hunt Club, MA, USA. Retrieved on April 24, 2006.
- ^ Golf Online. Myopia Hunt Club. Retrieved on April 24, 2006.
- ^ Allison Danzig. The Royal & Ancient Game of Tennis. Retrieved on April 24, 2006.
