Site Preview - The Hartford Golf Club

USGA championships: This will be the club’s second USGA championship. Hartford G.C. hosted the 1996 U.S. Mid-Amateur in conjunction with its centennial celebration. John "Spider" Miller won the championship. It’s also the third U.S. Girls’ Junior to be held in the Nutmeg State, following 1958 at Greenwich Golf Club and 2003 at Brooklawn C.C., where Sukjin-Lee Wuestoff staged one of the greatest comebacks in championship-match history, rallying from 5 down after eight holes to post a 1-up win over defending champion Inbee Park.

Design notes: The club, which opened in 1896, features 27 holes of golf that incorporate the work of Donald Ross and Devereaux Emmett. The current course opened for play in 1914. Ross paid his last visit to the club in 1946 – two years before his death – and completed the design of the last four holes of the original 18 and the third nine. Revisions were later made by William Gordon and Robert Trent Jones Sr.

Fire down below: The club’s original clubhouse was destroyed by a fire in 1908 and eventually replaced by a structure that featured bowling alleys and sleeping accommodations for members.

Major draw: During his 1900 exhibition tour of the U.S., Harry Vardon paid a visit to Hartford Golf Club and played two 18-hole rounds. Vardon, who won the 1900 U.S. Open and eventually would capture a record six British Open titles, drew galleries in excess of 500 people for his two matches on Sept. 18. According to Hartford’s club history book, Vardon considered the layout "very difficult because of the unevenness of the ground and the fast greens."

Expansion necessary: When the club decided to add an additional nine holes to its current layout in the late 1950s, it enabled more rounds to be played on the course and the club could accommodate 80 teams for the annual member-guest tournament.

Champs in the house: Lida Kinnicutt (now Lida Tingley) has won a record-tying 13 Connecticut state titles and has been a frequent competitor in USGA championships, including the U.S. Girls’ Junior. She has also represented Connecticut in the USGA Women’s State Team Championship in 1995 and 2001…Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma, who recently joined the club, has guided the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team to five NCAA Division I titles.

More than just golf: Don’t let the name fool you. Hartford Golf Club offers more than just golf. The clubhouse has duckpin bowling alleys for members to keep active in the winter months, and other activities available to members include tennis, swimming, squash, paddle tennis and a fitness center.

Giving back: The club takes cares of its younger employees by offering the Hartford Golf Club Scholarship Fund, which was organized on Feb. 1, 1989 by Jim Lyon and funded by generous members. By 1995, the fund had enough money to award worthy employees approximately $18,000 annually.