Golf at Ridgemont
The Founders Course
Edmund Calloway, 1914 · Restored 2016 · Par 71 · 7,214 yards · Walking before two o'clock, as always.
The Routing
Eleven days of walking, one hundred eleven years of play
Calloway's course asks the question the old links ask: not how far you hit it, but where you have left yourself. Fairway widths are honest — thirty-two paces at the narrowest — but the tilt of the ground and the placement of his eighty-one bunkers reward the ball played to the correct side. Greens average 6,400 square feet, run eleven and a half in season, and forgive very little above the hole.
The 2016 restoration, undertaken from Calloway's own drawings by the firm of Hanover & Grieve, returned fourteen greens to their original sizes and removed four hundred twelve trees that had narrowed the corridors Calloway intended. The course record of 63, held by William Thacher since the Member–Pro of 2019, has survived everything since.
The Card
Scorecard — the Whitfield markers
Back (Whitfield) 7,214 yds · Member (Green) 6,738 yds · Forward (Boxwood) 5,862 yds · Par 71. Course rating 74.2, slope 138 from the Whitfield markers.
| Hole | Name | Whitfield | Green | Boxwood | Par | Hcp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Gate | 412 | 388 | 342 | 4 | 11 |
| 2 | Rail Fence | 438 | 410 | 366 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | Calloway's Kettle | 196 | 178 | 152 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | The Long Meadow | 565 | 532 | 474 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | Springhouse | 176 | 158 | 128 | 3 | 17 |
| 6 | Dusk | 452 | 424 | 381 | 4 | 3 |
| 7 | The Saddle | 368 | 344 | 312 | 4 | 13 |
| 8 | Orchard | 538 | 506 | 452 | 5 | 9 |
| 9 | Homeward | 421 | 395 | 348 | 4 | 7 |
| Out | — | 3,566 | 3,335 | 2,955 | 36 | — |
| 10 | The Paddock | 389 | 362 | 318 | 4 | 14 |
| 11 | Cedar Run | 204 | 186 | 161 | 3 | 16 |
| 12 | The Dell | 334 | 311 | 276 | 4 | 18 |
| 13 | Whitfield's Fancy | 581 | 549 | 487 | 5 | 2 |
| 14 | The Lookout | 447 | 419 | 371 | 4 | 4 |
| 15 | Quarry | 178 | 162 | 139 | 3 | 12 |
| 16 | Long Acre | 462 | 435 | 389 | 4 | 6 |
| 17 | The Allée | 524 | 498 | 441 | 5 | 8 |
| 18 | The Verdict | 529 | 481 | 325 | 4 | 10 |
| In | — | 3,648 | 3,403 | 2,907 | 35 | — |
| Total | — | 7,214 | 6,738 | 5,862 | 71 | — |
Hole by Hole
The professional's notes
Select a hole for the note our Director of Golf, Kit Aldercroft, reads to every first-time guest. Yardages are from the Whitfield markers.
Holes 1–9 play out along the rail fence; holes 10–18 come home over Cedar Run. Use arrow keys to move between holes.
The Customs of the Game
Playing at Ridgemont
The Founders Course is walking-only before two o'clock, as it has been since 1914; caddies are available from the first of April through Thanksgiving, and the caddie yard's recommendation carries weight. Carts are permitted after two and all day on the Meadow Nine.
Tee times are made through the Golf Shop from seven days ahead; the morning game goes off the first at eight sharp, weekends by the starter's draw. Pace is a matter of club custom: four hours is expected, four and a quarter is remarked upon.
- SeasonApril 1 – Thanksgiving; winter play at the Superintendent's discretionYear-round walking
- TeesWhitfield 7,214 · Green 6,738 · Boxwood 5,862Par 71
- CaddiesApril – Thanksgiving, first tee at 7:30$85 + gratuity
- PracticeThe Meadow ground: 320 yards, short-game green, two putting clocksOpens 6:30
- InstructionKit Aldercroft, PGA, and three assistants; the winter school in FebruaryBy appointment
- GuestsAccompanied at all times; twice per calendar month per guest$225 forecaddie incl.
The Course in Light