The golf courses of the "historically Jewish clubs"

[Anthony Butler]

What was the first great club to admit Irish Catholics? Did they ever build their own or just take places over?

Charles River Club in Newton is a Ross course that was created around 1928 due to the fact Irish Catholics could not gain admittance to The Country Club at the time.

Many of my wife's relatives have Jewish heritage and a couple are now members of TCC... A change I am thankful for a couple times a year. 

[Steve_ Shaffer]

From Stewart Abramson:


I was a member of Otterkill CC in Campbell Hall NY. It was designed by William F Mitchell and opened in 1957. At that time there were three or four other private clubs in Orange County NY. none of which had any Jewish members. I'll try to find an article from one of the local papers from the opening week that described how the local Jewish community got together to form the club. When I joined in the 1990's there was a photo of the original members hanging in the locker  with all of their names. The names were all Jewish, except for one... Joe Bonnano, the crime boss who couldn't get into any other club. He was purportedly a member from the opening of the club until around 1963.

[Stewart Abramson]

From Stewart Abramson:


I was a member of Otterkill CC in Campbell Hall NY. It was designed by William F Mitchell and opened in 1957. At that time there were three or four other private clubs in Orange County NY. none of which had any Jewish members. I'll try to find an article from one of the local papers from the opening week that described how the local Jewish community got together to form the club. When I joined in the 1990's there was a photo of the original members hanging in the locker  with all of their names. The names were all Jewish, except for one... Joe Bonnano, the crime boss who couldn't get into any other club. He was purportedly a member from the opening of the club until around 1963.

Steve, I was unable to find the article I was referring to about the founding of the club. However, in trying to find it I found this July 1971 article about the murder of Joe Colombo. It refreshed my memory in that it was Joe Colombo rather than Joe Bonnano who was the member.


Newburgh News July 9, 1971


Another HJC that I don't believe has been listed in this thread is Crest Hills Country Club in Cincinnati, OH. It opened in 1967 and closed around 2005. I played it in 2000 at which time it was a host of the JCC Maccabi Games golf event. The membership was still predominantly Jewish at that time.