Gosh, these are big places! They make our little British affairs look like village halls.
It's why the Pilgrims sailed on the Mayflower. Few realize that a theological dispute was just a minor side squabble. In a 1617 letter, William Bradford wrote to his brother:
"Truly our congregation hath been disturbed by changes in golfe halls. They hath of late become so small as to be unfit. God in all His Providence shall provide more for us. Goodwife Chilton wishes for a facility that can host full evening Suppers everye night, and the weddings of her beloved children in God's due time. Henry Samson and Moses Chapman wish to play both tennis and pickleball. Mr. Clarke, Mr. Gardiner, and Mr. Howland hath desire to swim in a pool which is of full length and breadth. Verily need we a full Gymnasium to exercise our bodies so to further glorify God. We are faine to flie our howses and habitations but these English golfe halls sucketh. Therefore we shall sail to the new colony and build a full service facilitie. None of us have means to afford monthly dues at such a grand place but God shall provide to overcome all afflictions. Perhaps the women folk may perform an evening job after working in the howse all during the day."And so was born the Plymouth Country Club, chartered in 1622. The 60,000 square foot clubhouse proved to be a burden to maintain, especially as it took the men away from their crops, and the club folded in 1629 because members were starving to death in the winter. Unfortunate as the now NLE course is the only joint design of William Bradford and Tisquantum (Squanto). Recent archaeological digs have uncovered a driving range with multiple tees and a full short game area, a shooting range, and what appears to be a polo field that was abandoned mid-construction. The polo field is likely the biggest reason for the club's financial ruin. It was an egregious misuse of club provisions given that the colony did not even import horses until the mid-1630s.
Thankfully, though the club and facility are lost to history, the legacy of building enormously large clubhouses hath not just survived, but yea hath prospered.