Riverside Golf Club

Founded in 1893, Riverside Golf Club is one of the oldest golf clubs in the United States and was one of pioneering western clubs during the late 19th century. The original course was laid out in 1893 and the club was incorporated in 1897.{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/golfersgreenbook00ryan|title=Golfers' green book ..|first=Joseph Edmond G.|last=Ryan|date=February 5, 1901|publisher=Chicago, National golf bureau|via=Internet Archive}} The golf course straddles the banks of the Des Plaines River between Cermak Road and 26th Street. Though the course has changed and expanded over the years it is still located on substantially the same plot of land as in 1893. In 1899 the club was a founding member of the Western Golf Association.{{Cite news|title=Plan for Golf Association - Chicago Tribune April 14th, 1899 Page 4|date=April 14, 1899|work=Chicago Tribune Page 4}}{{Cite news|title=Western Golf Association - Chicago Tribune April 28, 1899 Page 4|date=April 28, 1899|work=Chicago Tribune Page 4}}

Albert Seckel was Riverside's leading player during its early years, playing in numerous national tournaments. His most important win came at the 1911 Western Amateur contested at Detroit Golf Club.{{Cite news|title=Seckel Supreme in Western Golf - Chicago Tribune|date=July 30, 1911|work=Chicago Tribune - Page C1}} He also finished as runner-up in this event in 1909 and 1924.

In the late 1950s the club resisted and overcame a takeover attempt by the University of Illinois at Chicago where the school sought to relocate its campus from Navy Pier to the club's property.{{Cite news|title=U of I Board Plans Park Campus - Chicago Tribune|date=December 17, 1959|work=Chicago Tribune - Page B9}}

The club was basis for the Mac Divot comic strip that was published in the 1960s and 1970s. Mac Divot was created by a member who worked for the Chicago Tribune. Many of the stories in the comic strip were based on real life characters and happenings at the club.{{Cite news|title=Chicago Tribune July 15, 1983 Page WCN20|date=July 15, 1983|work=Chicago Tribune}}{{Cite web|url=https://golf.com/sitemap/|title=GOLF.com sitemap: Search here for all of GOLF.com's content}}{{Cite news|title=In the Wake of News - Chicago Tribune - 11/30/1961|date=November 30, 1961|work=Chicago Tribune Page F1}}

Riverside was a founding member of the Western Golf Association and is an active supporter of the Evans Scholarship Program, having given out 121 scholarships to caddies.{{Cite web|title=Riverside Golf Club History|url=https://www.rgc1893.org/about-us/history|access-date=2021-03-18|website=www.rgc1893.org}}

The original golf course consisted of 3 holes and was expanded to 5 holes later during the 1893 season. A nine-hole course was laid out by founding members William A. Havemeyer, J.S. Driver, and Thomas C. Hannah in 1894.{{Cite news|title=After 90 years, Riverside club survives and thrives - Chicago Tribune|date=July 15, 1983|work=Chicago Tribune - Page WCS20}} Between 1896 and 1897 the course was expanded and revised, but remained a nine-hole track, and became known as one of the most beautiful and challenging in the west.{{Cite news|title=Open New Golf Links - Chicago Tribune June 28, 1896|date=June 28, 1896|work=Chicago Tribune - Page 32}}{{Cite news|title=New Course at Riverside - Chicago Tribune|date=October 11, 1897|work=Chicago Tribune - Page 4}} As of 1901, the course played to a yardage of 3,217 yards with a bogey rating of 43.

In the early 1900s many clubs expanded their golf courses to 18 holes but Riverside did not follow suit. This caused the club to fall off the map a bit in terms of prestige and notoriety as it remained a 9-hole course. In the late teens the club purchased additional land adjacent to its original property, on the opposite side (east) of the Des Plaines River. The club built a new clubhouse on the river bank of the newly acquired land. In 1917-1919 William Langford designed a new 18 hole course, reshaping Riverside as one of the top courses in the area.{{Cite web|url=https://magcs.org/page-1592781|title=Midwest Association of Golf Course Superintendents - The Midwest Family Tree (Clubs N-Z)|website=magcs.org}}{{Cite news|title=Chicago Tribune November 2, 1919 Page A2|date=November 2, 1919|work=Chicago Tribune}} Riverside was possibly one of Langford's first architectural works as it is attributed only to him and not his later partnership known as "Langford and Moreau".{{Cite web|date=2019-09-16|title=The Sultans of the Steam Shovel: Langford & Moreau|url=https://thefriedegg.com/langford-moreau-profile/|access-date=2021-03-18|website=The Fried Egg|language=en-US}}

During the 1980s the club secured an additional 25 acres of land east of the Des Plaines River and south of the rail line. Four new holes were added on this newly acquired tract which were designed by Dick Nugent and Associates. After these holes were completed 3 holes east of the clubhouse were removed and replaced by a practice facility and new 18th hole. The practice area and 18th hole were designed by Bob Lohmann. The course remained relatively unchanged during the 1990s through 2015.

In 2015 Chicago based architect David Esler oversaw a renovation of the golf course. All bunkers were returned to the original Langford style with grass faces, trees were removed, tee boxes were added, and some greens were expanded. Green expansion and restoration projects have continued on a less invasive basis during the succeeding years. From the championship tees, the current course plays to a par of 71 at 6,735 yards and has a course rating/slope of 73.4/136.{{Cite web|title=Riverside Golf Club Scorecard|url=https://www.rgc1893.org/golf/scorecard|access-date=2021-03-18|website=www.rgc1893.org}}

The following is a partial list of various local, state, national, and qualifying tournaments hosted by the club:

• 1928 U.S. Open Qualifying{{Cite news|title=Riverside Club Picked for '40 District Meet|date=April 21, 1940|work=Chicago Tribune Page B4}}
• 1932 Chicago Women's District Golf Association Championship{{Cite news|title=Entries Close Tomorrow Night for Women's Golf - Chicago Tribune|date=July 20, 1932|work=Chicago Tribune - Page 19}}
• 1940 C.D.G.A. Amateur{{Cite news|title=Ferrier and Barnum enter CDGA's Amateur Meet - Chicago Tribune August 17, 1940|date=August 17, 1940|work=Chicago Tribune Page 26}}
• 1950 U.S. Amateur Qualifying{{Cite news|title=70 Golfers Seek 16 Berths in U.S. Amateur - Chicago Tribune|date=August 6, 1950|work=Chicago Tribune - Page A4}}
• 1958 U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifying{{Cite news|title=Dates, Sites Set for Chicago District Golf - Chicago Tribune|date=March 30, 1958|work=Chicago Tribune - Page A3}}
• 1960 U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifying{{Cite news|title=C.D.G.A. Outlines Season's Tournament Program - Chicago Tribune|date=March 20, 1960|work=Chicago Tribune - Page B3}}
• 1967 U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifying{{Cite news|title=Dutch Shoots 74, Qualifies in Junior Golf|date=July 18, 1967|work=Chicago Tribune - Page B2}}
• 1968 Illinois Open{{Cite news|title=Giese Scores 142, Leads Illinois Open Chicago Tribune September 18, 1968|date=September 18, 1968|work=Chicago Tribune Page C3}}
• 2007 U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying{{Cite web|url=http://usga.usopen.com/2007/news/qualifying/sectional_results.html|title=Official Web site of the 2007 U.S. Open Championship {{!}} Sectional Qualifying Results|website=usga.usopen.com|access-date=2018-09-17}}
• 2008 C.D.G.A. Amateur Championship{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdga.org/charts.asp?sfile=static/results/2008/CDGAAmateurRiversideMatchPlay.pdf|title=Chicago District Golf Association|website=cdga.org|access-date=2018-09-17}}
• 2015 Western Junior{{Cite web|url=https://thewesternjunior.com/history|title=Past Champions Western Junior Championship|website=westernjunior.com|access-date=2018-09-17}}
• 2018 Illinois Senior Amateur{{Cite web|url=http://www.cdga.org/pletters.asp?id=32&pid=2|title=Chicago District Golf Association|website=cdga.org|access-date=2018-09-17}}
• 2021 U.S. Senior Open Qualifier{{Cite web |url=https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2020/u-s--senior-open/articles/2020-u-s--senior-open--qualifying-sneak-peek.html |title=2020 U.S. Senior Open Qualifying Sneak Peek |access-date=2020-02-16 |archive-date=2020-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216185753/https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/championships/2020/u-s--senior-open/articles/2020-u-s--senior-open--qualifying-sneak-peek.html |url-status=dead }}

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Category:Golf clubs and courses in Illinois

Category:Sports venues in Cook County, Illinois

Category:1897 establishments in Illinois