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Syracuse District Golf Association Junior Golf
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BRIEF HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTRY CLUB
Columbia Country Club, site of the 2011 Williamson Cup, was founded September
29, 1898 as Columbia Golf Club and, prior to its move to the current Connecticut
Avenue location, operated on three different sites in the District of Columbia. The
“new” in Chevy Chase club opened on January 1, 1911. Countless individuals
played key roles in the development of the club. The early spiritual leader was
Henry Litchfield West, long-time Sports Editor of the Washington Post. Another
stalwart was Dr. Walter S. Harban, who was heavily involved with early architects
Herbert Barker and Walter Travis. Harban was the first president of the DC Golf
Association in 1914 and was a founder of the USGA Green Section, which first met
at Columbia in 1921. As a member of the Executive Committee of the United States
Golf Association, Dr. Harban sought to place a United States Amateur at Columbia.
Eventually the USGA settled on the club for the site of the 1921 US Open. The
transplanted Englishman and eventual four-time major champion “Long Jim”
Barnes was the winner by nine strokes over 11-time major winner Walter Hagen
and Columbia Professional Fred McLeod, the 1908 US Open Champion. McLeod
registered eight top 10 finishes in the event. At 5’4” and 120 pounds, he was an
extraordinary figure in American golf. He served Columbia from 1912 through 1967
while also winning the 1927 Maryland Open and the 1938 PGA Senior. The
diminutive man from North Berwick was succeeded, first, by the legendary instructor
and administrator Bill Strausbaugh and, most recently, by the prominent player,
teacher and now past president of the Middle Atlantic Section PGA, Robert Dolan.
Hence, in over 100 years, the club has had only three head golf professionals.
On the agronomic side, the golf course was nurtured for years by one of the
foremost superintendents in the country, George Thompson. Most recently, the
course has been restored to its legendary stature by young Steve McCormick. For
more than 25 years, Columbia Country Club has benefited from the management
skills of the extraordinary General Manager Jim Troppman.
In the broader sweep of history, Columbia can claim to be the foremost
championship golf course in the DC area and the home of golf in Maryland. In
addition to the 1921 US Open, Columbia hosted the 2003 US Junior Amateur won
by Brian Harmon. The club has been the site of 14 Middle Atlantic Amateurs, 10
Maryland Amateurs, 10 DC Amateurs and four Maryland Opens. Bobby Brownell,
Ralph Bogart, Deane Beman, Dale Morey, Jeff Thomas and Marty West won
championships at the club. Indeed Columbia member and Walker Cupper West
has won a combined 19 of the previously mentioned Washington Area “majors,”
including nine Maryland Amateurs. Three-time Walker Cupper Roland MacKenzie
developed his game at Columbia under the watchful eye of Fred McLeod.
Columbia amateurs have registered a remarkable 46 wins in the Maryland Open
and the Amateurs of the Middle Atlantic, Washington Metropolitan and Maryland
State Golf Associations. Additionally, thirty-two presidencies of the three local
amateur golf associations have been held by members of Columbia Country Club.
The contributions of Columbia members in the playing of the game and in service
to the game are unmatched in the Middle Atlantic region and rarely surpassed
anywhere in the country.
Columbia Country Club, site of the 2011 Williamson Cup, was founded September
29, 1898 as Columbia Golf Club and, prior to its move to the current Connecticut
Avenue location, operated on three different sites in the District of Columbia. The
“new” in Chevy Chase club opened on January 1, 1911. Countless individuals
played key roles in the development of the club. The early spiritual leader was
Henry Litchfield West, long-time Sports Editor of the Washington Post. Another
stalwart was Dr. Walter S. Harban, who was heavily involved with early architects
Herbert Barker and Walter Travis. Harban was the first president of the DC Golf
Association in 1914 and was a founder of the USGA Green Section, which first met
at Columbia in 1921. As a member of the Executive Committee of the United States
Golf Association, Dr. Harban sought to place a United States Amateur at Columbia.
Eventually the USGA settled on the club for the site of the 1921 US Open. The
transplanted Englishman and eventual four-time major champion “Long Jim”
Barnes was the winner by nine strokes over 11-time major winner Walter Hagen
and Columbia Professional Fred McLeod, the 1908 US Open Champion. McLeod
registered eight top 10 finishes in the event. At 5’4” and 120 pounds, he was an
extraordinary figure in American golf. He served Columbia from 1912 through 1967
while also winning the 1927 Maryland Open and the 1938 PGA Senior. The
diminutive man from North Berwick was succeeded, first, by the legendary instructor
and administrator Bill Strausbaugh and, most recently, by the prominent player,
teacher and now past president of the Middle Atlantic Section PGA, Robert Dolan.
Hence, in over 100 years, the club has had only three head golf professionals.
On the agronomic side, the golf course was nurtured for years by one of the
foremost superintendents in the country, George Thompson. Most recently, the
course has been restored to its legendary stature by young Steve McCormick. For
more than 25 years, Columbia Country Club has benefited from the management
skills of the extraordinary General Manager Jim Troppman.
In the broader sweep of history, Columbia can claim to be the foremost
championship golf course in the DC area and the home of golf in Maryland. In
addition to the 1921 US Open, Columbia hosted the 2003 US Junior Amateur won
by Brian Harmon. The club has been the site of 14 Middle Atlantic Amateurs, 10
Maryland Amateurs, 10 DC Amateurs and four Maryland Opens. Bobby Brownell,
Ralph Bogart, Deane Beman, Dale Morey, Jeff Thomas and Marty West won
championships at the club. Indeed Columbia member and Walker Cupper West
has won a combined 19 of the previously mentioned Washington Area “majors,”
including nine Maryland Amateurs. Three-time Walker Cupper Roland MacKenzie
developed his game at Columbia under the watchful eye of Fred McLeod.
Columbia amateurs have registered a remarkable 46 wins in the Maryland Open
and the Amateurs of the Middle Atlantic, Washington Metropolitan and Maryland
State Golf Associations. Additionally, thirty-two presidencies of the three local
amateur golf associations have been held by members of Columbia Country Club.
The contributions of Columbia members in the playing of the game and in service
to the game are unmatched in the Middle Atlantic region and rarely surpassed
anywhere in the country.
