Tom Bendelow

Evanston, IL

A rebuilt 1919 community course on the North Shore Channel

Last verified 2026-09-14

Manchester, CT

Manchester Country Club is a private club in Manchester, Connecticut, tracing its origin to 1917 when it opened along a reservoir with a design credited to Tom Bendelow and Devereux Emmet. The course was reshaped in 1935 by A.W. Tillinghast, giving it the routing largely still in play today. The layout follows an old New England style, using natural land contours rather than heavy earthmoving, with small, well-guarded greens and several blind tee shots. Two pairs of par fives and a mix of short and mid-length par fours give the course variety without relying on great length. Manchester Country Club operates as a semi-private club with a membership base and outside events including weddings and tournaments; it plays to a par of 72 at roughly 6,300 yards from the main tees.

Le Sueur, MN

Le Sueur Country Club traces its founding to 1925-26, when a group of Le Sueur, Minnesota residents rented farmland from Ben Schlegel and built a rough nine-hole course by hand, using pitchforks and hoes to clear cornstalks before planting grass. The club has operated continuously since, with the course expanded from nine to eighteen holes in the 1970s. The layout follows a classic parkland style along the Minnesota River Valley, with mature trees and elevated greens, including a demanding par-4 ninth hole crossed by Le Sueur Creek. The club operates as a public golf course with a practice range and has hosted multiple Minnesota Golf Association championship events.

Chicago, IL

Jackson Park Golf Course opened on May 11, 1899, on the South Side lakefront grounds that had hosted the World's Columbian Exposition six years earlier. Designed by Tom Bendelow, it was the first public golf course in Chicago and one of the first municipal courses in the country. The course returned in 2026 as a fully renovated 18-hole layout, the only 18-holer in the Chicago Park District's golf portfolio. Mature trees and large greens carry the bones of the old design across the 500-acre park. Generations of Chicago golfers learned the game here, and the course remains a regular home for the Chicago City Amateur. For public golf in America, this is one of the places where it started.

Orlando, FL

Dubsdread Golf Course is the City of Orlando's historic municipal course, dating to 1924. The 18-hole layout plays through the oaks of the College Park neighborhood, a classic muni that has hosted the Orlando Open and served Orlando golfers for a century.

Denver, CO

A city-run course in the heart of Denver with views of the downtown skyline and the Front Range. Tom Bendelow laid out the original course in 1913, and Todd Schoeder of Grassroots Golf Design rebuilt it as a par-70 parkland layout that reopened in September 2020. The redesign uses about 20 acres of the course to hold stormwater and protect nearby neighborhoods, and added a four-hole First Tee course and a full-length driving range.

El Paso, TX

Painted Dunes Desert Golf Course is a public 27-hole facility in El Paso, Texas, at the foothills of the Franklin Mountains. It was designed by architects Ken Dye and Jeffrey Brauer and is arranged as three nine-hole loops, named East, West and North, that can be combined into different 18-hole rounds, which is why the club does not publish a single par or yardage figure for the whole property. The layout is carved from the Chihuahuan Desert and features undulating greens and rolling terrain that reward accurate approach shots, with native desert plants and wildlife visible throughout the round. The facility includes a golf shop, a bar and grill, and hosts tournaments, outings and private events such as weddings. Tee times can be booked online, and the course offers tiered rates for weekday and weekend play, seniors, twilight rounds, active military and first responders.

San Francisco, CA

Lincoln Park Golf Course is a San Francisco municipal course, set in Lincoln Park near the Legion of Honor. The 18-hole layout plays over hilly terrain, and the 17th hole offers one of the famous views in American golf, across the Golden Gate. The course dates to the early 1900s.

Cheraw, SC

Cheraw State Park Golf Course is a public course inside South Carolina's oldest state park, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934. Designed by Tom Jackson and opened in 1992, the par-72 layout cuts through a pine forest along the shores of Lake Juniper, and no two fairways sit next to each other. The course is a certified Audubon Sanctuary, and deer, wild turkeys and bald eagles are common sights during a round.

Salem, IL

Salem Country Club is a public course in Salem, in south-central Illinois. The 18-hole layout plays over rolling terrain, a friendly course that serves the Salem area.

Santa Fe, NM

Santa Fe Country Club is an 18-hole semi-private course in Santa Fe, New Mexico, set against the backdrop of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The club has operated at its Country Club Road location since the early 20th century. The course was designed by architect Tom Bendelow and opened in 1930. It plays to a par of 72 over roughly 7,000 yards from the back tees, with bluegrass greens and Bermuda fairways. The club offers a driving range and practice areas alongside the course. Under a long-standing water agreement with the city of Santa Fe, non-member city residents have historically been permitted to play the course in exchange for the club's use of treated effluent for irrigation.

Lake George, NY

Queensbury Country Club is a public 18-hole course in Queensbury, New York, a short drive from Lake George village in the southern Adirondacks. Founded in 1954, the par-70 layout measures about 6,215 yards and runs between two mountain ranges near the head of the Dunham's Bay wetlands. The course is walkable and includes a driving range, putting green and chipping green for practice, along with riding and pull cart rentals. A clubhouse with a bar and pro shop sits at the center of the property, and the restaurant serves lunch to golfers and non-golfers alike. Only golfers are permitted on the course itself. Tee times are arranged by phone through the pro shop, and the club offers an early-bird back-nine rate during summer mornings for those looking for a quicker round before the day heats up.

Beaver Dam, WI

Old Hickory Golf Club is an 18-hole course east of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, dating to 1920 and designed by Tom Bendelow with later work by Billy Sixty Jr. The course plays 6,727 yards from the back tees at a par of 72 over rolling terrain with target-style holes and elevation changes. The club is semi-private but open to public play, with a restaurant, banquet facilities and pro shop. It typically operates from April through November, and the dining room has built a following for Friday dinners and summer terrace seating.

Bronx, NY

The oldest public golf course in the United States: a living piece of American golf history.

Detroit Lakes, MN

Detroit Country Club in Detroit Lakes, MN, offers two public golf courses: Pine to Palm Golf Course and Lakeview Golf Course. The Lakeview Golf Course is an 18-hole course with a par of 64 and was opened in 1980. The Pine to Palm course has a par of 71.

Chicago, IL

Marquette Park is a nine-hole, par-36 municipal course on Chicago's southwest side, inside the 300-plus-acre Marquette Park. Tom Bendelow laid it out, and the park lagoons put water in play on seven of the nine holes at 3,246 yards. It is certified through the Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary program and has a full grass practice range, two short-game greens and a putting green. The Chicago Park District owns it; Indigo Sports manages day-to-day operations. BogeyMap has not confirmed the year the course itself opened.

Brooklyn, NY

Dyker Beach Golf Course is a municipal course in the Dyker Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, near the base of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. It opened in 1897 with a design credited to Tom Bendelow and was rebuilt in the mid-1930s by architect John Van Kleek as part of a Depression-era public works project. The public, par-71 course plays 6,548 yards and is managed by American Golf Corporation. It includes a putting green, a chipping area, and junior golf programs, and the clubhouse also hosts private events.

Evansville, IN

Helfrich Golf Course, also known as Helfrich Hills, was established in 1923 as the first public golf facility in Evansville [2](https://evvcitygolf.com/helfrich-about-us/) [4](https://www.bluegolf.com/amateur/programs/bgtmbhh1tm/about.html). Renowned architect Tom Bendelow designed the 18 hole par 71 layout, which features many hills and valleys [2](https://evvcitygolf.com/helfrich-about-us/) [3](https://www.evansvillegov.org/city/topic/index.php?topicid=451). The tree lined fairways provide a challenging test for players of all skill levels [2](https://evvcitygolf.com/helfrich-about-us/) [3](https://www.evansvillegov.org/city/topic/index.php?topicid=451). The course underwent a significant restoration project recently, reopening its greens in April 2023 [1](https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/2023/04/10/helfrich-hills-golf-course-reopens-after-months-long-restoration-work/70077170007/). It measures 6,324 yards from the longest tees and frequently hosts USGA Public Links qualifying rounds [2](https://evvcitygolf.com/helfrich-about-us/) [3](https://www.evansvillegov.org/city/topic/index.php?topicid=451).

Lincoln, IL

Lincoln Elks Golf Club in Lincoln, Illinois, is an 18-hole course established in 1904 and designed by Tom Bendelow. It has bentgrass fairways and rolling greens, playing par 71 from the blue and white tees and par 72 from the red and yellow tees. The club has a pro shop, instruction, a driving range and the 19th Hole Lodge.

Pass Christian, MS

Pass Christian Isles Golf Club, also known as The Isles, sits in the historic town of Pass Christian on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, just yards from the Bay of St. Louis. The course was built in 1914 by architect Tom Bendelow, making it the oldest golf course on the Gulf Coast, originally designed to give visiting dignitaries a place to play. Tree-lined fairways and small, well-guarded greens define the layout, which underwent renovation in 2004 and was later restored after Hurricane Katrina while retaining its early twentieth century character. The club is open to public play, with a pro shop, practice areas, and cart rentals, and it regularly hosts outings and tournaments.

Shellsburg, IA

Wildcat Golf Course opened in 1997 as a nine-hole course and was expanded to 18 holes in 2002 [4](https://www.hole19golf.com/courses/wildcat-golf-course#:~:text=opened%20in%201997,2002). Designed by Mark Kerr, the layout is built around Wildcat Creek and includes five additional ponds that bring water into play on half the holes [5](https://www.iowagolf.com/golfcourses/wildcat-golf-course#:~:text=Wildcat%20Creek,half%20the%20holes). The facility also features a driving range and indoor golf simulators [5](https://www.iowagolf.com/golfcourses/wildcat-golf-course#:~:text=driving%20range,simulators).

Waterloo, IA

Red Carpet opened in 1920 and was designed by Tom Bendelow [1](https://redcarpetgolf.com/#:~:text=opened%20in%201920,Tom%20Bendelow). The site served as the original home for Sunnyside Country Club until 1970 and has been privately owned since 1976 [5](https://gcr.foretee.com/courses/iowa/waterloo/usa/red-carpet-golf/5490/#:~:text=Sunnyside,1976). Professional golfers Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen both played the 18-hole course in 1933 [1](https://redcarpetgolf.com/#:~:text=Gene%20Sarazen,1933).

Chicago, IL · Location not mapped

Beverly Country Club, founded in 1908 in what is now Evergreen Park, Illinois, grew out of members of the Auburn Park Golf Club who purchased the 160-acre former Sherman Farm. The original layout was credited to club professional George O'Neil with assistance from Tom Bendelow, and in 1918 Donald Ross was engaged to redesign the course, producing a routing in which no two consecutive holes run in the same direction despite the rectangular property. The course uses a ridge left by prehistoric Lake Chicago that runs through the back nine. In 2002 architect Ron Prichard led a restoration recapturing Ross-era features, and the club has hosted the 1931 U.S. Amateur and multiple Western Opens.

Medinah, IL · Location not mapped

Course No. 2 at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, was originally designed by Tom Bendelow and opened in 1927, one of three courses built by the club after its 1924 founding by the Medinah Shriners. Rees Jones led a restoration of the course in 2016 and 2017 that returned its aesthetic character while rebuilding greens, tees, bunkers, and drainage. The par-72 layout plays 6,412 yards from the back tees, with multiple tee options suited to golfers of varying skill levels. Medinah's grounds also include Course No. 1 and the championship Course No. 3, along with a Byzantine-style clubhouse. Medinah is a private club; play is limited to members and their guests.

Olympia Fields, IL · Location not mapped

The South Course at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois, was designed in 1915 by Tom Bendelow, who also designed more than 700 other courses including Medinah No. 3. Steve Smyers renovated the course in 2007, and Andy Staples completed a further restoration in 2023 that rebuilt greens and revised bunker strategy. The par-72 layout now measures 7,268 yards from the back tees, with dramatic elevation changes and Butterfield Creek running through the property as a strategic hazard. The South Course has hosted the 2011 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship, the 2012 Junior Ryder Cup, and stroke play for the 2015 U.S. Amateur. Olympia Fields also operates a separate North Course. The club is private, limited to members and their guests.

Glencoe, IL

Skokie Country Club is a private club in Glencoe, Illinois, founded in 1897. Tom Bendelow laid out the original 18 holes in 1904, Donald Ross redesigned the course in 1914, and William Langford and Theodore Moreau reworked the layout in 1938 while preserving Ross's design intent. The parkland course plays to a par of 72 at 7,091 yards from the back tees and features varied green complexes across rolling terrain near Lake Michigan's North Shore suburbs. It has hosted national championships including the 1922 U.S. Open, the 1909 and 1952 Western opens, and multiple USGA and Western Amateur events. Skokie holds Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certification for its environmental management practices. The club is private and open to members and their guests only, with no public access to tee times.