Green Hills Country Club facts for kids

Green Hills Country Club is a special private club in Millbrae, California. It's located on the San Francisco peninsula, about 20 minutes south of the city. When it was first built in 1929, it was called the Union League Golf and Country Club of San Francisco. It officially opened its doors in 1930.

Over the years, Green Hills Country Club has hosted many important golf tournaments. These include qualifying rounds for big events like the U.S. Open and the Senior Open. For a long time, the club also hosted a yearly golf tournament to raise money for the Professional Baseball Player-Babe Ruth Cancer Fund. Famous people like Ty Cobb, Bing Crosby, Lefty O'Doul, and Leo Durocher played in these events.

A Look Back at Green Hills Country Club's History

The Union League Golf and Country Club of San Francisco was built in 1929 in Millbrae, California. It opened in 1930. This was a very big and expensive project for a golf and country club in Northern California at the time. A group of important San Francisco businessmen, mostly members of the Union League of San Francisco, planned it during a time when the economy was doing very well. They wanted the best and spent a lot of money on the design.

The famous golf course designer Alister MacKenzie created the golf course. He even thought it was one of the top three courses on the West Coast. However, the Great Depression started, which was a very difficult economic time. Because of this, the club ran into financial trouble. In 1933, it was reorganized and renamed Millbrae Country Club. Later, in 1945, the club became known as Green Hills Country Club, which is its name today.

Finding the Perfect Spot for the Club

In the 1920s, members of the Union League started looking for a place to build a world-class club. They searched for years to find land that met specific requirements. It needed to be close to San Francisco, suitable for a championship golf course, have a natural water supply, and be outside the foggy areas.

In 1927, they found the ideal location in the hills above Millbrae, a small town on the San Francisco Peninsula. The land was very fertile because it had been used as a plant nursery for many decades. Flowers and shrubs from this property were even used by a famous gardener, John MacLaren, for the 1915 Pan Pacific Exposition, also known as the World's Fair. The property also had water all year round from natural creeks and rolling hills with beautiful views. Members could easily reach the club from San Francisco by driving their cars down El Camino Real, a road leading to the Peninsula.

The Talented Design Team

Once the land was secured, the Union League chose a team to build a top-notch golf course and a modern clubhouse. They made sure to hire the best golf and building architects.

The future members of the Union League Golf and Country Club hired the well-known golf course architect Alister MacKenzie. He was famous for designing courses like Cypress Point and Augusta National. MacKenzie got help from two other talented golfers: Henry Chandler Egan, a two-time U.S. Amateur Champion, and Robert Hunter, a college champion.

For the clubhouse, they chose the respected design firm of Willis Polk and Company. This firm was known for creating many beautiful buildings across Northern California. Willis Polk, who was a key architect in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, had passed away in 1924. However, his firm continued his work, and Angus McSweeney was the main architect for the club's building plans.

MacKenzie, with help from Hunter and Egan, used the natural shape of the land. They did not have to change the ground much to create an 18-hole golf course. This course quickly became known as a world-class golf course. It had some of the most challenging greens and bunkers, similar to the famous Cypress Point course. News reports at the time said, "No expense has been spared to build the best."

In 1929, while shaping the land for what is now Green Hills, MacKenzie said the course would be "one of the finest of its kind on the coast."

The Grand Opening of the Club

The San Francisco newspapers reported on the opening day events on April 27, 1930. They gave wonderful reviews to the golf course, calling it a "happy valley" and "the equal of anything in Northern California." One local newspaper even said that MacKenzie praised the land and called it "one of his best pieces of work."

Construction for The Union League Golf and Country Club began on January 6, 1929. This was ten months before the stock market crash. Even though the golf course was ready to play in January 1930, the members decided to wait. They wanted to make sure the greens would not be damaged by being used too early. There was also a problem with the first fairway that needed a lot of drainage work before the opening.

The golf course officially opened with great excitement on April 27, 1930. More than 200 golfers played on the new course, which the press called "one of the finest in California." Samuel Welfield, the club's vice president, hit the first ceremonial ball from a silver tee. The club's president, William J. Bevan, was out of town.

The San Francisco Press reported that the course was about 6,300 yards from the middle tees and 6,665 yards from the champion tees. They noted that, in typical MacKenzie style, there were "two routes to each hole, for the dub and star alike." The land, which used to be a nursery, still looked like one. Some rough areas on the fairways were actually fruit tree orchards. The entire 145-acre property was surrounded by cypress, pine, oak, redwood, and other types of trees. Over 100,000 young trees were being grown to make the land even more beautiful.

In 1930, a large sign was placed at the corner of El Camino Real and Ludeman Lane. It said, "Union League Golf and Country Club 1,800 feet West." This sign could be seen by anyone on El Camino Real. A picture of the sign was featured on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle on August 10, 1930.

Building the golf course, including MacKenzie's fee, cost $140,000. The land itself cost $250,000. The clubhouse and its furnishings added another $150,000. This brought the total cost to about $540,000.

Charles T. Magill, a member of the Union League Club, was the contractor for the clubhouse. He even won the "opening day" golf tournament!

To join the Union League Club, the original fee was $1,250, and only 300 members were allowed. The big opening celebration and dinner dance happened on August 23, 1930. The San Mateo Times reported that over 300 members and their friends gathered in the new building. They enjoyed the entertainment at what was called "one of the finest country clubs in California."

The newspaper also reported that W.J. Bevan, the club's president, had overseen the construction. He brought a new golf course and clubhouse to the Peninsula that was a "real asset to the community." The new club had everything to make members comfortable and happy. It was a charming building with all the modern features of an up-to-date clubhouse.

Harry Kennett was the first head golf professional. Sam Smith was the first "starter" and assistant Club Manager. C.L. Westlake was the first Club Manager.

The Visionaries: MacKenzie and His Team

Alister MacKenzie was known as one of the top three golf course architects of his time. He wrote a book called Golf Course Design, which shared his ideas about how to create courses. MacKenzie's ideas influenced many architects for years to come. He also wrote The Spirit of St. Andrews, a famous "lost manuscript" that was found and published after he passed away in 1934.

Robert Hunter was a skilled golfer and a social person who had many connections. These connections helped bring attention to MacKenzie's course designs. Hunter also helped oversee the construction of the course with MacKenzie. His friendly personality helped attract new members to the club. Hunter loved links-style golf courses and wrote an important book about golf course architecture called Links.

H. Chandler Egan was a national golf champion. He won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1904 and 1905, and the Pacific Northwest championship several times. He was also a talented architect himself, designing great courses in Oregon. Egan also gained fame for redesigning parts of Pebble Beach Golf Links for the 1929 U.S. Amateur Championship. He changed the greens and bunkers to give them a dramatic, natural look. Egan actually finished second in that 1929 championship. Interestingly, MacKenzie redesigned the eighth hole at Pebble Beach, which is now considered one of the world's great par fours. A famous golfer named Bobby Jones was defeated early in that 1929 championship. This led him to visit Cypress Point and Pasatiempo, which were MacKenzie's courses. These visits convinced Bobby Jones to choose MacKenzie to design Augusta National, instead of another architect named Donald Ross. This decision started a new tradition in golf course design.

Facing Economic Challenges

By 1933, the tough economic times of the Great Depression hit hard. The Union League Golf and Country Club had to declare bankruptcy. The club was then reorganized and became the semi-private Millbrae Golf and Country Club. During the period around World War II, many of MacKenzie's original bunkers were filled in. This was a way to save money, and it happened at golf courses all over America. In 1945, the Millbrae Golf and Country Club became the private Green Hills Country Club, which it remains today.

In the 1990s, many of MacKenzie's original design features, including the bunkers, were brought back to their original look.

A New Clubhouse for a New Era

In 2007, the original clubhouse building was taken down. A brand new clubhouse opened in 2009, offering modern facilities for its members.