Inverness Club facts for kids
| Club information | |
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| Location | Toledo, Ohio |
| Established | 1903 |
| Type | Private |
| Total holes | 18 |
| Tournaments hosted |
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| Website | Inverness Club |
| Designed by | Donald J. Ross |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,730 yards (7,068 m) |
| Course rating | 78.4 |
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Inverness Club
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Main building, seen from Dorr Street
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 Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | 4601 Dorr St., Toledo, Ohio |
| Area | 203 acres (82.2 ha) |
| Built | 1919 |
| Architect | Ross, Donald; Devore Company |
| Architectural style | Bungalow/Craftsman, Tudor Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 93000398 |
| Added to NRHP | May 10, 1993 |
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The Inverness Club is a private golf club located in Toledo, Ohio. It opened in 1903 and has become famous for hosting many major golf tournaments.
This club is special because it's the only one to have hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Senior Open, and U.S. Junior Amateur Championships. The championship golf course was designed by the well-known architect Donald Ross.
Inverness Club has hosted four U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships, two NCAA Men's Championships, and the Solheim Cup. Looking ahead, it will host the 2027 U.S. Women's Open and the 2029 U.S. Amateur.
Contents
History of Inverness Club
Inverness Club was started in 1903. At that time, some of Toledo's richest people bought land and built a nine-hole golf course. Later, the course was made bigger to have 18 holes.
Designing the Championship Course
In 1916, the club hired Donald Ross to create a golf course good enough for championships. He finished the design by the end of 1918. Ross wrote an unpublished book called Golf Has Never Failed Me. In this book, he only talked about the design of Inverness and six other courses, even though he designed hundreds.
A Big Change for Golfers
Before 1920, golf professionals in the United States were not allowed inside clubhouses. They were often seen as servants. But things started to change around 1920.
Sylvanus Pierre Jermain, who helped make golf popular in Toledo, convinced the USGA and the members of Inverness to let all players, including pros, into the clubhouse for the 1920 U.S. Open. This was a very important decision. Inverness became the first golf club in the U.S. to welcome professionals into its clubhouse.
A Gift from Golf Legends
To thank Inverness for its kindness, famous golfer Walter Hagen and other professional golfers bought a special gift for the club. This happened when the U.S. Open returned to Inverness in 1931. They bought a grandfather clock for the clubhouse, which is still there today.
The clock has a brass plate with a special message:
- God measures men by what they are
- Not by what they in wealth possess
- This vibrant message chimes afar
- The voice of Inverness
Famous Golfers at Inverness
Byron Nelson was the head golf professional at Inverness Club from 1940 to 1944. He thought of Inverness as his home course. He believed his time there helped him achieve an amazing record in 1945, winning 18 out of 35 PGA tournaments, including 11 in a row.
After Nelson, Lloyd Gullickson became the head professional and stayed until he retired in 1965. Herman Lang, who was Nelson's assistant in 1941, was the head pro from 1966 to 1980.
Modernizing the Course
The golf course has been updated four times to get ready for championships. In 2016, Inverness Club hired golf course architect Andrew Green. He studied original drawings and old photos to bring back the original design of Donald Ross.
Green also updated the tee boxes (where players start each hole) and the bunkers (sand traps). These changes make the course suitable for today's championship games. Now, Inverness Club's course is over 7,700 yards long.
Inverness has received high rankings from golf magazines. Golfweek Magazine ranked it #47 on America's Top 200 Classic Courses, and Golf Digest ranked it #88.
Tournament History
Inverness Club has hosted many important golf tournaments over the years. Here are some of the winners:
U.S. Open Champions
- 1920 – Ted Ray
- 1931 – Billy Burke (He set records for the winning score and number of holes played.)
- 1957 – Dick Mayer
- 1979 – Hale Irwin
Other Major Tournament Winners
- U.S. Amateur
- 1973 – Craig Stadler
- PGA Championship
- 1986 – Bob Tway
- 1993 – Paul Azinger
- U.S. Senior Open
- 2003 – Bruce Lietzke
- 2011 – Olin Browne
- U.S. Junior Amateur
- 2019 – Preston Summerhays
- Solheim Cup
- 2021 –
Europe (The European team won this event.)
- 2021 –
Future Championships at Inverness
Inverness Club is scheduled to host these exciting tournaments:
- 2027 U.S. Women's Open
- 2029 U.S. Amateur
The club also hosted the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in 1944 and 2009.
Images for kids
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Main building, seen from Dorr Street
