A Retrospective: Important Dates in New Jersey Golf

Beginning this month, the NJSGA will feature the work of local author Kevin Casey who has compiled a monthly look back at historical moments in golf on a montly basis.

Here are some notable November dates in New Jersey’s rich golf history:

By Kevin Casey

· November 15, 1894 – Morris County Golf Club Milestone. Just seven months after its founding, Morris County Golf Club, the first golf club in America founded by and managed by women, capped its membership at 400: 230 women and 170 men.

· November 1929 – Mountain Ridge Course Completed. The West Caldwell course, originally designed by Donald Ross, is widely acclaimed as among NJ’s finest. Mountain Ridge Country Club has recently hosted the USGA Senior Amateur (2012), the NJSGA Amateur (2005) and the NJPGA Championship (2017 and 2023).

· November 30, 2005 – Joe McBride Mourned. A member of Arcola Country Club, McBride was the patriarch of a prominent NJ golf family and one of the nation’s finest amateur golfers at mid-20th Century, McBride won the NJSGA Amateur Championship four times, as well as the 1949 Metropolitan Amateur Championship, despite being seven down with eleven to go. Nationally, he was an alternate on the 1949 Walker Cup Team. McBride was elected to the NJSGA Hall of Fame in 2019.

Kevin Casey, a resident of Madison, New Jersey, is the author of Remarkable Stories of New Jersey Golf. A coffee table style book, Remarkable Stories showcases the unique history of golf in the Garden State. For more information about the book, visit njgolfstories.com.