The Clubhouse

“It rose right up out of the ground it sits on”

In 1921, the founders of Winged Foot agreed that,
just as they wanted a great golf course, they should
have a fine clubhouse, one of lasting beauty and
structure. On these Westchester acres were a
variety of attractive stones and rocks. These would
become the building blocks of the clubhouse itself,
forming the old stonewalls and fences, as well as
the foundation itself.

Clifford Charles Wendehack was the architect,
and under his fine eye he brought stonemasons,
carpenters, laborers and contractors, with all their
talents together.

Then came the local farmers and their teams of horses to the
site, unearthing the rock, lifting the stone, blasting where they
had to, and selecting from the lovely jagged pieces, like fitting
the parts of a jigsaw puzzle.

This project could be duplicated only with great difficulty today, if at all, since the cost of building a stone structure of such size would he enormous.

The cornerstone was laid on April 14, 1923, and in it was placed a copper box containing a copy of the club’s by-Iaws, membership roll, an evening paper for that day and, importantly, the architect’s plans for the two courses, the only architectural record we have of Tillinghast’s work.

West end of the clubhouse before the dining room extension was added in 1968.

The clubhouse that was finished in 1924 extended to the north from the locker and grill only through the kitchen and hall areas, with the dining room and lounge being completed in 1925. TIle dining room extension was added in 1968 and preserved the traditional architectural pattern to perfection, as did the addition of the new mixed grill that was completed in 1984. Today, the great native stone that came from beneath the fairways of Winged Foot itself can easily be identified within its walls.

Geologists tell us that Fordham Gneiss is the most widespread form of rock in Westchester, and hence at Winged Foot, and appears in gray, salmon pink or a gray and white mixture. It is one of the hardest, densest rocks in the world, and the formations of it extending into New York City support the world's greatest skyscrapers. You will also note in the walls of the clubhouse, and out on the courses, a gray rock peppered with black specs of biotite mica that glisten.

This is called Manhattan Schist and is almost as ubiquitous as the Fordham Gneiss. There is also a pinkish rock in this region called Pound Ridge Gneiss, still another geologic term that reflects the names of the local areas.

So today, this handsome edifice stands in its serene dignity as a symbol in its own right for what it is among the clubhouses of America, an earlier day’s architectural excellence, and a symbol also of the 36 golfing holes that surround it.