Westchester (West)

In actual fact, the West was cleverly constructed with additional greens and bunkers for reversible play so a number of different combinations with the nines could be used to create a stipulated round of 18 holes – now, apart from The Loop at Forest Dunes in Michigan or Links Valley in The Netherlands, you rarely ever hear of a course that can be played backwards.

Only a year after opening, the West course staged the 1923 U.S. Women's Open, won by "The Fairway Flapper", Edith Cummings.

The property in the 1920s had very few trees and Travis installed numerous fairway bunkers to direct golfers to greensites but over the years, many of these traps have been removed and thousands of trees have been planted. The open views of the natural terrain may have gone but thankfully, the routing and greens have remained largely intact.

The back nine starts with a par three and the tee shot must find the front of a two-tiered green as making a par from the back is tough whilst going over the putting surface results in an almost certain bogey. The signature hole is the par four 17th which doglegs left to a green where the approach shot has to carry over water

The Country Club held its first PGA tournament in 1963 with the Thunderbird Classic Invitational which later became the Westchester Classic. Multiple winners over the next forty years included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh.

The event may have changed its name over the years due to sponsorship by American Express, Manufacturers Hanover, Buick and Barclays but golf fans (and many of the pros) still know it as “The Westchester” – even after it moved away from the course to Ridgewood Country Club, New Jersey in 2008.