Golfers, ghosts and the Gilded Age. This story includes all three.
At its center is Sleepy Hollow Country Club in New York’s Hudson Valley, home to a World Top 100 course and a clubhouse unlike any other in the game.
The course was designed by CB Macdonald and Seth Raynor (with crucial contributions from AW Tillinghast), and the clubhouse is credited to the firm of Stanford White, a towering figure in late 19th-century architecture who also created the famous clubhouse at Shinnecock Hills.
The Sleepy Hollow project was originally intended as a residential home: a 140-room mansion built for Maggie Vanderbilt, heiress to the family’s railroad and shipping fortune. But Maggie didn’t think of it as a home. The Vanderbilts sold the property to a group of early club members, who transformed it into a clubhouse of astonishing opulence – a fitting complement to the artistry of the course itself.
The clubhouse overlooks the Hudson River and offers beautiful panoramic views. And while it is a monument to the Gilded Age, it also draws on deeper local lore. The club’s name—and its spirit—are indelibly linked to Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the ghost story that takes place just down the street. A statue of the Headless Horseman guards the men’s locker room, and the ghost rider has long served as the club’s widely recognized logo (in one version of the logo, the rider carries a flaming pumpkin; in another, he carries a severed head; guess which is the biggest seller in the pro shop?).
The grandeur of Sleepy Hollow attracted members to match. Among them were the Rockefellers, who purchased land across the river to ensure that the view from the clubhouse would remain pristine.
Inside, the details are just as striking: high, extravagant plaster ceilings; richly carved columns, fireplaces and sideboards: craftsmanship that speaks of an era when ornament was a virtue and no expense was spared. Even the surrounding gardens bear a distinguished pedigree; they were built by the children of Frederick Law Olmsted, the visionary behind Central Park. Of the clubhouse’s 18 plush-decorated guest rooms, one is said to be haunted. Those are the risks when your history goes deep.
Earlier this fall, GOLF.com was treated to an intimate tour of Sleepy Hollow. The resulting video (look in the player above) shows the clubhouse in all its glory and its surroundings, including the stables, trap shooting facility, outdoor amphitheater and more. You’ll even get a glimpse of the on-site residence where homegrown hero (and Ryder Cup star) Cameron Young grew up. A nice extra for a child whose father was the club’s head professional for many years.
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