Hinsdale Golf Club
From generation to generation Founded in 1898, Hinsdale Golf Club is the oldest golf club in the Greater Hinsdale area. How has the club grown and thrived for over a century?
G by mike ellis
olf is a game rich with history and tradition. For some golfers and aficionados, that history and tradition is summarily conflated under legendary champions, picturesque courses and thrilling moments—under Tiger and Jack, Augusta and St. Andrews, Larry Mize’s chip-in and Jean van de Velde’s self-destruction. For others, that history and tradition is more localized and personal—it’s enjoying
the game in the company of family and friends within the comfortable confines of the course and club you were raised on. Hinsdale Golf Club has an extensive tradition of golf—and also as a family-oriented club filled with multigenerational members who respect their forerunners and the environment they sought to preserve. “I think the one thing that describes Hinsdale Golf Club is that it’s a family club,” said Ross Forbes, a former club president and a member since 1976. “There are business clubs around, there
are men’s clubs; but Hinsdale has always prided itself on being a family club. There are a lot of legacies—a lot of three- and four-generation families that have been members.” Founded in 1898, Hinsdale Golf Club’s history predates the 20th century. In 1893, Atlee Edwards of Philadelphia came to Chicago for the World’s Columbian Exposition. Edwards visited his aunt and uncle in Hinsdale, and brought golf clubs along. He showed his uncle how to play the game, and left the clubs behind after returning home. A short time thereafter,