Deepdale Golf Club is a private golf club in

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is an affluent Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is co ...

, just east of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on Long Island.

Early years

The club was founded by William K. Vanderbilt II in 1924, using part of his Deepdale summer estate at Lake Success.

Charles B. Macdonald Charles Blair Macdonald (November 14, 1855 – April 21, 1939) was a major figure in early American golf. He built the first 18-hole course in the United States, was a driving force in the founding of the United States Golf Association, won the ...

designed the course, assisted by

Seth Raynor Seth Jagger Raynor (May 7, 1874 – January 23, 1926) was an American golf course architect and engineer. He designed approximately 85 golf courses in about 13 years, his first in 1914, at age 40. His mentor was Charles Blair Macdonald, the crea ...

. The Deepdale Golf Club was incorporated on 26 October 1924 as a private club with a strictly limited membership. Noted members in the past included the

Duke of Windsor Duke of Windsor was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 8 March 1937 for the former monarch Edward VIII, following his Abdication of Edward VIII, abdication on 11 December 1936. The Duchy, dukedom takes its name from ...

and President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. In the 1950s suburbs began to be built in the region, and in 1954 the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

was built, cutting through the north end of the course. The club bought the nearby Joseph Peter Grace, Sr. estate and had a new course designed by

Dick Wilson Dick Wilson (July 30, 1916 – November 18, 2007) was a British-American actor. He was best known as grocery store manager Mr. George Whipple in more than 500 Charmin bathroom tissue television commercials (1965–89, 1999–2000). Biograp ...

. The Grace mansion was used as the clubhouse.

1955 Calcutta scandal

The prestigious club was the location of the 1955 Deepdale Calcutta handicapping scandal. A Calcutta auction, named after the

Royal Calcutta Turf Club The Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC) is a horse racing organisation which was founded in 1847 in Calcutta, British India (now Kolkata). Horse events and sports were initially organised for the British cavalry at Akra before they were moved to the ...

, is a form of betting in which the competitors in tournament are auctioned off to bidders in a pool. The "owners" of the winning team split their portion of the pool with the players. Calcuttas were often rigged, with golfers faking their handicaps or accepting bribes to lose. In 1955 two three-handicap golfers entered an amateur tournament at Deepdale. They gave their handicaps as 17 and 18, scored a net 58-57 and won by five strokes. They and the syndicate that backed them each won $16,000 from a $45,000 pool. The scandal emerged after one of the players admitted what he had done in a letter to the President of the club, and the story reached the newspapers. As a result of the scandal, the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...

formally outlawed Calcuttas.

Course today

The course today is from its longest tees. Walking is allowed. It has a par value of 70, a rating of 72.6 and a slope of 135. Some celebrity players have included

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...

and

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

. More recent members include

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...

Tiki Barber Atiim Kiambu "Tiki" Barber Sr. (; born April 7, 1975) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 10-year career as a running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college fo ...

and

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

. As of 2006 the course was rated 36 in the list of America's "100 Most Prestigious Golf Clubs" published by Golf Connoisseur magazine. In March 2006 it was reported that the village of North Hills, an extremely wealthy community, was looking into using eminent domain laws to condemn the club and convert it to a semi-public course for use by local residents. Given the wealth of the village residents and the wealth of the club members, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described the contest as "a battle of Goliath against Goliath."

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deepdale Golf Club North Hills, New York Golf clubs and courses in New York (state) Golf clubs and courses designed by Charles B. Macdonald 1924 establishments in New York (state) Sports venues in Nassau County, New York