Fiddler's Elbow Country Club is a private

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

located in

Bedminster, New Jersey Bedminster is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 8,165, reflecting a decline of 137 (−1.7%) from the 8,302 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...

, United States. Fiddler's Elbow is the only private club in New Jersey with three 18-hole championship

golf courses A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

Early history

During the late 19th century and the early 1920s, much of the Fiddler's Elbow property was owned by James Nelson Pidcock, who grew peaches on it . By the 1920s, the Fiddler's Elbow property was part of a 20,000 acre estate owned by investment banker

Clarence Dillon Clarence Dillon (September 27, 1882 – April 14, 1979) was an American financier, and namesake of Dillon, Read & Co., an investment bank. In 1957, Fortune Magazine listed Dillon as one of the richest men in the United States, with a fortune the ...

and his wife, Anne. In 1935, the Dillons sold 530 acres along both sides of the Black River to investment banker Frederick Strong Moseley Jr. and his wife, Jane Hamilton Brady. Moseley hosted many elaborate

fox hunt Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hou ...

s on his estate, complete with foot

basset hound The Basset Hound is a short-legged breed of dog in the hound family. The Basset is a scent hound that was originally bred for the purpose of hunting hare. Their sense of smell and ability to ''ground-scent'' is second only to the Bloodhound.Har ...

foxhounds A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their bark, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on hor ...

and horses. After Jane Moseley died, Frederick Moseley sold the Fiddler's Elbow property, which was then converted into a

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

Conversion to country club

In 1964, Raymond J. Donovan and Ronald A. Schiavone bought the Fiddler's Elbow property and transformed it into the Fiddler's Elbow Country Club. It opened in 1965 with its original 27 holes of golf—the Red, Blue and Green Courses—designed by Hal Purdy. In 1986, the 9-hole Silver Course opened, and the Green Course was renamed the Gold Course in honor of golf course architect Brian Silva.

Rees Jones Rees Jones (born September 16, 1941) is an American golf course architect. Life and career Born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones and the younger brother of golf course designer Ro ...

began work on a third course in 1992. By 1994, Fiddler's Elbow had 54 holes of golf, making it the largest golf facility in New Jersey.

Location

Fiddler's Elbow is located in both

Somerset County, New Jersey Somerset County is a county located in the north-central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was 345,361, an increase of 21,917 (6.8%) from the 323,444 counted at the 2010 U.S C ...

and

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,Lamington River The Lamington River, known as the Black River upstream of Pottersville, is a tributary of the North Branch Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. Tributaries *B ...

. The main entrance is located on Rattlesnake Bridge Road, adjacent to

Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland ...

. The property comprises over .

Clubhouse

Built of Pennsylvania

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

in the 1930s, the three-level Clubhouse is in the English

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

style. The Ground Level houses the Elbow Room Bar and Grill, the members' dining venue. The Somerset Ballroom includes

chandeliers A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

, a

vaulted ceiling In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

and high windows, plus a stage, dance floor and patio. The Second Level contains the Reagan Room, which hosted President Ronald Reagan while he was campaigning in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. The Lower Level contains the Wine Cellar, locker rooms, and The Grill Room.

Courses

Today Fiddler's Elbow remains the only country club in New Jersey with three championship courses. *The Blue-Red Course, designed around the Lamington River, was renamed the River Course. *The Gold-Silver Course, a former pasture, was renamed the Meadow Course. *The newest course, lying within a plantation of white pines,

beeches Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s and other hardwoods, was named the Forest Course.

Other facilities

Over the past 50 years, the owners have made significant upgrades to the Fidddler's Elbow property. They built a new practice facility. Several holes on the Meadow Course were redesigned by architect Steven Kay. The Dining facilities, pro shop, cart barn and locker room were upgraded. In 2014-2015, the club opened the Sports and Leisure Center, featuring an aquatics facility, five

Har-Tru A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament. ...

clay tennis courts, a

fitness center A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...

, and poolside dining.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiddler's Elbow Country Club 1965 establishments in New Jersey Golf clubs and courses in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Somerset County, New Jersey