Birmingham Country Club

Birmingham Country Club, nestled in the southwest corner of Birmingham, was founded in 1916 by a group of six local businessmen. They purchased what was then the Case farm, which consisted of 161 acres of beautiful rolling land filled with trees, hills, valleys and a winding stream. Their original intent was to create a real-estate development, but the natural beauty of the site persuaded them to build a golf course instead. The original clubhouse was a white farmhouse built on Northlawn Road, right across from the 18th fairway. It was eventually replaced by a wood-frame clubhouse built on the course grounds near what is now the putting green. Membership grew, and on March 30, 1930, just after the stock market crash, their current English-style clubhouse was opened. While Donald Ross made suggestions for Birmingham’s golf course in 1920, it was Tom Bendlelow who designed it in 1911. Bendlelow laid out the first nine holes in 1916, and finished the final nine in 1920. The course was remodeled in 1928, and was again revamped in the 1930s, when golf course architect and five-time Indiana Amateur champion, William Diddell, redesigned it. Prior to BCC hosting the PGA in 1953, Robert Trent Jones worked on it, and noted course architects Bruce and Jerry Matthews worked on it again in 1963