Westchester Hills Golf Club began 100 years ago, in 1913, when a lawyer and real estate developer named Robert Farley bought a large piece of land in White Plains (then known as Gedney Farm) and turned it into an exclusive hotel and golf course. Hollywood screen stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks were among the hotel’s early guests.
The club was started with only 27 members. Guests played for a whopping $1 fee. In 1924, the hotel burned down while singer Eddie Cantor was there. Cantor survived the nine-hour fire, but not much else did. That fire did not affect the original clubhouse, but the club felt that a new fireproof clubhouse was prudent, and a new one was built in 1926.
We recently completed a large project to improve the club and see it into the next century. The project included a renovation of the clubhouse.
Before joining the club, my wife, Carrie, and I had our wedding reception at Westchester Hills. We now spend a lot of time enjoying the club with our sons Brian and Stephen. The club’s slogan is “fore the joy of it,” and that says it all for us.
—Steve Buckley, Board Member and Co-chair of Centennial Committee, Westchester Hills Golf Club
â–º For more of Westchester’s 100-Year-Old Businesses, click here.
â–º For more from 914INC’s Q2 2013 Issue, click here.