Wethersfield Country Club, Inc

About Wethersfield Country Club, Inc:

Wethersfield Country Club was incorporated by the State of Connecticut in 1916 for social and athletic purposes. One year later the original "inside nine" holes between Prospect Street and Highland Street were opened and the clubhouse dedicated. In 1925 the "outside nine" holes south of Highland Street were opened to complete the championship course.Robert D. Pryde who designed the original golf course, as well as the New Haven, Race Brook, Wyantenuck, and other courses, became the first Executive Director of the Connecticut State Golf Association and was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 1999. Because of the superlative play of its members in state and regional competitions over many decades, Wethersfield Country Club came to be known as the "Club of Champions."
In 1951 several Wethersfield Country Club members as leaders of the Greater Hartford Jaycees organized the PGA Tour’s Insurance City Open that was first played at WCC on Labor Day weekend, 1952. As the Insurance City Open and later as the Greater Hartford Open, the event was hosted by Wethersfield Country Club from 1952 until 1983 after which it was moved to the TPC course in Cromwell. Sam Snead won the tournament in 1955, and Arnold Palmer won his first PGA Tour event in the United States at Wethersfield in 1956. Other winners included Tommy Bolt, Billy Casper, Ken Venturi, Dave Stockton, Lee Trevino, and Curtis Strange. Although he played here several times, Jack Nicklaus never succeeded in winning at Wethersfield. PGA Tour Professionals continue to regard Wethersfield Country Club as one of the best-conditioned golf courses in the country.