Jewish country club explained

Jewish country clubs are country clubs whose members are predominantly Jewish, having been excluded from other elite social clubs during periods of rising anti-Semitism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a result, many major cities across the United States have at least one Jewish country club and, in cities with larger Jewish populations, often more than one, founded by wealthy Jews in that era.

Although Jews, along with other ethnic and religious minorities, continue to be excluded from some country clubs, informal policies excluding Jews began to wane starting in the 1960s. By the 1990s, and in the wake of the 1990 PGA Championship, even more clubs opened up their membership to Jews, African Americans, and others. With more options for wealthy Jews, many Jewish country clubs saw declining membership and failed; others lost their Jewish character and developed a more diverse membership base. Nevertheless, many Jewish country clubs retain their identity and still exist in major cities across the U.S; however, in the Philadelphia area, for example, all but one of the existing clubs no longer affiliate with the Jewish Federation, once seen as an important piece of their Jewish identity by raising funds for charity.

Origins

Many country clubs in the United States were established around the same time that immigration to the country, including of Jews, began to rise sharply. As anti-Semitism increased, Jews—even Jews who once had access to elite WASP social societies[1] —were blackballed from joining clubs. By the early 20th century, most cities with meaningful Jewish populations had formed country clubs, and by 1928, there were 34 Jewish social and country clubs in the greater New York area,[2] though many Jews still saw the inability to join non-Jewish social organizations as an impediment to assimilating and Americanizing.[3]

Despite having been born of discrimination, Jewish country clubs often discriminated within the Jewish population. In the early years of the 20th century, membership at some clubs was restricted to German Jews,[4] [5] though as populations grew and intermarried, Russian and Polish Jews were also accepted.

According to a 1962 Anti-Defamation League survey of 803 country clubs, 224 were found to be non-discriminatory, while among the predominantly Christian clubs, 89 had quotas on the number of Jewish members and 416 admitted no Jews,[1] though the Jewish Telegraphic Agency noted that social club discrimination was "in retreat" by the mid-1960s.[6] Nevertheless, some country clubs still admit few or no Jews.[5] [7] [8]

Although Jewish country clubs have predominantly Jewish memberships, the clubs themselves are not particularly Jewish in terms of custom or practice—clubs tend to be open on Shabbat and serve non-kosher food. The names and architecture of clubs are not recognizably Jewish and often mimicked the convention of the other, predominantly Protestant country club from which Jews were excluded.[9]

Decline

Starting in the 1960s, more Jews were accepted into predominantly Christian country clubs, though change often came slowly until the 1990 PGA Championship, which called attention to discrimination in clubs and social organizations across the United States. Clubs were forced either to admit more African American and Jewish members or to lose future PGA tournaments; some opted to integrate, while others retained restrictions on blacks and Jews.[10] In 1990 Tom Watson famously resigned from the Kansas City Country Club over its refusal to admit billionaire H&R Block founder Henry Bloch.[11]

That freedom to assimilate has hurt Jewish country clubs. Between intermarriage, more geographically dispersed Jewish populations,[12] fewer golfers,[13] and a decline in country club membership generally,[14] many Jewish country clubs have either had to fold,[15] merge,[16] or lose their Jewish identity.[4] [5] [17] In cities with multiple Jewish country clubs, there is increasing consolidation. Three of the six Jewish country clubs in Baltimore closed between 1985 and 2010, for example.[12]

Many clubs remain vibrant, however, particularly in areas with large Jewish populations or where other Jewish clubs have folded or no longer have predominantly Jewish membership.

In addition to demographic changes, the Madoff investment scandal hit Jewish country clubs particularly hard.[18] Bernie Madoff was an avid golfer in both New York and Florida, and many members of Jewish country clubs had invested heavily in his Ponzi scheme.[12]

When Woodmont Country Club, a Jewish country club in the Washington, D.C. area, promised membership to President Barack Obama after the end of his presidency, some of its members objected because of his actions towards Israel.[19] The club ultimately admitted him.[20] Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a Vice President, is a member at Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles.[21]

List of historically Jewish country clubs

See also

Notes and References

  1. John Steele Gordon . The Country Club . American Heritage . 41 . 6 . September–October 1990 .
  2. Web site: Publish N. Y. Roster of Jewish Clubs . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . November 23, 1928 .
  3. The Jew and the Club . The Atlantic . October 1924 .
  4. News: Teddy Greenstein . Changing face of Chicago-area country clubs . Chicago Tribune . April 19, 2009 .
  5. News: Jeannette Cooperman . Dinner at the Club, Darling? . St. Louis . July 31, 2006 .
  6. News: Number of Clubs Barring Jews from Membership Sharply Decreasing . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . December 13, 1965 .
  7. News: Gus Garcia-Roberts . Indian Creek Country Club's Membership Exposed . Miami New Times . August 10, 2011 .
  8. News: Daniel Jeffreys . No Jews on their golf courses . 16 January 2022 . The New Statesman . August 23, 1999 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210824105642/https://www.newstatesman.com/node/149688 . August 24, 2021.
  9. Web site: Fun in Indiana Through the Years . State of Indiana . July 22, 2018 . 3.
  10. News: George White . Clubs Changing In The Aftermath Of Shoal Creek . Orlando Sentinel . August 4, 1991 .
  11. News: Jaime Diaz . Golf; Watson's Private-Club Protest May Be a Lonely One . The New York Times . December 4, 1990 .
  12. News: Bradley S. Klein . Demise of the Jewish club . Golfweek . June 22, 2009 .
  13. News: Jon Marks . Jewish Country Clubs Are Teeing Up Changes . Jewish Exponent . May 27, 2015 .
  14. News: Kelsey Lawrence . Why Won't Millennials Join Country Clubs? . Citylab . July 2, 2018 .
  15. News: Austin Briggs . Former Green Gables Country Club transforming into $150 million mixed-use development . Denver Post . December 1, 2016 . March 22, 2016 .
  16. News: Marie Rohde . Brynwood merger is a sign of the times . Jewish Chronicle . November 24, 2009 .
  17. News: Steve Eubanks . Inclusionomics . Golf Business . September 2016 .
  18. News: Exclusive Jewish Country Club Feels the Sting of Madoff Fraud . AP . Haaretz . December 18, 2008 .
  19. News: Rachel Shukert . The Dark Irony of a Jewish Country Club's Debate Over Whether to Admit President Obama . Tablet . January 12, 2017 .
  20. News: John Bowden . In the Know: Obama to join Maryland country club . blog . The Hill . October 6, 2017 .
  21. News: Roig-Franzia . Manuel . October 28, 2020 . Doug Emhoff paused his career for his wife Kamala Harris's aspirations — and became the campaign's 'secret weapon' . The Washington Post . November 30, 2020 . An avid golfer with a handicap in the teens, according to friends, Emhoff joined Hillcrest, a historically Jewish country club formed when others rarely admitted Jews..
  22. Web site: Membership - Beechmont Country Club. www.beechmontcc.com.
  23. Web site: Why tee time at Salem’s Kernwood CC isn’t just for Jews anymore . jewishjournal.org . 2022-01-07.
  24. News: Shanahan . Mark . 2022-05-28 . Cracking the code at Brookline’s venerable and fiercely private The Country Club . The Boston Globe . 2023-09-04.
  25. Web site: L.A.'s Power Golf Clubs: Where the Hollywood Elite Play. June 23, 2011. The Hollywood Reporter.
  26. News: Sampson . Curt . 2008-10-21 . Goodbye, Columbian . D Magazine . 2023-07-26.
  27. Web site: Article . www.in.gov . 2021-02-05.
  28. Web site: Brynwood merger is a sign of the times - Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. www.jewishchronicle.org.
  29. Web site: Rights of Passage: The Struggle over Jewish Intermarriage and Conversion in Colombia . 2001 . 2023-06-28.
  30. News: Bloomberg Quietly Left Four Mostly White Clubs (Published 2001). Dean E.. Murphy. The New York Times . July 25, 2001.
  31. News: Lowenstein . Nitza . January 6, 2022 . The fascinating history of the Australian Jewish Golf clubs, the Monash in Sydney and Cranbourne in Melbourne . Special Broadcasting Service . October 19, 2023.
  32. Web site: The Country Club | AMERICAN HERITAGE. www.americanheritage.com.
  33. Web site: Country Club Divided by Discontent. May 4, 1997. Los Angeles Times.
  34. Web site: Demise of the Jewish club. June 22, 2009.
  35. Web site: Fenway club . www.okcmaa.org . 2021-02-05.
  36. Web site: Franklin Hills Country Club | Jewish Historical Society of Michigan. www.michjewishhistory.org.
  37. Web site: Bollig . Jeff . As Fate Would Have It - Club + Resort Business . Clubandresortbusiness.com . 2018-07-11 . 2021-02-05.
  38. Web site: Former Green Gables Country Club transforming into $150 million mixed-use development. March 22, 2016.
  39. Web site: Family's Passover tradition alive and well in Pa.. Anya SostekPittsburgh. Post-Gazette. The Tribune-Democrat.
  40. Web site: Changing face of Chicago-area country clubs - tribunedigital-chicagotribune . 2018-07-22 . 2018-07-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180722070047/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-04-19/sports/0904180228_1_private-clubs-golf-idlewild . dead .
  41. News: It was the election outcome that shocked everyone: Montgomery County in 1962 . . 2022-04-25.
  42. Web site: Rochester's best dining: Private Clubs. Vince. Press. Democrat and Chronicle.
  43. Web site: Lakeside Park Club . 2020-08-18 . 2020-08-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200815025208/https://jeffersonlakeside.com/history/ . dead .
  44. Web site: Kernwood a club to call home - The Boston Globe. BostonGlobe.com.
  45. Web site: Weddings, Mitzvahs & Events - Knollwood Country Club - West Bloomfield, MI. www.knollwoodcountryclub.net.
  46. Web site: A Century to Celebrate . www.cdga.org . November–December 2008. Tim. Cronin. Chicago District Golfer.
  47. News: Memories of Meadowbrook . Marc . Katz . The Dayton Jewish Observer . April 21, 2016 . July 30, 2024 .
  48. Web site: Meadowbrook CC sale official, no timeline on closing. October 26, 2017.
  49. Web site: The Origins and Brief Background of the Monash Country Club . Monash Country Club . October 19, 2023 . Named after Lieutenant General Sir John Monash, one of Australia’s greatest soldiers, and started as a Jewish Social Golf Club....
  50. Web site: History - Moor Allerton Golf Club.
  51. News: A Peek Inside The Country Club (Published 2003). Fran. Schumer. The New York Times . March 16, 2003.
  52. Web site: History – Oak Ridge Country Club. www.oakridgecountryclub.net.
  53. News: Teeing up for snob appeal. The Globe and Mail. Michael. Grange. Andrew. Willis. 6 September 2003.
  54. Web site: Historic Oakwood Country Club's furnishings up for sale. April 6, 2016. cleveland.
  55. Web site: Oakwood History. https://web.archive.org/web/20180722041315/https://www.oakwoodcountryclub.org/about . 22 July 2018. www.oakwoodcountryclub.org.
  56. Web site: Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia | Country Clubs. philadelphiaencyclopedia.org.
  57. Web site: Birmingham. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
  58. News: Greene . Donna . 1986-08-17 . SIGNS OF CHANGE AT SOME COUNTRY CLUBS . The New York Times . 2023-08-01 . The Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, a predominantly Jewish club....
  59. News: Dougherty . Mike . 2021-01-14 . Quaker Ridge Golf Club added to the National Register of Historic Places . The Journal News . 2023-08-01 . The founding members were wealthy Jewish men of German descent whose applications for membership at other golf clubs were rejected. Their efforts to push back against patterns of anti-Semitism by matching elite Gentiles' clubs in terms of excellence and status are recognized in the national register application..
  60. Web site: Welcome to the Jewish Independent Online. www.jewishindependent.ca.
  61. Web site: At 150, Standard Club Draws on Intown Roots. David R.. Cohen. November 8, 2017. Atlanta Jewish Times.
  62. Web site: JHFE Purchases Standard Club. December 20, 2013. Jewish Community of Louisville.
  63. Web site: A Club of Their Own Part II. Jewish Museum of Maryland. Deborah R. . Weiner. 27 September 2017.
  64. News: Tualatin Country Club marks centennial. Saundra. Sorenson. Portland Tribune.
  65. Web site: Hartford. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
  66. Web site: Private Golf Clubs Resist Rising Winds of Social Change. 5 May 1991. Chicago Tribune.
  67. Web site: Who's who in American Jewry. 1926.
  68. Web site: Amherst may lose rare green space with country club redevelopment. Jonathan D.. Epstein. The Buffalo News.
  69. Web site: Torah at the Center: Congregation Beth Israel at 160. September 4, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180722041253/http://www.beth-israel.org/articles/RoshHashanahEve5774byDavidLyon . 22 July 2018. Congregation Beth Israel. David . Lyon.
  70. News: Schupak . Adam . 2022-09-02 . Full circle at Shoal Creek: An untold story of one man’s convictions changing racial inclusion at 1990 PGA Championship and golf as a whole . Golfweek . 2023-07-17.
  71. Web site: Home - Woodholme Country Club. www.woodholme.org.
  72. Web site: Our Story. https://web.archive.org/web/20190308000922/https://www.woodmontcc.com/story. 8 March 2019. Woodmont Country Club.

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