Belmont Country Club traces to a 9-hole course laid out by Willard E. Robinson around 1909 and expanded to 18 holes designed by Donald Ross, formally established as Belmont Springs Country Club in 1918. On July 30, 1920 an estimated 7,000 spectators — among the largest galleries in U.S. golf history at the time — watched Harry Vardon and Ted Ray defeat Francis Ouimet and Jesse Guilford in a 36-hole exhibition. Geoffrey Cornish and Brian Silva restored the Ross course in 1992.