Est. 1887 · A.W. Tillinghast, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks; renovated by Gil Hanse (2024)
Why we love this place
Few clubs stack architectural pedigree like this: Findlay, Tillinghast, Raynor, Banks, and now Gil Hanse, all on ground where Thomas Edison once played. We love Essex County as a walk through golf's design history, layered onto one of New Jersey's finest back nines.
Via The Fried Egg
About Essex County Country Club
Established in 1887, Essex County Country Club is New Jersey's oldest country club and among the oldest in America, born from the merger of the Essex Hunt Club and Essex Toboggan Club. Golf came via pioneering architect Alex Findlay, whose early course grew to eighteen holes by the late 1890s. When the club moved to its West Orange site atop the mountain in 1917, a young A.W. Tillinghast designed the new layout, an early success that helped launch his celebrated career. In 1926 Seth Raynor expanded the club and reworked the course, preserving several Tillinghast holes; Charles Banks completed the project after Raynor's death that same year. More recently, Gil Hanse led a major renovation completed in 2024, rebuilding bunkers and reworking the opening hole. Thomas Edison was a longtime member.
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