Bethlehem Country Club began as a nine-hole course in 1898 on Bethlehem’s Main Street; the present club says that in 1909 the club hired Donald Ross “to redesign and expand the Bethlehem course to 18 holes,” and that this was the first New Hampshire course designed by Ross. The same club account records later town ownership from 1949 to 2020 and a private sale in 2020 to local residents who kept the property in golf use.
Local historical material corroborated the 1898 start and places the clubhouse on the site of the Bellevue House hotel; it also states the course was expanded to eighteen in 1909, consistent with the club’s timeline, though one historical page goes further and (almost certainly anachronistically) calls the original nine “designed by Donald Ross,” which conflicts with other evidence and with Ross’s own chronology.
Not all sources agree on the details of authorship in the earliest era: an independent researcher surveying period golf guides found the original nine attributed to Alex Findlay and noted that published guides didn’t consistently list Bethlehem as eighteen holes until the later 1920s. Those findings don’t refute the club’s claim of Ross’s 1909 expansion, but they make clear that printed guidebooks and local memory diverged. In this directory, Ross’s role is therefore defined as the 1909 expansion/redesign to an 18-hole course, with the pre-1909 nine-hole authorship remaining disputed.
The publicly available record does not show Ross returning for subsequent construction phases at Bethlehem after the 1909 expansion. Later milestones concern governance and operations (the town’s purchase in 1949 and the 2020 sale to private owners) rather than additional architect-led work; no Ross correspondence, plan revisions, or invoices for later phases have been published online.
Unique design characteristics (Bethlehem-specific)
Bethlehem today plays 18 holes at par 70 with back-tee yardage reported in the ~5,800-yard range; multiple scorecards place the total between 5,808 and 5,812 yards. Within that compact scale, the card shows a pronounced contrast in the one-shot holes—notably the long par-3 3rd at 233 yards and the very short par-3 10th at 105 yards—a pairing that gives the round two very different long-iron and wedge tests. Those distances are current measurements, but the club represents the course as Ross’s 18-hole layout; in the absence of a released as-built, the hole-to-hole variety observed today is the most visible echo of the Ross era in the scorecard.
Contemporary course reports also emphasize small greens on the outward nine, noting that “nearly every green on the outward half is quite small.” For Bethlehem specifically, that green scale continues to shape play because most outward holes are straightaway and lightly bunkered; approach precision and leaving the ball on the correct tier are the primary defenses. Without a published historic green survey or Ross plan set, those small surfaces can’t be tied hole-by-hole to 1909 construction drawings, but the consistent description of compact front-nine greens is a Bethlehem trait that influences strategy on holes 1–9 today.
The present routing across partially hilly ground (the site climbs and falls modestly near town) produces several uphill approaches and a number of short two-shotters where run-up entries remain available because of the course’s light fronting sand. That trait comes through most clearly on the short 14th (carded at 235 yards) and 16th (264 yards), which reward hitting the correct approach trajectory more than carrying forced hazards. Because the club has not published hole-by-hole hazard construction history, it is not possible to assign the exact bunkering scheme of these holes to Ross with certainty, but the current corridor geometry and green presentations on these specific short par fours are the clearest present-day expressions of how play at Bethlehem still emphasizes angle and distance control over brute length.
Historical significance
Bethlehem occupies an early place in New Hampshire’s resort-golf story: 1898 play predates Ross’s arrival, but the 1909 expansion to 18 sits among the state’s earliest Ross-associated projects, alongside nearby Ross work at Maplewood (1914) and, elsewhere in the White Mountains, Mount Washington (1909/1915). Municipal and tourism pages continue to present Bethlehem and Maplewood together as the town’s paired Ross venues, reflecting the course’s local identity as a Ross-era resort 18 close to Main Street.
Unlike some Ross courses that built a national tournament record, Bethlehem’s significance has been regional and community-oriented. The club’s public narrative focuses on continuity of play through town ownership and then private stewardship, rather than on championship hosting. That makes Bethlehem useful to Ross scholarship as a case where a small-scale resort 18 attributed to Ross survived with its essential corridor pattern and green-site scale intact enough for modern public play, even as documentary detail (original plan sheets, a hole-by-hole construction ledger) has not been placed online.
Current condition / integrity
Bethlehem remains 18 holes, par 70. Publicly posted cards and directories report back tees around 5,800 yards; the front nine totals 2,853 yards and the back nine 2,959 yards on one widely used card. No comprehensive restoration report has been released, but the club’s communication and local pages tie the present layout to Ross’s 18-hole expansion, and the 2024–2025 owner statements indicate the course is being operated as a full 18 while long-term plans for the property are evaluated.
Because hole-by-hole construction history is not publicly available, a precise survival percentage of Ross features cannot be stated responsibly. The routing framework appears consistent with the long-standing card (straight corridors, short par-4 interludes, contrasting par-3 lengths), and green scale on the outward nine still reads small in contemporary play reports. Bunker placements today are sparse relative to heavily fortified Golden-Age courses; whether that sparseness reflects Ross’s 1909 build or later maintenance and tree-line changes cannot be verified from public documents. In sum, routing integrity is high, green size on the outward side remains compact, and hazard patterns are modest; the exact degree of fidelity to the 1909 drawings awaits archival publication.
Recent references also show design-consulting involvement by Forbes Golf Design, which lists Bethlehem Country Club among its renovation/restoration clients, though without a dated, hole-specific scope on the public page. That listing confirms that professional planning advice has been engaged, but, absent an issued master plan, its impact on Ross-era elements cannot be evaluated.
Finally, local history pages underscore that the clubhouse (1912) sits where the Bellevue House once stood and that golf at this location has been a continuous presence for over a century; those civic sources also reflect the town’s long stewardship and the current private ownership, details that matter for understanding how a Ross-era Main Street 18 has persisted in an evolving resort town.
Sources & Notes
Bethlehem Country Club, “About” (club history: 1898 nine-hole origin; 1909 hire of Donald Ross to redesign/expand to 18; town purchase 1949; private sale 2020).
Bethlehem Historical Society, “Early Recreation” (clubhouse built 1912; nine holes in place by 1899; expanded to 18 in 1909).
Bethlehem Historical Society, “Heritage Tour – Bethlehem Country Club” (clubhouse location and 1912 building; long-term town operation 1949–2020; present private ownership). Note: this page also asserts a “nine-hole course designed by Ross,” which conflicts with other sources.
GolfClubAtlas forum thread “Reunderstanding Ross,” research note on Alex Findlay as the original nine-hole author and on later guidebook recognition of eighteen holes; used here to flag source conflict about pre-1909 authorship and the timing of the full 18.
GolfPass course page for Bethlehem Country Club (editorial observation: small greens on the outward half; general terrain/bunkering descriptions).
GolfLink course listing for Bethlehem Country Club (yardage/par figures around 5,808 yards / par 70).
18Birdies scorecard for Bethlehem Country Club (hole-by-hole: par-3 3rd at 233 yards, par-3 10th at 105 yards; totals 5,812 yards, par 70).
Town of Bethlehem, “Golf in the White Mountains” (tourism page linking Bethlehem CC and Maplewood as Ross-designed courses in town).
HMdb.org historical marker entry for Bethlehem Country Club (summary text: redesigned to 18 by Ross in 1909; notes early history).
Forbes Golf Design, “Renovations & Restorations” (firm lists Bethlehem Country Club among projects; scope/date not specified).
Local Facebook group post (Feb. 2024) stating the course will operate as an 18-hole facility for the next two years under current owners—used for current-status context.
Disputed / uncertain points
• Who authored the original nine (1898–1899): The club’s current narrative credits Ross with the 1909 expansion to eighteen; a historical page mistakenly assigns the nine-hole course to Ross, while an independent researcher attributes the original nine to Alex Findlay. The 1898/1899 nine-hole authorship is therefore disputed; this profile treats Ross’s role as the 1909 expansion/redesign.
• Extent of surviving Ross features by hole: There is no public, hole-by-hole construction record or released Ross plan set for Bethlehem. As a result, specific claims about which greens, bunkers, or fairway lines are original to 1909 cannot be verified; the profile relies on current scorecards and reputable course descriptions to characterize present conditions and notes where attribution is not possible.