Golf in Malone predates Ross’s involvement. A regional chronology notes that a “Malone Golf and Country Club Course” was established in 1903, indicating organized golf in the town three and a half decades before the present layout opened at its current site. Primary club minutes from that era were not accessible for this profile, so the exact nature, location, and architect (if any) of that early course remain to be verified.
The club’s present property was formally opened in 1939. Local tourism histories state that Babe Ruth “officially opened the course” on July 1, 1939, and that the course opened to local play later that summer; a companion post describes Ruth dedicating the first nine holes that year. These independent local accounts align on the 1939 ceremonial opening but differ on whether nine or eighteen holes were in play that day.
The club itself credits Donald Ross with Willard G. Wilkinson for the front nine designed in the 1930s, which matches the period and the ceremonial accounts.
The second nine came later. Local and golf-industry sources attribute a 1955–56 build of additional holes to Canadian architect Albert (A.H.) Murray, rounding out the club’s original 18-hole era; again, club archival documentation would be ideal to pin the exact scope and hole numbering.
In 1987, Robert Trent Jones Sr. undertook a large-scale expansion to 36 holes. Club and regional write-ups explain that Jones wove new construction together with select existing holes to produce two courses; the club now frames this as East (with Ross/Wilkinson’s front nine) and West (predominantly Jones).
Unique Design Characteristics (Ross/Wilkinson front nine)
The East front nine’s character has been singled out for decades. The club quotes a 1991 GolfWeek piece that called it the “Best Pure Classic Nine,” pointing to (1) a Redan-type par three on the outward half, (2) a short, heaving par-five, and (3) sandy, “pure-links” bunkering—an ensemble that still defines the nine’s identity. While the club materials do not number the Redan hole explicitly, the description places it on the Ross/Wilkinson side of the course.
The fifth hole on the East is presented by the club as the front-nine’s signature “roller-coaster” par five: a tee shot over a deep gully to a fairway that tilts hard from left to right, and an approach to a compact green, heavily bunkered in front with sharp fall-offs behind and left. The hazards and green scale here—in particular the small, well-defended target—readily communicate 1930s design roots and remain a touchstone for golfers seeking the club’s classic feel.
Beyond that standout, the outward routing works across modest elevation and natural swales rather than forced carries, with bunkers arranged to influence angles into those small, perched greens. The club’s own description emphasizes the “pure-links style” bunkering on the front side, contrasting it with the more overtly dramatic Jones features on the back (e.g., the 90-foot tee-to-green drops and 150-yard water carries). That difference in tone—subtle on the outward nine, theatrical on the inward—helps visitors locate the surviving Ross/Wilkinson DNA in the modern 36-hole complex.
The clearest surviving examples of the Ross/Wilkinson work are therefore the East holes 1–9 as a set—the routing corridors, green sites, and select bunkering patterns that the club and outside raters have consistently singled out.
Historical Significance
Within Donald Ross’s late-Depression-era commissions in upstate New York, Malone stands out because it is explicitly tied to the collaboration with Willard G. Wilkinson, a New York–based architect who often worked in the region. The club’s attribution to Ross and Wilkinson for the front nine is unusual in the public record and merits further documentary confirmation (e.g., plan signatures).
The course also carries cultural cachet from the Babe Ruth dedication in 1939, which local sources have kept alive in the town’s sporting memory.
Although Malone is not typically listed in national Ross rankings today—owing in part to the heavy Jones imprint across 27 of the 36 holes—the East front nine has attracted attention: the club quotes Brad Klein’s 1991 GolfWeek praise as “Best Pure Classic Nine.”
Current Condition / Integrity
By the club’s own account, the Ross/Wilkinson component survives on the East front nine. The back nine (East) and all 18 holes of the West are substantially Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1987), with design elements—dramatic elevation drops, forced water carries—that differ markedly from the outward half.
Various industry listings also record a mid-1950s phase by Albert Murray, likely associated with the completion of the club’s first 18; those holes were later reorganized when Jones created the 36-hole facility. The exact disposition of Murray’s holes—i.e., which present corridors trace his work—cannot be stated with certainty from publicly available sources and would require club records or aerial analysis across decades.
As for greens and bunkers on the Ross/Wilkinson nine, the club’s descriptions emphasize small targets and fronting bunkers that still defend line and trajectory. The East page’s hole-five narrative details a postage-stamp-scale green with front bunkers and sharp fall-offs—features that are plainly present today.
Tree planting and vegetation management over the decades have inevitably changed playing corridors compared with pre-war conditions; the club’s emphasis on tree-lined play and modern bunker sand (described in promotional materials and third-party write-ups) reflects contemporary maintenance practices rather than a documentary restoration of the 1930s aesthetic. A formal restoration chronology has not been identified in public sources.
Uncertainty:
Opening/1939 — local tourism posts report a July 1, 1939 ceremonial opening with Babe Ruth; one post says nine holes were dedicated in 1939 and the back nine followed in 1956; another says an 18-hole course opened in 1939. These accounts conflict and should be reconciled with club minutes or contemporary newspapers.
Albert Murray (1955–56) — architect listings cite Murray for a mid-1950s phase; hole-by-hole attributions remain unclear without access to plans or aerials.
Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1987) — the club presents the 36-hole expansion and describes the East back nine and West as Jones designs intermingled with pre-existing holes. Exact reuse vs. rebuild proportions are not published.
Early golf in Malone (1903) — regional chronology lists the establishment of a “Malone Golf and Country Club Course” in 1903; relationship to today’s site is not fully documented in public sources.
Sources & Notes
Malone Golf Club — “The Courses” (East/West overview), club website, credits Ross & Wilkinson for the East front nine; quotes 1991 GolfWeek on the “Best Pure Classic Nine.”
Malone Golf Club — East Course page, with front-nine description (notably Hole 5) and back-nine Jones features.
VisitMalone (Regional Tourism) — “8 Things You Need to Know About Malone Golf Club” (2019), July 1, 1939 opening by Babe Ruth at current site.
VisitMalone — “Babe Ruth, Arnold Palmer, and the Malone Golf Club” (2015), Babe Ruth dedication of nine holes in 1939; clubhouse in 1940; back nine in 1956.
VisitMalone — “Malone Golf Club: best of the old and new” (2015), narrative referencing Ross with Wilkinson and an 18-hole opening in 1939; photo captioning a Redan at Malone.
Protect the Adirondacks — Adirondack Chronology, notes a Malone Golf & Country Club course in 1903 (prior to Ross era). (Context for pre-1939 play; site/location unspecified.)