Local businessman Emmett W. Gans purchased Schindel Farm in 1922 to found a new country club and engaged Donald J. Ross to “plan and build” the golf course. The club opened October 4, 1924. Club history materials indicate the initial plan contemplated nine holes, with a quick decision to expand to 18; surviving references suggest a staged opening (nine in 1924 and the balance within a few years), but the precise completion date of the full eighteen has not yet been located in publicly available records. The Tufts Archives holds partial Ross sketches and blueprints for Fountain Head—reportedly including drawings for holes 10–18—which corroborate his authorship and provide a basis for comparing the current course to original intent. Evidence that Ross personally returned after opening has not surfaced in accessible sources; secondary reporting notes possible follow-up by Ross associate Walter Hatch, a common pattern for the firm when converting plans to built work.
Alterations are documented. Ed Ault (Ault, Clark & Associates) undertook a renovation of the full 18 in 1968, typical of mid-century modernization in the region. In the 2010s, Forse Design prepared a master plan and carried out restoration work, though the public record does not specify the exact year(s) or the scope hole-by-hole; their firm lists Fountain Head as “MP, RE (2010–2019).” The club today describes only “minor changes” since Ross’s time, a claim that appears directionally consistent with aerial-routing continuity but is likely tempered by Ault-era updates and later restorations.
Unique Design Characteristics
The routing remains the most legible Ross fingerprint at Fountain Head. Contemporary observers who have compared 1930s/1940s aerials with present-day imagery report that holes still occupy their original corridors, with tees often set just off the preceding greens and par sequences matching early plans; a handful of bunkers appear added or shifted over time. The course’s back-nine plateau—particularly around holes 10 through 13—displays exposed rock and subtle ground undulation that read as lightly shaped, horse-and-scoop work rather than mass earthmoving, consistent with a 1920s construction. These landforms create natural stance and lie variety and define the approach character more than overt hazards do.
Greens are consistently described by the club as “small [and] undulating,” and the yardage mix underscores Ross’s compact, walkable composition here: for example, the short par-4 ninth (321 yards from the Black tees) tightens the landing area with corridor trees and uses green contour to defend par, while the thirteenth (377 yards) asks for controlled distance to hold a subtly perched target. The aggregate effect is a sequence of medium-length approach shots to animated putting surfaces rather than a distance-dominated test. Without access to original green plans, specific interior contour elements (e.g., spines, bowls, or pronounced false fronts) cannot be catalogued with certainty; on-site surveys and Tufts drawings would allow a definitive inventory.
Given those constraints, the clearest surviving examples of Ross’s work at Fountain Head are (1) the routing as a whole, which reads coherently against the topography and historical imagery; and (2) the ensemble of small targets that keep approach play front-and-center. The mid-course stretch on the back nine—10 through 13—best exhibits the minimally moved ground and rocky substrata that shaped decision-making in Ross’s day and that later architects appear to have left largely intact.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s portfolio, Fountain Head represents a small-scale, member-oriented commission executed during his prolific mid-Atlantic period. It likely followed his typical process of advance plan preparation with on-site execution overseen by staff (possibly Walter Hatch), and it illustrates how Ross adapted to rock-strewn inland terrain far from his coastal or sandier sites. In Maryland’s golf history, it also marked a shift in Hagerstown’s club culture: the older Hagerstown Country Club (1908) closed in 1928—about four years after Fountain Head opened—suggesting that the new Ross course quickly became the town’s focus. As of the late 2010s–2020s, the club, the state association, and multiple directories have referred to Fountain Head as the only remaining Ross design in the state, a claim that reflects the disappearance or transformation of other Maryland Ross projects.
Tournament history further situates the course. The Maryland State Golf Association brought the Maryland Open here in 1987—won by Fred Funk with a closing 65—and returned in 2018 for the 97th Maryland Open, again highlighting Fountain Head’s continued competitive relevance at the state level.
Current Condition / Integrity
Publicly available evidence points to high routing integrity and modest cumulative alteration. The club emphasizes that only minor changes have occurred; aerial comparisons cited by independent observers find the original corridors largely intact, with limited bunker evolution. The 1968 Ault renovation likely refreshed bunkers and tees and may have adjusted a few green surrounds in line with the era’s aesthetics; Forse Design’s later master plan and restoration work (2010s) suggests a corrective turn toward historic character, though the precise interventions have not been published hole-by-hole. The present course data—par 71, 6,326 yards, with course/slope of 71.3/125 from the Black tees—suggests lengths in scale with a 1920s origin, particularly the short par fives and numerous sub-400-yard par fours.
Sources & Notes
Fountain Head Country Club, History page (club site): opening date, Ross engagement, nine-to-eighteen narrative, clubhouse chronology.
Fountain Head Country Club, Home / Golf page: present-day tees, ratings, par; club’s characterization of “minor changes” and “only remaining Ross design in Maryland”; amenities overview.
Fountain Head Country Club, Course Tour (holes 1–18): hole-by-hole yardages; current presentation.
Ault, Clark & Associates, Project List (private clubs): “Fountain Head Country Club, Hagerstown, Maryland, EBA, 1968, R 18 Holes.” Forse Design, Client List: “Fountain Head Country Club (MD) – MP, RE,” under “Previous Work: 2010–2019.”
Maryland State Golf Association, 97th Maryland Open – Fountain Head CC Full Tour (2018 host site overview). https://msga.org/97th-maryland-open-fountain-head-cc-full-tour/.
Washington Post, “Funk Shoots 65 to Win Second Maryland Open” (July 9, 1987) and “Heintzelman Shoots 67 to Lead…” (July 8, 1987): reporting on Maryland Open at Fountain Head.
Hagerstown Magazine, “Fountain Head Country Club Celebrates 100 Years” (Nov. 18, 2024): Ross authorship, staged build summary, mention of Walter Hatch, Tufts drawings (10–18).
GolfClubAtlas Discussion Board, “Fountain Head Country Club, Hagerstown, MD (Ross)” (June 2018): secondary observations of routing continuity, light shaping, exposed rock around holes 10–13, and reference to Tufts sketches.
Maryland State Golf Association, Founding history PDF: closure of Hagerstown CC in 1928 shortly after Fountain Head opened.
Uncertainties & items requiring verification
• Date the second nine opened: club and magazine sources imply a staged build after October 1924, but provide no specific opening date for the full 18.
• Extent of Walter Hatch’s on-site role: mentioned secondarily; confirmation would require Tufts Archives project file and Fountain Head construction records.
• Scope and details of the 1968 Ault renovation: Ault’s project list confirms a renovation of all 18 holes, but does not enumerate features (greens, bunkers, tees).
• Forse Design interventions (2010s): Forse lists a master plan and restoration but no public breakdown; on-site plans and board minutes would identify bunker work, fairway expansions, or green recapture.