Durand Eastman Park originated in 1907 when Dr. Henry S. Durand and George Eastman conveyed more than 480 acres to the City of Rochester “to be used as a public park forever.” Golf followed within a decade. Contemporary park records summarized in the club’s research indicate a nine-hole course in 1917, the city’s third public layout. A 1918 Democrat & Chronicle diagram mapped that original nine, and a May 21, 1940 Times-Union piece asserted that “Donald Ross…laid out the original nine holes.” The club’s history, however, emphasizes that no confirming plans or correspondence have been located; the Ross attribution rests on that single 1940 notice.
The park expanded to 18 holes in 1931, still largely east of Kings Highway and, by every account, “tight.” In 1933–34, Monroe County’s parks director Patrick J. Slavin engaged Robert Trent Jones, then a young Rochester-based architect, to re-design and expand the course. Jones’s plan shifted seven holes to the west side of Kings Highway and reorganized the remainder on the east, lengthening the layout and relieving congestion. The Jones course opened in 1934; the club archive preserves an image of the inaugural tee shot that year.
Later adjustments were incremental. In the mid-1960s, the path from 6 to 7 was cut through the separating hill and an alternate 6th green—a short par-3 in an amphitheater hollow—was eventually abandoned (ca. 1971). In 1978–79 utility work and grading led to a new 16th and the combining of the 4th and 5th into a single par-5, finalizing the modern balance of nine holes on each side of Kings Highway.
Primary-source gaps. No Ross plan sheets, construction invoices, or correspondence have been published for the 1917 nine; the Jones redesign is amply documented by county and club histories. A definitive Ross attribution would require locating original drawings (club or Tufts Archives) or contemporary municipal files describing the 1917 work.
Unique Design Characteristics
Because Jones’s 1933–34 rework produced the course in use today, verifiable Ross features do not present cleanly on the modern 18. The club’s history does, however, map relationships between the 1917 nine and present corridors: for example, the original 5th reportedly corresponds to the current 18th played in reverse, the original 6th paralleled the lakeshore, and the original 9th green occupies the vicinity of today’s temporary green near the present 1st. These clues suggest that some pads and alignments survived the 1930s overhaul even as the routing shifted across Kings Highway. Confirming exact survivals would require early aerials and field surveys.
On the ground today, the Jones vocabulary dominates: valley fairways framed by steep, wooded slopes; bench-sited greens that accentuate approach angles; and forced carries over creeks where the valleys tighten. The county’s scorecard captures the cadence—two par-5s, an out-nine par 35 and in-nine par 35, and a back-tee total just over 6,000 yards—so distance is not the defense. Instead, elevation between greens and tees and crossing drainage create a parkland course that plays longer than the card.
Best surviving candidates for pre-1934 lineage. Based on the club’s mapping notes, any east-side holes nearest the lake and the home corridor are the likeliest to sit on or near 1917 ground, but the west-side run (11–17) is pure Jones, a product of the 1930s expansion across Kings Highway. Again, without Ross drawings or 1920s aerials, precise green-by-green attributions are not defensible.
Historical Significance
In a Ross-specific catalog, Durand Eastman’s value is as a cautious citation: it may have hosted a 1917 Ross nine that introduced public golf to the park, but the documentary trail is thin. Within Rochester’s broader golf history, the course is fully documented as an early, consequential Robert Trent Jones project, one that helped launch his public-course career and that still exerts daily influence on local play. The 1934 reopening marked the city’s investment in a more expansive parkland test; later, a 1976 Golf Digest feature on public golf singled out Durand Eastman among “outstanding municipal layouts,” a mid-century reputation that many local golfers still echo.
The course has not hosted national championships; regional significance has derived from heavy public play and the park’s landscape. The club’s chronicle records 60,000+ rounds in a typical season by the late 1980s, illustrating the extent to which the Jones routing—rather than any surviving Ross detail—has defined Durand’s role in Rochester golf.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing and corridors. The Jones plan remains the structural baseline: seven holes west of Kings Highway (11–17) and eleven east, with minor re-sequencing since the 1970s (notably the new 16th and the merged 4th/5th). The park-road network around the course is surprisingly constant compared with 1918 maps, even where hole corridors have changed.
Greens, bunkers, and water. The county does not publish architect-of-record notes for major modernizations; the scorecard and county page describe par, yardage, and current hazards (creeks and ponds). The club history documents specific post-1934 tweaks—filling a pond near 5 tee (ca. 1965), path and tee relocations, and 1990s drainage/grade work (e.g., 14 fairway raised)—but there is no public inventory of pre-war green contours or sand lines that could be tied to Ross. In practical terms, any Ross-era detailing on the 1917 nine is either gone or indistinct within the Jones framework now in play.
Operations. As of the current county card, the course plays par 70 at ~6,000 yards (Blue/White/Gold), par 72 from the Red tees, with ratings/slopes posted. The county site lists standard public services and programs; league play is coordinated through the independent Durand Eastman Golf Club (men’s and women’s associations), which also preserves the park and course history.
Uncertainties:
• Ross authorship of the 1917 nine. The only explicit attribution located publicly is a 1940 Times-Union line quoted in the club’s history; no plans, contracts, letters, or contemporary 1917 articles have been produced online. Until primary evidence appears, any Ross credit should be qualified.
• Hole-by-hole survivals. The club’s mapping links 1917 features to a few present-day locations (e.g., present 18 reversed as original 5, lake-parallel 6, old 9th green near present 1), but post-1934 changes make precise survivals uncertain.
• Modern alterations. The club history lists 1960s–1990s adjustments; the county provides the current card but does not list modern architects of record. A formal integrity assessment would require aerial series (1920s–40s–60s–present) and a search for municipal plan files.
Sources & Notes
Durand Eastman Golf Club (Men’s & Ladies Associations) — “History.” Park donation (1907); nine holes in 1917; 1918 map; Times-Union May 21, 1940 claim that Donald Ross laid out the original nine, explicitly marked “not confirmed” by the club; 1931 second nine; 1933–34 Robert Trent Jones redesign moving seven holes west of Kings Highway; 1934 reopening; 1960s/1970s changes (6th green, new 16th, combined 4th/5th), 1990s grading/drainage work; Golf Digest March 1976 “outstanding municipal layouts” reference.
Monroe County Parks — “Durand Eastman.” Official county page describing the course as designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., par and yardage ranges, public-access status, and link to the scorecard.