Mount Hope and the first full course (1896–1897). After earlier sites in Yonkers, Saint Andrew’s secured land at Mount Hope and, in 1896–97, professional William Henry Tucker Sr. laid out the club’s first 18 on the present property. Tucker, a Tom Dunn apprentice, opened the course in summer 1897, establishing the valley-and-foothill corridors that still anchor play.
Persistent back-nine problems and the Ross commission (1914–1917). The Mount Hope topography inspired dramatic vistas but produced repeated layout changes on the back nine; club minutes show that by 1913, holes 10–14 had been altered at least seven times. In 1914 the Board engaged Donald Ross to address this unstable section. The club’s historical research—reviewed with the Donald Ross Society in 2023—concluded that Ross re-routed and rebuilt then-holes 10–14 between 1914 and 1917, resolving the strategic and safety issues that had bedeviled play for two decades. These Ross holes then stood with little change for 65 years.
Interwar refinements by James Braid (1928–1929). In 1928, Saint Andrew’s solicited recommendations from James Braid for (then) holes 15–18; the club implemented his scheme in 1929. Today’s 9th reportedly uses the tee and fairway line of Braid’s 16th, marking a rare U.S. footprint for Braid’s work.
Modern reconfiguration by Jack Nicklaus Associates (1983–1985). In 1983, the club commissioned Jack Nicklaus Associates to modernize Mount Hope. The work rebuilt tees, greens, and bunkers, introduced water features, and re-routed portions of the back nine into wooded highlands west of the original corridors. Crucially for Ross scholarship, the project eliminated Ross’s par-3 11th and redirected the 10th fairway across the old 11th green—yet several Ross fairway lines (see below) survived intact and still govern play on corresponding holes. The new “Jack Nicklaus Signature Course” reopened May 29, 1985.
Unique Design Characteristics
Ross’s stabilized back-nine run (hole mapping and survivals). The club’s 2023 research and its designers’ page both state that elements of Ross’s redesign remain embedded in today’s routing. Two attributions appear in the public record: the club page identifies today’s 8, 14, and 15 as essentially unchanged in fairway line from Ross; the press releases assert that today’s 12, 13, and 14 retained their Ross fairway lines after 1983. Both sources agree that one Ross par-3 (then-11) no longer exists as designed. This split in mapping reflects different ways of correlating early numbering to the present sequence; resolving it requires comparing Ross drawings and pre-1983 aerials to today’s hole numbers.
Ross features, as expressed on the ground today. Where the Ross fairway lines persist, the holes read as angled two-shotters into elevated or benched greens protected by flanking sand rather than forced carries. On the most exacting of these, a tee ball that rides the intended corridor yields a receptive approach; misses find side-hill lies and false-front defenses. Because the Nicklaus work rebuilt many surfaces and added water in other corridors, the surviving Ross-influenced holes stand out for their ground-driven challenge more than overt hazards.
Back-nine sequence and modern overlays. The Nicklaus reroute brought dramatic ridge and glen vistas and created three visually striking one-shotters (10, 13, 16 today) that complement the remaining Ross-line two-shotters. As a result, the course’s present identity is a hybrid of Ross-stabilized corridors and 1980s green/tee construction—a distinct layering rather than a pure restoration.
Clearest present examples of Ross intent. Based on the club’s documents and the 2023 research: (a) the par-4 “Road Hole” at No. 8 (club’s mapping) or the mid-back-nine duo labeled 12–14 (press mapping) display unchanged fairway lines; (b) the vanished par-3 11th highlights what was lost in 1983; and (c) the approach demands into the bowl-receptive 14th (club description notes fronting bunkers ~35 yards short) still echo Ross’s preference for precise angle and carry. A definitive hole-by-hole alignment awaits archival plan overlays.
Historical Significance
Why Saint Andrew’s matters in Ross’s oeuvre. Saint Andrew’s is a partial Ross: he did not create the original 18 at Mount Hope, but his 1914–17 intervention stopped a cycle of redesigns in a notoriously problematic section of ground, and at least three fairway lines from that work remain fundamental to today’s play. In 2023, after review of board minutes and drawings, the Donald Ross Society affirmed Saint Andrew’s as a Ross course for the purposes of its official list, closing a decades-long debate and overturning earlier, incorrect attributions (including a claim linking the back nine to the estate of Alister MacKenzie). That decision elevates Saint Andrew’s within the catalog of Ross’s New York work and documents his role in one of America’s oldest clubs.
Broader stature. Beyond Ross, Saint Andrew’s is a founding member of the USGA and a continuous operating club since 1888, facts that frame the course as a living artifact in Westchester’s golf development. While the modern course has not pursued national championships, the club’s history and the Nicklaus modernization keep it in regional discourse, and its in-house historical exhibit (launched 2021) emphasizes the Mount Hope lineage and architectural layers.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing and fabric. The routing footprint mixes Tucker’s original corridors, Ross’s stabilized sequence on the old 10–14 block, Braid’s 1929 refinements (tee/fairway of his 16th embedded in today’s 9th), and Nicklaus’s 1983–85 reroute/build. Integrity to Ross is therefore selective, at corridor level: the par-3 11th is gone; other Ross fairways remain; green surfaces and bunker forms have largely been rebuilt to 1980s specifications or later.
What endures vs. what changed.
• Endures: at least three fairway lines from Ross’s 1914 work; the strategic character of certain mid-length par-4s where angle of approach matters more than hazard carry.
• Changed: widespread green reconstruction and bunker repositioning under Nicklaus; added waterways; rerouting of parts of the back nine; loss of Ross’s par-3 11th.
• Presentation today: par 71, 6,614 yards, rating/slope ~73.6/145; hole-by-hole yardages published on the club site.
Disputed or uncertain attributions. The club’s Course Designers page associates today’s 8, 14, and 15 with unchanged Ross fairway lines, whereas 2023 press accounts (drawing on the club’s research) state that today’s 12, 13, and 14 carry Ross’s fairway lines. Both agree that Ross’s par-3 11th was eliminated in 1983. This discrepancy likely stems from numbering changes and rerouting during the Nicklaus project; resolving it requires a hole-number crosswalk using plan overlays and dated aerials.
Sources & Notes
The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club — “Course Designers: Tucker, Ross & Nicklaus.” Club history page citing Tucker’s 1897 build; Ross’s 1914 redesign of then-holes 10–14; survivals (today’s 8, 14, 15); Braid’s 1929 changes; and the 1983–85 Nicklaus Signature redesign.
The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club — “The Golf Course at Mount Hope.” Club hole-by-hole with present specifications (par 71, 6,614 yards, rating 145) and narrative descriptions.
The First Call — “Mystery solved: The role of Donald Ross in the design of The Saint Andrew’s Golf Course” (July 25, 2023). Reports the club’s archival research; confirms 1914–17 Ross redesign of then-holes 10–14; notes 1983 Nicklaus elimination of Ross’s par-3 11th; states that today’s 12, 13, 14 retain Ross fairway lines; includes comment from the Donald Ross Society affirming Saint Andrew’s inclusion in its list.
Golf Course Industry — “Their research says … Donald Ross did indeed work at famed Saint Andrew’s Golf Club in New York” (Sept. 5, 2023). Echoes the 1914–17 timeline and the 1983 changes, including the loss of the Ross 11th and survivals of fairway lines.
Club history / Westchester context. Westchester Magazine’s overview of the county’s early golf history (context for Saint Andrew’s as the oldest club) and the club’s own history/in-the-news pages, including the 2021 historical exhibit, provide institutional context but no additional Ross specifics.