Findlay’s 18 and the Fox Chapel move (1913–1915).
After outgrowing its original Homewood-Brushton site, PFC acquired roughly 171 acres in O’Hara Township (now Fox Chapel) and engaged Alexander H. Findlay to lay out a full 18; construction was executed by Fred Pickering, and both the new clubhouse and course opened to members in June 1915. Findlay’s routing exploited steep sidehills and benches but, as built, aspects of the design dissatisfied the membership.
Ross retained to remodel; early-1920s implementation.
The club “immediately looked to renovate the course, turning to Donald Ross.” Because the clubhouse fire of 1924 destroyed records, details are fragmentary, but the Donald Ross Society has affirmed Ross’s involvement. The club history—summarized in an archival essay by the Golf Heritage Society—attributes to Ross the renovation of holes 1 through 5 and the creation of the modern 6th hole, a surgical intervention that re-set the course’s opening stretch for the steeper, tighter property.
Contemporaneous and subsequent work by others.
In the 1920s, the local team of Emil “Dutch” Loeffler & John McGlynn completed renovations on the back nine, knitting Ross’s revised front into a more robust overall test. Over ensuing decades, the course absorbed additional, well-documented touches (among them work by A. W. Tillinghast, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Arthur Hills, Craig Schreiner, Tripp Davis, and, most recently, Keith Foster, whose 2012 project the club identifies as a comprehensive renovation).
The elevator and late-1930s finish reconfiguration.
The climb from the valley floor to the ridge above the current 18th tee was so severe that the club reworked the home hole after the 1937 PGA Championship. In 1938 PFC installed a six-story elevator at the 17th green with a footbridge to the 18th tee—an enduring, defining feature that also telegraphs how vertical the site is.
Tournament throughline.
Major event lineage includes the 1937 PGA (won by Denny Shute), the 1959 Western Open (Mike Souchak), 1953 U.S. Open qualifying (Ben Hogan famously holing a crucial putt on 18 to advance), and 2003 U.S. Amateur stroke-play rounds split with Oakmont. These dates frame how the Ross-anchored front and the fortified back nine performed in elite settings across eras.
Documentation note. Because the 1924 fire erased many working papers, Ross’s exact on-site dates and any green drawings for the front nine have not been published; the hole-attribution list above derives from the club’s history and the Golf Heritage Society summary. Primary corroboration would come from surviving board minutes, construction invoices, and any Ross correspondence in private holdings.
Unique Design Characteristics
Opening sequence reshaped by Ross (holes 1–6). The front-side cadence remains the clearest window into Ross’s hand at PFC. The first tee, high beside the clubhouse, launches a downhill opener that immediately engages side-slope stance and a sloped target; Ross’s re-worked 1–5 demanded more precise tee-ball placement into canted fairways to open receptive angles. The modern 6th, credited to Ross, punctuates the set: a longer, exacting hole that forces a commitment from the tee to gain a controllable approach—precisely the kind of adjustment the club sought when it asked Ross to stiffen Findlay’s start.
Back-nine refinements (Loeffler & McGlynn) that harmonize with the front. The local team’s 1920s work added bunkering texture and more defined approach shots on the back nine, allowing the closing stretch to match the sharpened tone of Ross’s opening six. The net effect is a course that plays strategically up and down the ridge rather than simply across it.
Vertical signatures: the elevator and high-perched home tee. No feature speaks more directly to how the course inhabits its terrain than the elevator linking 17 green to the 18 tee—a solution adopted in 1938 after years of complaints about the near-alpine climb that once confronted players. Coupled with the lofted first tee, these engineered moments bookend the round and are integral to how the routing works on this topography.
Holes that best preserve the Ross effect. Based on the club’s own history: 1–5 (renovated) and 6 (new) on the outward half most reliably preserve Ross’s intent—i.e., directional tee shots into modestly elevated, sloped greens where the wrong angle amplifies short-game difficulty. Those demands still govern scoring on the front today.
Historical Significance
A rare Ross intervention in a Findlay design. Within Ross’s portfolio, PFC is significant as a documented remodel—not a ground-up plan—where he revised an established Findlay routing to meet member expectations and the property’s dramatic relief. The club’s own history credits Ross in specific, hole-by-hole terms (1–5 renovations; new 6th), making PFC a useful case study of Ross as a surgical problem-solver rather than a blank-slate planner.
Championship pedigree across eras. The 1937 PGA Championship (Denny Shute over Jug McSpaden in 37 holes) validated the reworked test; the 1959 Western Open added a tour-stroke-play chapter, and both 1953 and 2003 USGA uses demonstrated that the course could still set a demanding pace alongside Oakmont.
Continuity of elite exhibitions and events. From Red Cross and wartime exhibitions with Hagen, Sarazen, Snead, Patty Berg and others to the late-20th-century Family House Invitational charity pro-ams, PFC repeatedly served as a regional stage, reinforcing the staying power of its Ross-anchored golf despite continual modernization.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing and green-site integrity on the front. The front-side identity—Ross on 1–6—remains legible in how those holes ask for preferred-side tee balls and precise trajectories to modest, sloped greens. While many architects have touched the course since, club and historical sources still point to Ross’s imprint as the framework for how the outward half plays.
Evolving bunkers, modern infrastructure. Mid-century and late-century projects reduced, relocated, or rebuilt bunkers and adjusted tees; the club acknowledges work by Tillinghast, Willie Park Jr., Loeffler & McGlynn, Robert Trent Jones, Arthur Hills, Craig Schreiner, Tripp Davis, and Keith Foster (2012). The 2012 Foster effort is the most recent full-course renovation on record; Foster’s firm lists PFC among its completed renovations. Given this long arc, individual bunker forms and some green surrounds reflect multiple eras, but the strategic bones of Ross’s opening sequence persist.
Signature engineered elements preserved. The elevator and footbridge remain fully functional and central to daily play; in usage terms they receive thousands of riders annually, underscoring both tradition and necessity on this hillside site.
Present yardage and set-up. Current public cards list par 71 at roughly 6,827 yards from the championship markers.
What is well-documented. The Findlay authorship (1915 opening), the clubhouse fire of 1924, Ross’s remodeling of holes 1–5 and creation of 6, Loeffler & McGlynn’s 1920s back-nine work, the 1937 PGA and 1959 Western Open, the elevator’s 1938 installation, and the 2012 Keith Foster renovation are each supported by club and independent histories.
What remains uncertain or needs primary confirmation. Because the 1924 fire destroyed many records, precise plan sheets, field notes, dates of Ross’s site visits, and any drawings for the front-nine greens are not publicly available.
Sources & Notes
Golf Heritage Society — “GHS Heritage Club Series – The Pittsburgh Field Club” (Jan. 8, 2025). Concise club history citing Findlay’s 1915 build; Ross’s renovation of holes 1–5 and creation of the modern 6th; back-nine work by Loeffler & McGlynn; 1937 PGA, 1959 Western Open; 1953 U.S. Open and 2003 U.S. Amateur qualifying; 1938 elevator installation and rationale.
Pittsburgh Field Club – About Us (official site). Institutional history confirming Findlay authorship, Pickering construction, and a roster of later architects including Donald Ross and Keith Foster; notes on property acquisitions and practice area.
LINKS Magazine — “Pittsburgh Field Club” (feature). Tournament narrative for 1937 PGA and 1959 Western Open; topographic and play-character notes (first tee, elevator).
Keith Foster Golf Course Design — firm website. PFC listed among completed course renovations, corroborating the club’s reference to 2012 work.
TribLive (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) — “Then & Now: Pittsburgh Field Club is region’s oldest sporting facility” (Nov. 14, 2024). Confirms 1915 opening at Fox Chapel and 1925 clubhouse rebuild after the 1924 fire.