Newport’s first nine holes were built in 1894 by professional William F. Davis on the “Rocky Farm” tract acquired by the new club; by 1897 the course had 18 holes. The club’s revised history explicitly corrects the long-standing belief that Donald Ross supplied the second nine, noting that newly discovered material shows Davis did that work.
The course members know today resulted primarily from a 1920s land strategy and redesign by A.W. Tillinghast. In 1921 the club purchased additional acreage west of Harrison Avenue and then hired Tillinghast to relieve drainage and safety issues by rerouting the east-side holes and adding seven new holes on the west parcel; contemporary club history and later architectural summaries concur on his central role.
Where, then, does Ross fit? Multiple secondary sources—state association summaries, magazine features, and long-standing web profiles—have long repeated that Ross “remodeled” Newport in 1915 or “extended it to 18 holes.” These claims conflict with the club’s updated research that assigns both the original nine and the 1897 expansion to Davis and the 1920s redesign to Tillinghast. No primary Ross plans, construction invoices, or board minutes have been made public to clarify whether Ross ever prepared a remodeling scheme that was not executed, made advisory visits, or undertook field work later superseded by Tillinghast. In short, a 1915 Ross phase is plausible in the literature but unproven on the ground.
Documented modern work began with a Forse Design master plan in 1998, implemented in stages through 2004. The club credits this plan with reviving eliminated bunkers and restoring others to Tillinghast’s forms. The USGA also cites Forse’s restoration in its 2021 Senior Open announcement. In 2017 the board asked Gil Hanse for a fresh review; his shaper executed subtle changes to five fairway bunkers (three on No. 2 and two on No. 6) in spring 2018, and Hanse recommended restoring greens to original sizes, a program the club scheduled to begin after 2020.
Unique Design Characteristics (as they relate to Ross at Newport)
Because the present routing and most architectural signatures derive from Tillinghast’s 1920s work—and because the club’s own research attributes the 1897 expansion to Davis—there is no hole or feature that can be securely tied to Ross with published primary evidence. The two west-of-Harrison loops, the broad diagonal fairway bunkers that heave into lines of play, and the perched green pads with open aprons are described by the club and independent profiles as products of the 1921–24 redesign and later restorations respectful of Tillinghast. Where Hanse’s 2018 refinements touched the course—Nos. 2 and 6 fairway bunkers—they addressed the presentation of hazards long associated with the Tillinghast scheme, not a Ross phase. If Ross worked here in 1915, the most likely canvas would have been the pre-1921 east-side routing; without dated plan sheets or construction notes, however, no extant green contour, bunker line, or hole corridor can be attributed to him with confidence.
For readers familiar with other Ross courses in Rhode Island (e.g., Wannamoisett, Rhode Island CC), it is tempting to map “Ross hallmarks” onto Newport’s present features. The documentary record cautions against that impulse: Newport’s club history, USGA materials, and restoration accounts frame Newport as a Davis foundation subsequently reshaped by Tillinghast, with late-20th/early-21st-century work aimed at that lineage.
Historical Significance (within Ross studies)
Newport’s significance to Ross scholarship lies less in a body of surviving Ross work than in the history of attribution. For decades, standard blurbs credited Ross with the “second nine” (or a 1915 remodeling). The club’s archival update now assigns that 1897 expansion to Davis and documents the 1920s Tillinghast redesign, prompting researchers to revisit earlier assumptions about Ross’s Rhode Island portfolio. That reassessment is important because Ross certainly worked across the state in the 1910s and 1920s; distinguishing what he did not do at Newport clarifies the chronology and scope of his verified Rhode Island commissions.
Beyond the authorship question, Newport is one of the USGA’s cornerstone venues: it staged both the first U.S. Amateur and first U.S. Open in 1895, returned for the 1995 U.S. Amateur, the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open, and the 2024 U.S. Senior Open. Contemporary coverage underscores how the club has added yardage and refined presentation to meet modern championship demands while maintaining its historical fabric. These tournament chapters contextualize why so many secondary outlets repeated an attractive but unverified Ross association: the club’s prominence made tidy one-line attributions sticky.
Current Condition / Integrity (vis-à-vis any Ross work)
Routing and corridors. The pattern played today is the Tillinghast-era routing bridging east and west of Harrison Avenue; nothing in the public record identifies an intact Ross corridor within the modern 18.
Greens and bunkers. Forse’s 1998–2004 program revived bunkers eliminated over time and reshaped others to Tillinghast profiles; Hanse’s team made minor bunker refinements (Nos. 2 and 6) and recommended enlarging greens to earlier perimeters. The club’s account explicitly frames those efforts as honoring Tillinghast, not revealing or reinstating a Ross layer. Consequently, no present green surface or bunker complex can be presented here as an authenticated Ross survival.
Yardage / par and championship set-ups. The club’s rating table fixes the men’s Black tees at par 70 (75.4/135). For the 2024 U.S. Senior Open, the USGA set the course at 7,024 yards, par 70, flipping the nines and converting two member par fives to par fours.
Clubhouse and setting. The Whitney Warren clubhouse is an essential part of the venue’s identity and chronology, but this architectural heritage does not bear on Ross authorship; it does, however, appear in authoritative architectural references and USGA narratives that situate the course in its broader cultural landscape.
What is known with documentation: Davis built the original nine (1894) and the 1897 expansion; Tillinghast executed the 1920s redesign with seven new holes west of Harrison Avenue; Forse led a restoration guided by Tillinghast’s scheme (1998–2004); Hanse advised in 2017–18 with minor bunker work and a greens-expansion recommendation; the USGA has repeatedly used Newport, including in 2024.
What remains uncertain about Ross: Multiple secondary sources (including a state association page, media features, and long-standing course profiles) still list a 1915 Ross remodeling. The club’s updated history does not corroborate that claim and, in correcting the “second nine” myth, implies that earlier attributions to Ross were based on incomplete evidence.
Sources & Notes
Newport Country Club, “Our History.” Corrects the long-standing Ross attribution to the 1897 second nine (assigning it to William F. Davis); documents 1921 land purchases, Tillinghast’s redesign adding seven holes west of Harrison Avenue, the Forse master plan (1998–2004), and Hanse’s 2018 bunker refinements with recommended green restorations.
USGA, “Newport Country Club Awarded 2024 U.S. Senior Open” (Apr. 20, 2021). Concise architectural chronology: Davis (1894/1899), Tillinghast remodel (1923), Forse restoration (2005).
USGA, “2024 U.S. Senior Open Fact Sheet” (June 27–30, 2024). Yardage (7,024) and par-70 setup; hole-by-hole for the championship; context for flipped nines and par conversions.
USGA, “Latest Chapter in Newport CC’s Historic Legacy” (June 22, 2024). Notes cumulative yardage gains in recent decades and Forse’s role in the restoration arc.
Newport CC, “Course Ratings.” Official ratings/slope/par tables (men’s Black 75.4/135, par 70; women’s tables). Useful given lack of a public scorecard.
LINKS Magazine, “Classic Courses: Newport Country Club” (2023). Modern narrative affirming the Davis origins, 1897 expansion to 18, and the 1921–24 Tillinghast redesign adding seven west-of-Harrison holes.
Rhode Island Golf Association, “Donald Ross.” Lists Newport as “remodeled in 1915.” Treated here as a secondary claim requiring corroboration.
ESPN (2006 U.S. Women’s Open coverage), “At Newport, what was old is new again.” Repeats the traditional claim that Ross extended Newport to 18 in 1915; included to document the persistence of the attribution now contradicted by the club’s own history.
Top100GolfCourses, “Newport Country Club.” Profile that still credits Ross with an “extension to 18” in 1915; cited to show ongoing divergence from the club’s corrected narrative.
Anthony Pioppi, “The History of the Newport Country Club” (2016). Notes that Ross is “rumored, but no evidence of his doing anything,” summarizing the skepticism that preceded the club’s own corrective.
SAH Archipedia, “Newport Country Club” (building entry). Authoritative architectural context for the Whitney Warren clubhouse (noting hurricane loss of the rear piazza), included for setting rather than golf authorship.
USGA, “Course Tour of Newport Country Club” (image gallery). Event-oriented course descriptions and visuals; corroborates championship sequencing and the member/championship hole-number differences.