Commissioning and opening (1911–1912). The club incorporated in January 1911 and “reached out to Donald Ross,” then among the most active designers in the region. Ross planned the course in 1911; it opened on July 4, 1912. The site’s split personality—wooded inland ground contrasted with a shoreline strip across Nayatt Road—gave Ross the opportunity to finish with holes that turn fully to the Bay. Club history pages and the club’s home page preserve these details and the framing of the course as a 1911/1912 Ross original.
Championship pedigree. The course went on to host five USGA championships: the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1924, 1953, 1987, and 2011, and the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in 1975 (formalized in the USGA’s host-site ledger). From 1999 through 2019 the club also staged the CVS Health Charity Classic, an unofficial PGA Tour event co-hosted by members Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade.
Clubhouse era and recent facility work. A clubhouse fire in 1950 precipitated mid-century rebuilding; more recently, the club completed structural/dining renovations and added a golf simulator (2022 contractor summary). These works updated member facilities without changing Ross’s routing.
Course works (modern). In 2011, architect Bruce Hepner led a bunker renovation/restoration with NMP Golf Construction on site. Contemporary notes document 136 bunkers addressed, with 18 removed or combined, leaving 118 bunkers at completion. This project focused on hazard style, function, and presentation rather than rerouting.
Unique Design Characteristics
Routing and setting. Ross’s routing leverages a gentle interior rise/fall before turning seaward for the closing stretch. The final four holes (across the road on the Bay) form a distinct linksy coda: more exposure, firming winds, and unobstructed visuals to set up diagonal tee and approach lines. The club’s description explicitly frames those finishing holes as “linksy” and “located across the road.”
Optical tests and “inverted bunker” at No. 1. The club’s hole guide singles out a rare “inverted bunker” in play off the 1st tee, coupled with an approach to a “classic Donald Ross green.” It’s a concise illustration of Ross’s tendency to use optics and subtle landforms to influence line and club selection immediately from the opening shot.
Signature Bay par-3 at No. 17. The 17th is a short, exposed par-3 on the Bay (listed around 133 yards on third-party yardage), where wind and angle dominate more than raw distance. As is typical on the shoreline parcel, small errors can be exaggerated by cross-breezes, amplifying the demand for precise trajectory and spin.
Bunker field and modern stewardship. The 2011 Hepner/NMP program rationalized and refreshed the Ross bunker scheme, trimming total count but re-establishing readable diagonal carries and flanking hazards that restore line-of-charm choices. The documented counts (118 bunkers post-project) give a rare quantitative window into the course’s hazard framework.
Historical Significance
Place in Ross’s chronology. RICC is a fully original Ross in 1911/1912, part of his prolific New England period just before the First World War. Within Rhode Island specifically, the state golf association’s sketch of Ross’s in-state works lists Rhode Island CC among his earliest Rhode Island designs (preceding work at Wannamoisett, Newport [remodeling], and others). That sequence helps explain the club’s recurring role as a USGA host.
Championship record. Hosting four U.S. Women’s Amateurs (spanning 1924–2011) and the 1975 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur places RICC among a small cohort of venues with deep ties to women’s championship golf, and the CVS Health Charity Classic gave the course sustained TV exposure and charitable impact from 1999–2019.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing integrity. Available sources show no wholesale rerouting; the course remains Ross’s 18-hole plan. The coastal parcel across the road remains in play for 15–18, preserving the intended rhythm of inland-to-seaside finish noted by the club.
Greens and hazards. While the club does not publish a green-by-green history, the hole notes (e.g., No. 1’s “classic Ross green”) and the 2011 bunker work suggest a stewardship approach: hazards restored/rationalized, surrounds cleaned up, and presentation heightened without altering the underlying strategy. The bunker counts from the 2011 project—136 addressed, 118 retained—indicate select consolidation rather than expansion.
Facilities and presentation. Off-course updates in 2022 (dining/bar interiors, golf simulator addition) modernized the member experience and winter practice opportunities, but they do not touch the historic design fabric. Yardage today (back tees 6,734 yards, par 71) reflects that the course defends par more through wind exposure, angles, and green sites than through contemporary lengthening.
Sources & Notes
Rhode Island Country Club — History page. Incorporation (Jan. 1911); Ross engagement; July 4, 1912 opening; present-day course description (par 71; 6,734 yards; “linksy” final four across the road).
Rhode Island Country Club — Home page. 1911 Ross course; parkland/wooded/seaside blend; four USGA championships; CVS Charity Classic association.
USGA Host States & Clubs (Rhode Island). Lists RICC’s five USGA championships: 1924, 1953, 1987, 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur; 1975 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.
CVS Health Charity Classic — overview. Event venue and tenure at RICC (1999–2019); tournament background.
Club hole guide (No. 1). “Rare inverted bunker” and “classic Donald Ross green” description; illustrates course-specific optical/hazard features.
Hepner/NMP bunker project (2011). GolfClubAtlas discussion thread noting 136 bunkers addressed, 118 remaining post-consolidation; multiple hole photos during construction.
Club facility renovations (2022). Contractor summary of dining/bar upgrades and golf simulator addition at RICC.
Rhode Island Golf Association — Donald Ross page. Context for Ross’s Rhode Island portfolio and chronology; places Rhode Island CC among earliest in-state Ross works.