Medinah Country Club (Medinah #1)

Overview: Medinah No. 1 is the first of Tom Bendelow's three original courses at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois. The private layout is a parkland course of tree-lined fairways, mature greens and a more compact scale than the famous Course No. 3. The directory record lists par 71 and 6,895 yards, making No. 1 a substantial but measured test whose strategy comes from positioning and the shape of the greens. Its identity should remain separate from the club's other courses, even though all three grew from Bendelow's original plan.

History: Medinah Country Club was founded in 1924 by members of Chicago's Medinah Temple. Tom Bendelow designed Course No. 1, and the first round was played there on September 5, 1925. Bendelow's later No. 2 and No. 3 projects completed the three-course complex that made Medinah one of America's major golf destinations. Course No. 1 has retained its own routing and historical role within that larger story.

Did You Know? Medinah's three original courses were built in sequence over only a few years. That rapid expansion explains why the club's three routings share a common architectural family while retaining different scorecards and identities.