Club History

In 1895, newspapers across the country carried detailed reports of the opening of a prestigious new club on the banks of the Hudson River.

With the support of some of the most notable and successful men in the United States, including Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, J. Pierpont Morgan, William Rockefeller and Amzi Lorenzo Barber, the establishment of The Ardsley Casino was a nationally noted event.

The original clubhouse overlooked the Hudson River on the site where Hudson House now stands, opposite the Ardsley-on-Hudson railroad station. That clubhouse, which the station matches in architectural style, had a private dock to accommodate the yachts of Casino members. The "finest and longest golf course in the world" was designed by golfing great of that era Willie Dunn, who was also engaged as the Club's first Golf Professional. The course would later be redesigned by such noted architects as Donald Ross and Dr. Allister Mackenzie. In 1898 the Ardsley course was the site of the third USGA Women's Amateur Golf Tournament. Grass tennis courts were also constructed, which attracted top-ranked professionals from across the country. Stables were built on the hillside, from which the Ardsley stagecoach Tally-Ho! departed each weekday for the Hotel Brunswick on lower Fifth Avenue.

In 1936 the old Casino clubhouse was torn down, The Ardsley Club having merged with the newer Racquet and Swimming Club in 1935. This more informal offshoot had been formed in 1927 with the big stables annex as its clubhouse. Renamed The Ardsley Country Club, the revitalized club continued as a golfing and lawn tennis center at the riverside location for several decades.

In 1966, the clubhouse was moved to its present location, the former home of Justine Bayard Cutting Ward and later, Frank Jay Gould. Paddle courts, a curling facility, and a new swimming pool were built nearby. Ardsley's course was again altered and improved by The Robert Trent Jones Organization. Continual course improvements have made the course one of the most challenging in the metropolitan area. Nine Har-Tru tennis courts remain at their original location by the riverside, and along with a modernized tennis house, offer members one of the premier facilities in the region.

Clubhouse renovations have transformed the former home, with its spectacular, panoramic views of the Hudson, into one of the most charming dining and entertainment establishments in Westchester County.

Times have changed since those early days of The Ardsley Casino, but Ardsley Country Club traditions have not. Club members still gather here with their families to enjoy the fine fellowship, as well as social and sporting activities that drew its original members from New York City in horse-drawn carriages many years ago.