Essex County Club, founded in 1893, was home to Donald Ross from 1910 to 1916, when he served as golf professional, expanded the course to its current routing and walked to work from a house that sits behind the 14th green.

The club, rated No. 63 on the Golfweek’s Best Classic Course list, has a glorious championship history, having served as host of the U.S. Women’s Amateur (1897, 1912) and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (1995). Two of the club’s greatest golfers, sisters Harriot and Margaret Curtis, with four Women’s Amateur titles between them, donated the namesake silver cup for the matches that have been held biennially since 1932 – including at Essex in 1938.

- courtesy Golfweek, by Bradley S. Klein