Grover Cleveland Golf Course in Buffalo, New York, is one of two golf courses owned by Erie County. Located at 3781 Main Street, it was founded as The Country Club of Buffalo on February 11, 1889. The 18-hole course is 5,621 yards (5,140 m) (from the back tees) and is a par 69. It has a course rating of 65.5 and a slope rating of 102. The course hosted the 1912 U.S. Open, won by the defending champion, 20-year-old John J. McDermott, Jr., still the youngest-ever champion and the first American to win the title.
The course was sold to the City of Buffalo in 1925, when the Country Club of Buffalo moved to its present location in Amherst, near Williamsville. Norman Leising manages the course as the Superintendent. It was at this time, that the Main St. property was rezoned from being part of Amherst, NY to becoming part of Buffalo, NY.
The Country Club of Buffalo (CCB) was originally located at the intersection of Elmwood Avenue and Nottingham Terrace, near the present day Delaware Park and SUNY–Buffalo State College. After purchasing the Samuel Schenck House 1823 which included the Old Stone House, farm and orchard at 3781 Main St, they moved from their site on Elmwood ave. The CCB built the original club house, polo field, archery field, tennis courts and lastly the 18 hole golf course. Noted architect E.B. Green designed the first clubhouse, which opened in August 1889. The club relocated in 1899 to make way to the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. The clubhouse became the Women’s Center during the Pan American Exposition.
In 1900, The County Club of Buffalo acquired land at the intersection of Main Street at Bailey Avenue at the City of Buffalo’s border with the Town of Amherst. The club began construction of a golf course at that time and constructed a clubhouse on the site in 1901. George Cary, who also designed the Buffalo History Museum (a National Historic Landmark), designed the clubhouse. The 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, and a polo field were completed in 1902. In 1910, A.L. Pfitzner, a pilot from Curtiss, made the first airplane flight in Western New York from the club’s grounds. In 1910 and 1911, Walter J. Travis renovated the course in anticipation of attracting a major golf tournament. The Country Club of Buffalo hosted the 1912 U.S. Open, which was won by John McDermott with a score of 283