Our Story

The story of NewClub begins in 2005, at the home of golf in St. Andrews, Scotland. I was twenty years old, studying Commerce at University College Cork in County Cork, Ireland. Admittedly more in love with golf courses than textbooks, I took an eight hour bus, a one hour boat, and a two hour train before arriving in St. Andrews. Before dropping my bags off on a friend's dorm room floor, I walked from the train station, down 'Golf Place' and laid eyes on the most beautiful site in golf, where it all began, The Old Course. I spent that week playing all seven courses available at St. Andrews Links. Still the largest public golf complex in Europe. I could feel the history and tradition in every step. Land originally shaped by Old Tom Morris himself. It was enjoyable, it was memorable, it was spiritual, it was magic. 

Fast forward 10 years to 2015, working for a tech company in Chicago, I made a return pilgrimage to the home of golf. After an especially memorable round on The Old Course, our group was invited as temporary members to have lunch at The New Golf Club of St. Andrews, one of the oldest golfing societies in the world, whose charter membership included Old Tom Morris, and whose clubhouse still sits alongside the 18th fairway of The Old Course.

It was our experience there that sparked the initial discussion that lead to NewClub. We were warmly welcomed inside and given a tour of the clubhouse and it's heritage. While enjoying our lunch, we watched as The New Golf Club members file through the entrance, four golfers at a time to turn in scorecards, have a bite to eat, and reminisce about their match on one of the seven links courses available to them through the St. Andrews Trust.

We met members and heard stories on the immense history and character of their club. We met teachers, bankers, architects and grocers. Police officers, accountants, and fish merchants. I was fascinated with how much of their town was represented. In addition to honorary members such as Arnold Palmer, Bobby Jones, Sandy Herd and Old Tom Morris, The New Golf Club of St. Andrews has been a place for hundreds of years where citizens of the town, any resident in good standing with a passion for the game can call their golfing home.   

When I returned to Chicago from that second pilgrimage in May of 2015, I decided it was time to start enjoying golf again, similar to the way I use to as a kid, similar to the way those members did at The New Golf Club of St. Andrews. Seems silly to fly halfway around the world to play compelling, interesting, and memorable golf when some of the best, most classic golf courses in America were right in my backyard. I began a search, to find the private club that was best fit for me. There were plenty of options. Chicago is home to some of the best golf clubs in the country with rich history and members who truly love and appreciate the game. Even with so many great options, the search was a challenge. Trying to successfully navigate the networking, applications and interview process for each club was quite the ordeal. Confusing levels of membership, varying financial and time commitments, trying to compare apples and oranges... It took me two full years before I felt comfortable in my golf club decision, and even then, I felt like I had lost valuable time, effort and dollars playing less enjoyable golf.  I started talking with my usual foursome, there has got to be a better way...  

The founders of the modern game, the shapers, the curators, the club makers, it was their intention that the game would always be affordable, accessible, sustainable, above all else, memorable. A sport to be enjoyed by the everyman. Somewhere along the way, our courses became more about their prestige and less about their playability. Our Clubs become more about their exclusivity and less about their enjoyment, and being a member became more about net worth and less about a love and respect for the game. 

It's important to remember that golf is a game, but games can have an incredible influence on our lives. Golf in particular gives the common athlete or hobbyist something they can strive for, a greatness to chase, all while upholding core values like honesty and integrity. The great golden-age Architect Donald Ross once said "A country which gets golf-minded need not worry about the honor, the integrity and the honesty of its people". It's why we've made it our mission at NewClub to enrich human life through the experience of really good golf. We hope you join us. 

"The meaning of life is creative love. Not love as an inner feeling, as a private sentimental emotion, but love as a dynamic power moving out in the world and doing something original."

Old Tom Morris