Knollwood Club: Smiling Land and Charm

Cooler By The Lake
Knollwood Club: Smiling Land and Charm

Knollwood’s first clubhouse consisted of two farmhouses combined together. The Granger Farwell farmhouse was moved and adjoined to the A.C. McCord house, which remained in its original location. Architect Howard Van Doren Shaw then added porches and a large reception room.

Men's locker room (1926) exterior.

Men's locker room (1926) exterior.

Men's locker room (1926) interior.

Men's locker room (1926) interior.

In September 1956, Knollwood played host to the 56th U.S. Men’s Amateur. Harve Ward won the tournament, defeating Ken Venturi in early rounds of match play and Charles Kocsis for the title. Pictured are Kocsis (putting) and Ward (looking on at left) during the second 18 holes of the final match.

In September 1956, Knollwood played host to the 56th U.S. Men’s Amateur. Harve Ward won the tournament, defeating Ken Venturi in early rounds of match play and Charles Kocsis for the title. Pictured are Kocsis (putting) and Ward (looking on at left) during the second 18 holes of the final match.

Formed at the height of estate and club culture in 1924, Knollwood encompassed all the trappings of the 1920s boom, as well as an escape from them. No expense was spared in the creation of a top-notch golf course (architect C. H. Alison’s budget of $10,000 per hole doubled the average of the period). The neighborhood of country homes was summarized by the Chicago Herald as “Rich Men to Build Village.”Yet Knollwood took its name from Granger Farwell’s dairy farm, and Howard Van Doren Shaw formed its first clubhouse by cobbling together two farmhouses. A “desire to substitute simplicity for the rather ornate things that have come to surfeit a country club life” was cited as its purpose. And Knollwood’s founders—among them Samuel Insull— managed financial prudence, uncommon for clubs of the decade, by selling surrounding residential lots and beginning as a club without debt.
“Out of the rolling hills of northern Illinois, just over the Lake County line from Chicago, there is taking shape now a country club that has no counterpart for charm and character. Its name is Knollwood. Its beauty is the quiet loveliness of open country and wooded heights; a quaint, plain, comfortable farm home for its clubhouse; and bordering its reaches of smiling land, the country homes of gentlemen.” (From a 1925 pamphlet)
When the men’s locker room at Knollwood opened on Memorial Day, 1926, it was without equal, and even today is regarded as one of the finest in the country. Howard Van Doren Shaw’s design featured timbered high ceilings, 350 steel lockers, wide aisles, marble showers, and a cheery fireplace. A 1998 renovation retained and restored many of these original materials.