Newport Country Club
Few clubs in America carry more history than Newport. One of the five founders of the USGA, it staged the first US Open and the first US Amateur in 1895 and remains a championship venue today, most recently for the 2024 US Senior Open. Beneath its landmark Beaux Arts clubhouse, a par 70 plays out on firm, wind exposed ground above the Atlantic.
Photograph: Newport Country Club, via Google
The verdict
Newport Country Club is one of the cradles of golf in the United States. Founded in 1893 in the Gilded Age resort that gave it its name, it became one of the five clubs that established the United States Golf Association, and in 1895 it hosted both the inaugural US Open and the inaugural US Amateur, played over its early holes laid out by the club professional Willie Davis. In 1923 the architect A. W. Tillinghast reshaped the course into close to its present form, and the result sits beneath one of the most beautiful clubhouses in American golf, a Beaux Arts landmark designed by Whitney Warren that surveys the whole property.
For the travelling golfer, Newport matters as a living piece of the game's foundation that still earns its championship credentials. It returned to the national stage for the 2024 US Senior Open, proof that the firm, wind swept ground above the Atlantic remains a worthy test more than a century on. The course is not long, but the sea breeze and the exposed setting do the defending, and the sense of standing where American championship golf began is hard to match anywhere else in the country. Access is private, through a member, but as the historic heart of a Rhode Island golf trip it is unmissable. This is where the American game started keeping score.
Newport at a glance
- Founded
- 1893
- Designers
- Davis, Tillinghast 1923
- Type
- Coastal parkland
- Par
- 70
- Yardage
- Around 7,000 yds
- Access
- Private, member guest
Founding year, designers, championship history, par and yardage verified June 2026 from USGA, club and course sources. Newport plays as a par 70 and can stretch to around 7,000 yards from the championship tees. It is a private members club with no public green fee; access is as the guest of a member, and any cost is arranged privately. Policies change, so always confirm directly before planning a visit.
The holes worth the trip
Newport rewards the player who can control the ball in wind, because exposure is the defining feature of the round. The course sits high and open near the coast, with little to shelter it from the Atlantic breeze, so the same hole that plays as a flick on a still morning becomes a long iron and a prayer when the wind turns. Tillinghast's routing uses that exposure cleverly, sending holes out in different directions so the wind never helps for long and the player must keep adjusting club and flight from tee to green.
The greens carry the strategic interest. They are firm and subtly contoured, and in a stiff breeze they grow very hard to hold, so the smart line is often a running approach that uses the front of the green rather than a high ball the wind can push away. The bunkering, refined over the years, frames the approaches and punishes the bail out, while the firm fairways feed and reject in a manner closer to a links than to a typical American parkland. It is golf that asks for judgment and a low ball flight rather than power.
Length is not the test here. At around 7,000 yards from the back tees Newport is modest by championship standards, and the 2024 US Senior Open confirmed that the difficulty comes from the wind, the firmness and the green complexes rather than yardage. Walk it beneath the great clubhouse with the ocean on the horizon, and the course delivers both a serious examination and a vivid sense of where the American championship game began.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | A private members club; there is no public green fee or visitor tee sheet, and play is as the accompanied guest of a member |
| Green fee | None published for visitors; any guest cost is arranged privately between member and host, so we quote no figure |
| Booking | Arranged by your member host, well ahead; access tightens further around any championship the club is hosting |
| On the day | A walkable coastal course with caddies available; a smart, traditional golf dress code applies on course and in the historic clubhouse |
| Best months | May to October, when the Rhode Island coast is at its mildest; expect wind in every season |
| Getting there | In Newport on Aquidneck Island, about a 90 minute drive from Boston and central to a Rhode Island trip |
Access rules and championship history verified June 2026 from USGA, club and course sources; private club policies change without notice, so always confirm directly before planning a visit. We can shape a wider Rhode Island and New England golf trip around courses you can book. Ask about bookable Rhode Island tee times.
Where to stay nearby
Newport is one of the great resort towns of the American northeast, so the natural base is the town itself, with its historic inns, the Gilded Age mansions along the Cliff Walk and a harbor full of restaurants. Providence is around 45 minutes away for a city alternative, and Boston is roughly an hour and a half north for those arriving by air.
Most visiting golfers fold Newport into a broader New England trip, given its private access. Pair a Rhode Island stay with the bookable and classic courses of the region: the Donald Ross par 69 at Wannamoisett Country Club near Providence, the Coore and Crenshaw sand course at Old Sandwich Golf Club up in Massachusetts, and the windswept Cape Cod links of Eastward Ho Country Club make a memorable itinerary.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts in Newport and Rhode Island.
Build a Rhode Island golf trip
Newport is private, but the golf around it is not. We build trips through Rhode Island, Cape Cod and the South Shore, secure the bookable tee times, and handle hotels, caddies and the order of play. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge costs it to the head, with no obligation.
Newport questions
Can the public play Newport Country Club?
No. Newport Country Club is a private members club and does not sell public green fees or visitor tee times. The usual route to a round is to play as the guest of a member, accompanied by your host. The club publishes no visitor rate, so access and any associated cost are arranged privately. Always confirm the current member guest policy directly with the club before planning a visit.
Why is Newport Country Club historically important?
Newport is one of the five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association and hosted both the first U.S. Open and the first U.S. Amateur in 1895. It has remained a championship venue across more than a century, most recently staging the U.S. Senior Open in 2024, which makes it one of the genuine cradles of American golf.
Who designed Newport Country Club?
The original holes were laid out by the club's first professional, Willie Davis, in the 1890s. The course was substantially reshaped into close to its present routing by the architect A. W. Tillinghast in 1923. The result is a classic, wind exposed coastal course beneath the landmark Beaux Arts clubhouse.
What is the par and yardage at Newport?
Newport plays as a par 70 and can stretch to around 7,000 yards from the championship tees used for events such as the U.S. Senior Open. The Atlantic wind is the chief defense, and the firm, exposed ground makes it a sterner test than its yardage suggests.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Founding year, designers, championship history, par, yardage and access verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.