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| "A Glorious Past, an Awesome Present-Day and a Promising Future." |
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Hours of Operation
Monday - Closed
Tuesday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Wednesday - Saturday: 8:00 am - 9:00 pm
Sunday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Main Clubhouse
(203) 334-5116
Golf Pro Shop
(203) 334-9033
Tennis Pro Shop
(203) 335-6735
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A Glorious Past, an Awesome Present-Day and a Promising Future
Brooklawn Country Club was formed on  May 1, 1895 by a group of local business leaders with the purpose of ‘promoting outdoor and indoor sports in the City of Bridgeport, and to provide for its members means for the enjoyment of same.” From its earliest days, Brooklawn was conceived as a family club.
Today, over a hundred years later, Brooklawn Country Club remains committed to the purpose upon which it was founded. It is a robust Club with over 415 family and single members, all of whom enjoy its many activities. Thought of primarily as a golf club, Brooklawn also offers its members an active array of other programs including tennis, bowling, paddle tennis and swimming. Also, members and their guests can enjoy the Club’s formal and informal dining facilities. In addition there are “special interest” activities such as the ladies bridge group, the historical committee which works to gather and preserve items such as pictures, trophies, medals and golf clubs, all of which have a tale to tell about the Club’s past. Rarely does a month go by without some special social event, whether it is the formal Governor’s Ball at Christmas time, the annual men’s Member-Guest Golf Tournament in June or the Father – Daughter Diner in the fall.
Never to be forgotten is the Club’s commitment to being family oriented and to servicing the children of its members. There are very active junior programs in golf and tennis, the Brooklawn swim team competes against other teams from surrounding clubs and on summer mornings, one can always hear the laughter from the youngsters in the Club’s summer camp.
Four months before Brooklawn was formed, the United States Golf Association was organized. In 1896, the Club became a member of the USGA, making it one of the first dozen or so clubs to join the Association. Its first golf professional was Tom Morris, grandson of famed Scottish golfer and professional at St. Andrews, Tom Morris, Sr. 
In 1918 a young man began his career at Brooklawn as an apprentice club-maker and later went on to reach the heights of the golfing world. His accomplishments included the invention of the sand wedge, becoming the first golfer to win all four of golf’s Grand Slam events, the Masters, the US Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship and the scoring of the famous double eagle, the “shot heard around the world,” on the par-5 15th hole at Augusta that enabled him to go on to win the 1935 Masters. That gentleman is Gene Sarazen, who today is an Honorary Member of the Club. Many of “The Squire’s” golfing memorabilia can be found in the Club’s Trophy Room. Julius Boros, winner of two US Opens, the PGA and numerous other golf championships, grew up in the area and often played the course as an amateur. He too is an Honorary Member of the Club.
Other Honorary Members of Brooklawn Country Club include Georgiana Bishop, who won the Women’s National Amateur at the famed  Merion Golf Club in 1904 and later the Connecticut State Women’s Amateur four times between 1020 and 1927; William Howard Taft, former U.S. President and Dean of the Yale Law School; the Hon. Raymond E. Baldwin, the only Connecticut citizen to serve as Governor, Senator and Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court and Eleanor R. Reycroft a member for over 80 years who, with her husband, had to borrow $50.00 from her dad to pay their initiation fee upon first joining the Club.
Although not known throughout the golfing world, but always to be remembered and loved at Brooklawn is Charles C. (Charlie) Petrino, Golf Pro Emeritus. He began as a 12-year old caddy in 1917 and became caddie master in 1926. In 1942 he was named co-pro of the Club and finally in 1948 was appointed head professional, a position he held until xxx. Until his death in 1998, Charlie continued his association with Brooklawn, almost always being present for the Archie Wheeler Golf Tournament, an eagerly anticipated annual outing for men, women, junior boys and girls and all past members, an event that was established and flourishes today because of the generosity of Archer C. Wheeler who, with his twin brother William B. Wheeler, was a charter member of the Club and the winner of the first Golf Club Championship. Today, the tradition of golfing excellence established by Charlie is being carried forward by Brad Worthington, head professional.
The original golf course was a nine-hole layout, 2,596 yards long, on what was then rolling farmland on the outskirts of Bridgeport. The nine-hole course was later lengthened, additional land was purchased and a new 18-hole course was opened in 1911. Almost 20 years later, A. W. Tillinghast, one of history’s premier golf architects who also designed, among others, the courses at Winged Foot Golf Club, Baltusrol Golf Club, Bethpage State Park and Quaker Ridge Golf Club, redesigned the course into its present form. Over the years changes have been made in the shape of some of the greens, sand traps have been taken out and new ones have been put in, tees have been moved and what were small trees at one time, have now grown to full maturity. To recapture its original design, the Club hired a Tillinghast course historian in 2000 to oversee a major modernization of the course. This is a project that is expected to take a couple of years. During this same time period, all other facilities of the Club also are being upgraded.
The Club’s first clubhouse was a farmhouse that was part of the land originally used for the first nine-hole gold course. In 1916, a new clubhouse was built at a grand cost of $90,000 including all furnishings. At the time, The Bridgeport Telegram described it as “one of the show places of Bridgeport” and to this day, one is thrilled upon coming up Algonquin Road and seeing the clubhouse come into view. Entering the clubhouse, one is in awe of the spectacular “living room,” its many doorways to the surrounding deck and the grand dual stairway to the second floor. Who doesn’t marvel at its beauty when the clubhouse is decorated at Christmas time and a roaring fire is burning in the large living room fireplace? Equally spectacular is the view of the surrounding area from the balcony off the upstairs ballroom. Since its origin, the clubhouse  has undergone many changes, including eight new bowling alleys being installed in 1966, new men’s and ladies’ locker rooms and expanded grill room and a new pro shop. A new swimming pool has been constructed and in 2001/2002 a whole new tennis facility was built.
Over the years, Brooklawn has been the site of almost every major amateur and professional golfing event in the Northeast. In 2001 the Connecticut State Amateur for Men was held at the Club. Although the course is relatively unheralded outside the area, it is well-known to the Untied States Golf Association. In the past it has been host to three USGA Championships – the 1974 Junior Boys, won by David Nevatt; the 1979 U. S. Women’s Open, won by Jerilyn Britz; and the 1987 U. S. Senior Open, won by Gary Player. Brooklawn is proud to have been chosen to host the 2003 USGA Junior Girls Championship. Two proud memorabilia in the Club’s Trophy Room are the sign-in sheets for the two Opens with legendary golfing names thereon, in addition to the eventual champions, such as Nancy Lopez, Judy Rankin, Betsy King, Beth Daniel, Pat Bradley and for the men, Billy Casper, Gene Littler Chi Chi Rodriguez, Bob Toski and Arnold Palmer.
In the future when the history of Brooklawn is again and again rewritten, the names of two current members will always be mentioned. The first is that of the Club’s most active and loved golfer, Joe Dolan, who in 1989 at the age of 78 posted an 18-hole score of 73 and who has continued to “shoot his age” every year since  then. He may not be long off the tee anymore, but he is still straight with his shots and accurate with his putter. Just ask those who try to beat him in a match. The other is Art Williams, who served as the Club President in 1963 – 1964. In 1937, at the age of 17, he won his first Club Championship and went on to win more. He also has won the Senior Club Championship, an event he still competes in. You would think that a person with his history of outstanding golf would not get nervous anymore on the course, but in 1999 those nerves were tested when he too “shot his age,” a great 78, and joined Joe as the only two members to have done so. Their names and accomplishments are proudly displayed for all to see on one of the many plaques in the grill room.
Brooklawn Country Club is entering this next century with a wonderful heritage to build upon. Its refurbished golf course, which has magnificently stood the test of time, will continue to challenge the members, their guests and the numerous participants in tournaments sure to come. The new tennis facility, with its own tennis “clubhouse,” will lure many players. Paddle tennis, also with new facilities, will continue to be a favorite winter activity for its devotees. The bowling lanes, home to children’s birthday parties, will reign as a prime place for old and new members to meet and to participate in the winter bowling leagues. The clubhouse will always be a favorite place for friends to meet and dine and for families to hold their most special occasions such as weddings and anniversary parties. And maybe best of all, with the membership seemingly getting younger and younger, the happy laughter of children at play and teenagers in competition with their peers on the Club’s sporting grounds, will continue to roll over the majestic acres and through the wondrous hallways and rooms that are Brooklawn Country Club. |
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