On September 12, 1886, a group of golfers, principally from Troy and New York City who summered in Dorset, laid out a nine hole golf course on this site, then known as The Dorset Golf Links. The club's first president and principal architect was A. W. Harrington, Jr., and the other founding members were Allen Bourne, Richard M. Campbell, James C. Chapin, Ransom H. Gillett, Joe H. Harrington, George B. Harrison, Fred S. Hawley, S. Frank Holley, W. E. Kent, Edwin Q. Lasell, O. P. Liscomb, George Lewis Prentiss, and Henry S. Woodruff. The Dorset Field Club constructed a fieldhouse in 1896 and named it Woodruff Hall in honor of one of the founders; it is preserved as the dining room area of the present clubhouse. By 1886 Dorset had become a popular summer retreat, and over the next century play increased while the course was lengthened and improved. The course underwent five substantial alterations and reroutings but always remained in the same location, continued as a nine hole course with alternate tees for use on the second time around, and retained many early recognizable features. Adjacent land was acquired, and in 1999 nine additional holes were opened. Tennis courts were added early in the club's history, and it quickly became, and continues as, a center for competitive tennis. Platform tennis courts were added in 1958, and the club developed one of the most active programs in northern New England.

Photo: John Arsenault

Photo: John Arsenault

Photo: John Arsenault

Dorset, Vermont · USA