Known simply as
The Field Club to Pittsburghers, it hosted the
PGA Championship in
1937, during which
Denny Shute successfully defended his
match play title. The club also hosted the
Western Open in 1959 as part of Pittsburgh's bicentennial celebration. Before he won the
U.S. Open in
1953 at nearby
Oakmont,
Ben Hogan had to qualify for the national championship at the Pittsburgh Field Club, even though he had won three of the previous five. The course was designed by
Alexander H. Findlay in August 1914. At the time, Findlay was the premier golf course architect in the country, having perfected his design skills for decades in every corner of the country. The current layout is an amalgam that includes the efforts of
Donald Ross,
A.W. Tillinghast,
Emil "Dutch" Loeffler, Arthur Hills, Craig Schreiner and Keith Foster in 2012. The first tee next to the clubhouse sits high above the fairway; many members suggest aiming for the white steeple of Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church when teeing off there. A unique feature to the course layout is an elevator from the seventeenth green to the eighteenth tee box. Amenities at the club include a skeet range, a swimming pool, tennis and paddleball courts, a privately stocked fishing lake, a driving range, a practice area, an eighteen-hole golf course, and a full-service restaurant. The club has had several world renowned Head Professionals including Sam Sneads brother Pete Snead. David Martin served as the golf professional for thirty-nine years and retired in 2021. ==References==