Myopia Course

Myopia Hunt Club is one of the rare surviving nineteenth-century American courses whose architectural identity remains unmistakable. Set in the pastoral landscape of South Hamilton, the private 18-hole course derives its stature from mounds, blind shots, deep bunkers and small, demanding greens rather than modern length.

Golf began on the Hamilton property in 1894. Member and accomplished amateur Herbert Corey Leeds gradually developed the course and continued refining it for decades. The 1898 U. S. Open was played while Myopia was still a nine-hole venue, requiring eight circuits. The championship returned in 1901, 1905 and 1908, making Myopia one of the defining venues of the tournament’s formative period.

Leeds used deep hazards, abrupt mounds, plateau greens, uneven lies and partially hidden targets to create a searching examination. Modern work, including tree removal and fairway expansion associated with Gil Hanse, has aimed to recover width and historic intent rather than impose a conventional contemporary style.

Myopia remains private and has no public tee-time operation. The Atlas profile must therefore present it as a living work of golf history, without a misleading booking button. Its approximately 6,539 yards and par 72 understate the difficulty created by firm surfaces, angles, wind and visual uncertainty.

For an invited player, Myopia offers direct contact with early American strategic and penal architecture. Its four U. S. Opens and the enduring 1901 scoring record give every hole unusual historical weight.

U.S. Open — 1898, 1901, 1905, 1908 1898 Fred Herd 328; 1901 Willie Anderson 331 après playoff; 1905 Willie Anderson 314; 1908 Fred McLeod 322 après playoff.