Club Information

Sunset Ridge didn’t start off as a country club. Instead, it started off as an idea shared by ten young men in 1922. With just three simple precepts, these young men set off on an adventure, guided by a mission that they referred to as “The Idea.”

The Idea on which our Club was founded:

The development of a great golf course with facilities for other sports activities;
The maintenance of a fellowship of congenial souls and their families; and
The establishment of an environment in which neither business gain, political bias, nor personal advantage can survive.

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Club Information
- As the years pass and we go forward with new facilities, new amenities and new members, we hold to the old civilities that help preserve The Idea of Sunset Ridge. Sunset Ridge Country Club was created in 1923 by a group of young men in their thirties. In early May 1923, the sale was finalized for the property, William Diddel was retained to design and build the golf course and construction began almost immediately on May 7. The original membership was limited to 250 members and all memberships were sold.
  
  The Club celebrated our 95th Anniversary and rich history on the North Shore in 2018 when we proudly hosted the Western Amateur Championship. For over forty years, Sunset Ridge was the last private club on Chicago’s North Shore to host the Western Open, hosting the event in 1972. Bob Harris, our head Golf Professional in 1972, was recently inducted into the Illinois PGA Hall of Fame. A brief video about Bob and his storied professional career and accomplishments, can be viewed by clicking HERE.
  
  Today, Sunset Ridge has roughly 600 member families and a vast offering of amenities. There is an 18-hole golf course, Short Game Practice Area, Indoor Golf Learning Center, a Practice Range, a swimming pool, 6 clay tennis courts, 6 pickleball courts, skeet & trap range and 6 platform tennis courts. The Club has completed award winning renovations to our Clubhouse facilities and golf course. Sunset Ridge was awarded the 2006 Private Club Golf Course Renovation of the Year by Golf, Inc. magazine. The Clubhouse renovations were a Club Management Magazine Design Showcase award winner in 2005. Over the last 15 years the Club has completed almost $30 million in improvements.
  
  The Club is open from February through December. During these 11 months the Club has an active social calendar of parties, weddings and fashion shows, business meetings, birthdays, holiday parties and family affairs. Many of our members live in the surrounding communities and the Club is a convenient focal point for their social activities.
  
  The tradition of our active family membership is well known throughout the entire North Shore. Membership is available by invitation from a current member of the Club only.
  
  For a map and directions to Sunset Ridge click HERE.
History
- The Beginning: Sunrise at Sunset CC
  Sunset Ridge Country Club was established in 1923 by a group of Chicago area business executives.
  
  According to Chicago Tribune reports from 1923, Sunset Ridge Country Club was formed by “10 young men with a strong desire to play golf together on the same private course. They came to the conclusion that there was a sufficient number of congenial men of similar inclination and age on the North Shore to organize and support a club. They decided that 142 acres of farm land west of Winnetka and 14 miles north of Chicago’s Loop would be the club site and it was purchased for $47,000.”
  
  On April 23, 1923 the original founders of Sunset Ridge under the leadership and direction of President Forrest Lowrey signed up the club’s first 100 members. On May 4, 1923 the sale closed for the purchase of the farmland property at 2100 Sunset Ridge Road in Northfield. After closing on the land, Club President Lowery and his Board of Directors took out a $65,000 mortgage at 7% for construction of both the golf course and clubhouse. They immediately hired Bill Diddel, a protege of the legendary Donald Ross, as golf course architect. The Board then retained prominent North Shore architects Beman & Huszagh to design and build the clubhouse.
  
  In less than 11 months construction was completed and the Sunset Ridge clubhouse opened for the inaugural dinner party and gala on July 3, 1924. The Club’s dining menu that first summer featured full course lunch for $1.00, Dinner for $1.50 and Sunday night suppers for $1.25. On July 3, 1924 following construction of the golf course and clubhouse, Sunset Ridge’s Inaugural Dinner Party was held. By this time the club had officially reached its membership goal of 250 golfers. The following day, July 4, 1924, the first SRCC foursome consisting of Forest Lowrey, Club President, Howard Walton, Vice-President, Bob Pirie, Head Golf Professional and Architect William Diddel, teed off to officially open the golf course. Harold Walton carded the best score that opening day of seven over par 77.
  
  Every year Sunset Ridge honors and recognizes the anniversary of its founding with a spectacular 3rd of July fireworks celebration that is always the Club’s most popular social event. Members along with their families and guests form a gathering of well over 1,000 to enjoy a hearty barbeque, great comradery, seasonal libations and view spectacular fireworks from the Club’s spacious driving range. The 3rd of July Anniversary celebration is a cherished Sunset Ridge tradition and every year it is the Club’s signature event that salutes our past and toasts our future.
  
  Sunset Ridge Historical Golf Moments
  In 1925, one year after Sunset Ridge’s first round was played, the Club began its support of amateur golf by hosting The Big Ten Golf Championship with the University of Chicago defeating the University of Michigan. University of Chicago would win the final match 3-2 over the Wolverines to take home their first collegiate golf championship.
  
  During 1935 Sunset Ridge would host the Women’s Western Open that saw Opal Hill defeating S.L. Reinhart to win 9-7 in match play. Opal would go on to win the Women’s Western Open again in 1936 at the Topeka Country Club. She would turn pro in 1938 and was one of the original founders of the LPGA.
  
  In 1957 Sunset Ridge hosted The Illinois Open won by John “Jock” Hutchinson, Jr the longtime pro at nearby Skokie Country Club. Jock would card a 73-71-69 to win the event. In 1941, Jock and his legendary PGA Tour father Jock, Sr. were one of the first father/son duo to compete in the same Masters.
  
  Sunset Ridge hosted the Women’s Western Junior Golf Open in 1961 won by 15 year old Ann Baker. A few years after her victory, Ann would be the only woman to ever receive a full men’s (yes, you read that correctly M-E-N’s) scholarship to play on the University of Tennessee men’s golf team.
  
  The 1972 Western Open was played at Sunset Ridge from June 22-25. The Club had just completed a major renovation that included expansion of the Men’s Locker Room. The prestigious tournament would mark Sunset Ridge’s 50th Anniversary. It would also be the first PGA Tour event held in Chicago’s northern suburbs in 44 years since the 1928 Western Open was played at neighboring North Shore Country Club in Glenview.
  
  Sunset Ridge’s support of the Illinois PGA section continued on July 6, 2009 when the club hosted the Illinois PGA Stroke Play. The day ended with an unusual 4 way tie for 1st place at 68.
  
  On August 17th 2016 Sunset Ridge was the site of the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Qualifier won by Sydney Wells with a 77.
  
  The Club proudly hosted the 116th Western Amateur in 2018. On Saturday afternoon August 4th, Cole Hammer of Houston, Texas won the 2018 Western Amateur with a par on the 18th hole to defeat Davis Riley of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Hammer dominated the week at Sunset Ridge with consistent excellent play each day in both his medal and match play. At the beginning of the week he carded rounds of 65, 68, 61 and 67 for a total of 261.
  
  For comparison: 46 years and nearly a generation ago, Jim Jamieson won the 1972 Western Open at Sunset Ridge with rounds of 67, 69, 68 and 67 for a total of 271.
  
  On Wednesday July 31, Hammer’s score of 61 (10 birdies and 8 pars) broke the Sunset Ridge course record of 62 shot by Eric Meierdierks in 2010. Meierdierks is a former SRCC junior member who turned pro in 2003 and joined the PGA Tour in 2013.
  
  Investing In The Future: Clubhouse & Golf Course Renovations
  In 2003 the SRCC Board proposed and the membership approved a $14 million (almost $19MM in 2018 dollars) clubhouse and golf course renovation project. This would be the first significant clubhouse renovation since 1971 and first major golf course improvement since the mid-1980s. Following the renovation, Sunset Ridge was named the “#1 Private Course Renovation in the USA for 2005” by Golf Inc magazine.
  
  The Club built a new swimming pool complex in 2006 and expanded our platform tennis offerings in 2008. Following the Western Amateur in 2018, the course underway a renovation of all of the bunkers and the Club installed a new state of the art irrigation system. The member dining spaces were also completely remodeled with the addition of a larger bar and casual dining spaces.
  
  In just the last 20 years, the Club has invested over $25 million in improvements to our golf course and facilities. No other club in the entire Chicago area has invested so significantly on major capital projects during a similar period.
  
  Year Round Activities
  The golf course is the crown jewel of Sunset Ridge. The Club is also a hub of activity year round thanks to vibrant paddle, skeet, trap, tennis and swimming programs.
  
  From 2004-2018 just over $25 million ($31 million in 2018 dollars) was invested by club membership in renovation and improvements at Sunset Ridge. No other club in the entire Chicago area has invested so significantly on major capital projects during a similar period.
  
  Sunset Ridge has also invested substantially in its most vital asset: our employees. In 2005 the club established the Sunset Ridge “For the Kids” Scholarship Fund. Since its inception, SRCC membership contributions have totaled over $2.1MM to this fund. Over 331 grants for college have been awarded to the sons and daughters of full time SRCC employees and also the Club’s caddies, waiters/waitresses, lifeguards and other seasonal employees.
  
  The significant investment made in both employees and facilities continues to distinguish Sunset Ridge as one of the premier private clubs on the North Shore and the entire Chicago area.