Fountain Head Country Club Celebrates 100 Years

Fountain Head Country Club’s 18th hole and the clubhouse, which was rebuilt and opened in 2006.

By Bill Kamenjar

Embedded in the lyrics of “Don’t Blink” (a song recorded by country music superstar Kenny Chesney and written about an interview with a 102-year-old man on the evening news) is the line, “Trust me friend, a hundred years goes faster than you think, so don’t blink.” 

So, while Father Time marches on during the waning months of 2024, that’s exactly what the members of Fountain Head Country Club, set in the rolling hills just north of Hagerstown, are committed to doing—not blinking. Instead, they celebrate with eyes wide open. And they do so in both a classy and classical style. 

It all started back in 1924 through the initial plans and blueprints drawn up by the “Father of United States golf course architecture” Donald Ross (with some apparent follow-up help from his on-the-ground associate Walter Hatch). 

Fountain Head Country Club founder Emmett Gans.

Members and staff have rejoiced with yearlong special events culminating with a grand 100th anniversary Gala in October. They have commemorated Fountain Head’s first century with a hard-covered book detailing the club’s rich history and with 1924 centennial stickers. Even the club’s shiny electric golf carts are adorned with the insignia signifying the historic debut of the club. Reminders of Fountain Head’s rich history abound everywhere.

The course itself, despite the game’s technological advances, remains virtually the same as it was when it opened. Though stately trees have grown up around it and grand old houses have been preserved and well maintained throughout the Fountain Head Heights area (so called for the large spring that generated water for the local population), the grounds remain as one of the few unaltered Ross designs left in the country. It is also the only true Ross-inspired project (out of five courses he designed) surviving in the state of Maryland.

It’s all a part of the Fountain Head experience—common bonds shared by members and their guests, with intentions to keep the place special for the next 100 years. It’s how they organize social and competitive events, always purposefully infusing history into them in some way.

The course is a short but surprisingly difficult 6,300-yard, par-71, a truly authentic version of early American golf. Its classic nature maintains Ross’ small, undulating, and super-fast greens. Holes that once played across an open field are now lines with stately trees. Members can see why Sam Snead—the seven-time major winner—considered it one of his favorite places to escape when venturing away from his Appalachia base.

Club historian Paul Mellott, a member for more than 41 years and a two-time club champion, considers it to be “the best course around. I go nowhere else.”

Roger Finn, a 50-year Fountain Head member and past president of the Maryland State Golf Association, admires the layout as an excellent challenge, which is always in top condition and worthy of holding state-level championships. As for the special nature of the overall club, he said, “that’s hard to put your finger on.”

“For the most part, all members seem to be very proud,” said Finn, whose family has lived in Hagerstown’s small-town atmosphere since 1967. “Not only golf but the tennis and swimming facilities are excellent along with the food and restaurant service. We were just there last night for dinner and of the eight or so tables that were occupied we knew most everyone there and stopped by to say hello. This makes for a very friendly and enjoyable atmosphere.”

On one particular glorious Friday in October, even more celebrations ring through the autumn air with history in the making as a first-time hole-in-one is declared by one and a personal best nine-hole score is carded by another. All in all, a historic grandeur continues to infiltrate the fabric of Fountain Head Country Club, now 100 years old and pleasantly rolling along.

The 18th hole, clubhouse, and swimming pool in the club’s early years.

Farmed since the Revolutionary War times, the 100-plus original acres that make up the Fountain Head course were acquired by Emmett Gans in 1922. The new owner hired the Ross firm, on recommendation from a family contact, to draw up plans for an 18-hole golf course, a clubhouse and other country club amenities. A prosperous local Hagerstown businessman, Gans would go on to use Ross’ plans and had the course built with the first nine opening for play in 1924. 

While Ross is often credited with hundreds of solo designs, many were conceived from the drafting table with plans shipped along and principles then followed by various associates at the sites. That’s where Hatch comes in. While original drawings of holes 10 through 18 are housed in a collection dedicated to the legend in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and credited to Ross directly, the remaining nine holes—which opened a few years later—are believed to have been fashioned by Ross’ senior landscape architect Hatch. This would logically mean that the overall product is most likely a result of both Ross’ and Hatch’s visions and of course Gans’ who faithfully followed whatever guidance was provided by the hired firm’s architects in molding the entire 18-hole finished product.

Based on 1938 aerial photos, it is remarkable how little the course has changed over time. ‘Golden Age’ golf course designers like Ross used only rudimentary machines in shaping the landscapes as compared to what modern architects have at their disposal these days. Consequently, the most serious earthmoving was concentrated around the green complexes, although the current tee boxes at Fountain Head show definite character construction with runway tees combining with a variety of other squared-off teeing areas. 

In terms of celebrity, President Eisenhower likely snuck away from Camp David on at least one occasion to peg the ground for an array of tee shots at nearby Fountain Head while other famous people like Babe Zaharias and ‘The Slammer’ Snead were also known to have putted their way across the layout’s small-but-fun green textures during rounds there.

Another one of many nice Fountain Head stories found in the history book include Fred Funk, who blew away the 1987 Maryland Open field with a closing round of 67 while toting his own bag and not carrying any woods. He birdied holes Nos. 7, 9, 11,12, 13, 14, and 17 on his way back to the clubhouse that career-changing day. Famous longtime Columbia Country Club head pro Bill Strausbaugh also cut his teeth in the business at Fountain Head, perhaps developing many of his legendary people-person skills there while serving as a young golf pro.

The Fountain Head Country Club of today, in essence, enjoys a 21st century clubhouse that fits well into the course’s 20th century roots. It’s been said that the overall venue is a place that makes you feel immediately right at home. So, if the members and its leadership can continue to stave off the urge to blink, this wonderful Hagerstown private club tradition looks to continue for many more successful years ahead.