History

The Green Spring Valley Hunt Club was organized in 1892 to promote the very popular sport of fox-hunting. While many of our current members pursue various equestrian activities at what is affectionately referred to as the “upper club” on Mantua Mill Rd, racquet sports, Swimming, and Golf are now the primary activities at the original campus in the Green Spring Valley. Many of the present members are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the original eighty members.

Construction of the Golf Course began in 1912 when members Thomas Bowles and Hooper Coyne gave the club $4,500.00 to acquire the land and build a 9 hole course. Laid out by members Ben Read and Robert Harrison who supervised its construction, the course was opened for play on Saturday, July 4, 1914. In 1930, the original 4th hole was eliminated and numbers one and eighteen were added. Two through nine were played twice to complete a round of 18 holes. In 1957, under the leadership of Lawrason Riggs and Jess W. Sweetser, Robert Trent Jones redesigned the course by eliminating one hole and adding nine new ones to complete a full 18 hole course, 6,574 yards long from blue tees and 6,164 yards from whites. In 2019 a new master plan for the golf course was commissioned and in 2020 the club installed a new state of the art irrigation system for the course.

Circa 1921 The first swimming pool was erected on the property. It was spring fed and in the words of many swimmers from that day was always ice cold, as it was filled and drained weekly as a part of regular maintenance. Equally popular in the club’s early days was the local interclub baseball league. Green Spring fielded a team for many years and enjoyed great competition against such notable rivals as the Baltimore Country Club, the Maryland Athletic Club and the Suburban Club. The baseball diamond was located where the 18th green is currently placed.

The Clubhouse has quite a history all its own. In 1947, the old shingle-style clubhouse caught on fire and was damaged beyond salvage. The new clubhouse of brick and slate was erected on the same site and has since had significant renovations three times over the last 73 years, the most recent of which took place in 2015. Following the recommendations of an exhaustive master plan the lower level was completely redesigned to maximize member usage for dining in multiple spaces with multiple levels of formality. The addition of a new bar with dining seating for 30 is the nerve center of social activity and the number #1 place to enjoy a southside cocktail.

Over the years, the club has expanded its offerings to accommodate the leisure and sporting fashion of the times. At present, seasonal offerings beyond the traditional country club sports include indoor badminton, Backgammon, Book Club, paddle tennis, pickleball and when mother nature cooperates, ice skating. The club’s greatest strength and its most proud tradition is its identity as a “family” club. Children are welcomed in all activities and program offerings at Green Spring and it is this nurturing inclusiveness that we believe guarantees future chapters in the Green Spring history.