About
Herbert Leeds not only designed the Myopia Hunt Club but was also its first club champion in 1896 and the low amateur in the 1898 U.S. Open held on his very own course.
Herbert Corey Leeds, born in Boston in 1855, was a pioneering American golf course architect renowned for his innovative and challenging designs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Leeds joined the Myopia Hunt Club in 1896, quickly becoming club champion and taking on the task of designing what would become one of the country’s most demanding courses. His work at Myopia Hunt Club, utilizing undulating terrain, deep bunkers, and natural features like ravines and stone walls, set a new standard in American golf architecture and led to the club hosting four U.S. Opens between 1898 and 1908. Known for continually refining his courses, Leeds personally supervised improvements, often adding hazards to challenge the best players of his era. Beyond Myopia, Leeds designed the original Essex County Club and expanded the Bass Rocks Golf Club to 18 holes in 1913. He is remembered as an early American leader who shaped the look and spirit of tournament golf in the United States.
