About Us

Positioned on the Onondaga Escarpment, the Country Club of Buffalo occupies a prominent location in Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. Founded in 1889, the Club’s first site was on leased farmland in the City of Buffalo near the present location of the Buffalo History Museum and polo was the primary activity.

In 1894, members brought golf clubs from Canada and dug the first golf hole in Buffalo history. The sport proved popular and nine holes were constructed on Club property and shortly thereafter, eighteen holes were built on land now comprising a portion of Delaware Park.

The Club vacated their City land in 1899 to make way for the Pan American Exposition of 1901. The clubhouse became the “Women's Building” for that Exposition. As part of this move, property was acquired along Main Street where the city line met the Town of Amherst and a clubhouse and golf course were completed in 1902. Walter Travis upgraded the course in 1910 to attract a major tournament and the Men’s U. S. Open Championship was played there in 1912.

In 1920, feeling the need for more space, the membership again decided to relocate. In 1923 they purchased a unique parcel of land on Youngs Road in Amherst, New York, and began construction of a golf course, clubhouse and a polo field with stables.

Noted course architect Donald Ross designed the golf layout and in 1926 the holes were declared fit for play. Ross displayed his creative genius by weaving six of the 18 holes through the excavations of two limestone quarries, which had been in operation during the late 1800's. The course design also benefits from trademark Ross green complexes and the flow of a natural escarpment. In particular, the par threes are acclaimed by architectural experts as some of the finest inland threes in the country. In 2012-2013, golf architects Forse Design, Inc. worked with the membership to complete a comprehensive course renewal and in 2014 noted golf architectural magazine, Golf, Inc., presented the Club with its prestigious “Best Golf Course Restoration” award.

The Club has hosted the 1931 U.S.G.A. Women's Amateur Championship, the 1950 Curtis Cup and the 1962 U.S.G.A. Junior Girls' National Championship. In 2004, the golf course was recognized on the Golf Week America's Best Top 100 Classic Courses list, debuting at #80

Celebrated architect Duane Lyman designed the clubhouse. He skillfully fashioned a  building, partially comprised of limestone from Club land, to appear to be the home of a mill owner. He further enhanced that aura with an interior decorated in American Colonial style. Opened in 1928, the clubhouse, overlooks a beautiful sloping rock garden, the eighteenth hole of the golf course and a shooting range and brush walk. Any changes to the structure over the years have been carefully crafted to adhere to the traditional ambiance of the stately mansion. More recent enhancements include refurbishing the Men’s Locker Room in 2014, the Ladies Locker Room in 2017 and the Club kitchen facilities in 2022.

In addition to the golf course and clubhouse, the Club has accommodation rooms, tennis courts, platform tennis courts, swimming pool and skeet, trap and brush walk shooting. For more than one hundred and thirty years, the Country Club of Buffalo has maintained a tradition of excellence in facilities and membership.