Our History

since 1926 the story of Hope Valley Country Club has been to embrace tomorrow while enjoying the present day.

• When first entering the historic core of the Hope Valley community, what is most striking is the nature of its landscape, roadways and golf course. The views and vistas appear almost exactly as they did in 1926. World renowned golf course designer Donald Ross was intimately involved in the planning of the neighborhood surrounding the Hope Valley golf course, and his carefully drawn streets and buffers still grace this old neighborhood. Of the 385 courses designed by Ross, perhaps only at Hope Valley did he have such a comprehensive role.
  
  
• Over the decades, Hope Valley Country Club has hosted a number of important golf events, including the 1945 Durham Open, won by Byron Nelson as one historic leg in his record eleven consecutive PGA TOUR victories. The immaculately maintained golf course is truly one of the region’s gems, and our premiere junior tournament, the Hope Valley Junior Invitational, is testimony to the compelling fact that there are chapters yet to be written in our golf history.
  
  
• The clubhouse was built in 1926, a classic French Norman design, and today encompasses 52,000 square feet of recreational facilities. Designed by renowned architect Aymar Embury II, it is a building that has adapted well to changing lifestyles while it retains unique features such as the cathedral ceilings and exposed beams of the expansive “club room”.
  
  
• While our physical setting is striking and treasured by our members, the most important aspect of Hope Valley Country Club’s history is rooted in the people of our club. Since our opening in 1926, a member of the Crichton family has been part of our golf staff. This started with Marshall Crichton, a fellow Scotsman and collaborator of Donald Ross, and has continued through the decades. The Ladies Club Championship, “The Maggie”, honors Marshall’s daughter Maggie Crichton, who’s been part of the HVCC family for 60 years.

Similar to the history of the vital Durham/Chapel Hill/Triangle area, at the heart of Hope Valley Country Club is an ongoing relationship between tradition and forward progress, always with an eye to the pleasures of today.