Big Spring Country Club

Nearly a century of Kentucky bluegrass has matured into a parkland setting that feels timeless — rolling terrain, an established canopy framing every hole, and green complexes that reward accuracy over aggression. Big Spring has quietly anchored Louisville golf since the 1920s, hosting Kentucky Golf Association events and producing generations of competitive players.

Big Spring Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky, takes its name from a natural spring that has flowed below the 13th green since pioneer days, when it furnished water for the fort built by John Floyd in 1779 at the adjacent Floyd's Station. This spring — still flowing today on the club's 163-acre property along the Middle Fork of Beargrass Creek — gives the club a sense of historical continuity with the Kentucky frontier that few golf institutions in America can claim. The club's founding began in spring 1926, when Harry Dumesnil and Alvah H. Terry formed the Big Spring Land Company to acquire property on a 163-acre tract formerly known as the R.S. Veech Beargrass Stock Farm on the eastern edge of Louisville. In May 1927, the Big Spring Golf Club was formally established.

The founding members commissioned Scottish architect Tom Winton to design the golf course. Winton was known for creating designs that challenged accomplished golfers through subtle green complexes without intimidating casual players. Big Spring's most historic moment in golf came in 1952, when the club hosted the PGA Championship — the first major golf championship ever held in the state of Kentucky. The course played to 6,620 yards for the championship. Jim Turnesa won the match play final 1-up over Chick Harbert in a dramatic finish: Turnesa never led in the match until the final hole, when Harbert bogeyed. Turnesa walked away with the $3,500 winner's share of the $17,700 prize pool.

At 39 years old, Turnesa became the oldest PGA Champion to that point in the event's history, surpassing the mark held by Sam Snead, who had defeated Turnesa himself in the 1942 PGA Championship final. It was Turnesa's only major championship. The club changed its name to Big Spring Country Club in 1960, reflecting the evolution from a golf-focused institution to a full-service country club as swimming and tennis gained prominence in the club's recreational offerings. The proximity to Bowman Field — Louisville's first airport — led the club to create special military memberships during World War II. The course has been refined several times since Winton's original design. William Diddel undertook a significant remodeling in 1951, followed by work by Larry Packard in 1964.

In 2004, Rees Jones completed a comprehensive redesign in collaboration with Bryce Swanson, incorporating an eight-tee Longleaf Tee System that extended the course's range from 2,148 yards on the shortest tees to 6,958 yards from the championship markers, with 58 strategically positioned bunkers across the redesigned routing. Jones's work updated Big Spring for the modern game while respecting the natural topography created by the Middle Fork of Beargrass Creek. Jack Ryan, who served as the club's golf professional from 1946 to 1976, won 10 Kentucky Opens during his career and was inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame in 1985, giving the club a historic connection to the best professional golf in the state. Big Spring has hosted seven Kentucky Amateur Championships over its history. In 2014, Big Spring and Harmony Landing Country Club in Goshen, Kentucky merged, creating a 36-hole facility with two championship courses and expanded athletic facilities serving the Louisville metropolitan area.