Golf Course Information

Description

In the early 1950s, Tyson's Corner, VA, was woods, orchards, a roadhouse and a general store with one gas pump. Vienna was a railroad depot-based small town and its major thoroughfare, Maple Avenue, was actually lined with Maple trees. Alongside Chain Bridge Road between the crossroads and the town, was 200 acres, a barn and a farmhouse known as the Economic Dairy Farm.
In 1952, a local developer named Leon Horowitz bought the farm for $120,000, theorizing that the DC suburbs would expand out Chain Bridge Road. He planned to build modest homes for the burgeoning Federal work force. About that time, Horowitz was introduced to the game of golf by one of his salesmen, Ernie Garlem. Horowitz fell in love with the sport and attempted to join several of the local clubs. He was rejected because of his religion. His response was to build his own golf course and the idea of Westbriar Country Club was born.

Having no experience in the business side of golf, Horowitz relied on Garlem's experience in the development of the project. Ernie Garlem grew up in the area and learned the game in the caddie yards at Congressional, Kenwood and Columbia Country Clubs. From 1937 through 1942, he was an assistant to head professional Willy Cox, first at Kenwood then at Congressional. After World War II service, he left the golf business because the pay scale was too low to meet his family's needs. The year 1953 found him back in the golf business as the head pro at the Westbriar Country Club. His new club had everything a country club could possibly offer except a golf course, tennis courts and a swimming pool.

Between 1953 and 1954 the Westbriar golf course was laid out generally as it exists today by architect Alfred Tull. The soil, which was not good enough for raising crops, was moved around and piled up for tees, greens and bunkers. Being unable to obtain proper grass seed for the greens, the sod from the abandoned greens at Hillandale CC was purchased when it moved to its current location in Bel Aire, MD. The small size of Hillandale's 17 old greens barely provided enough turf sod for 11 greens. Despite this significant deficiency, i.e., seven missing greens, Westbriar Country Club opened to great fanfare in August 1954. At the start, the course consisted of nine greens played from eighteen sets of tees. On hand that day were local sports legends Shirley Povich (Washington Post), Morrie Sigel (Evening Star), Bus Ham (Washington Post), Maury Fitzgerald (Washington Times Herald) plus Horowitz, Garlem and his wife, Louella. Later that year additional greens sod was purchased from a nursery in Waterbury, CT and the 12th through 18th greens were prepared. The full 18-hole golf course was then in play.

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