En-Joie Golf Club

Origins

Endicott's golf course exists because a shoe company owner thought his factory workers deserved a place to play, not because a developer saw a business opportunity. George F. Johnson, president of the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company, held that "golf is just as good for hard working shoemakers as it is for the tired businessman," and in 1927 opened a course for his employees on flat riverside ground along the Susquehanna.

Local designer Ernie Smith laid out the original course with practical, working-class golfers in mind: few trees, virtually no rough, and greens that wouldn't punish a factory hand playing on a lunch break. A round cost 25 cents. Endicott-Johnson even manufactured the golf balls used there.

Design Philosophy

Smith's 1927 design prioritized speed of play and forgiveness over challenge — there was little rough to lose a ball in, and the terrain was kept flat and open. That approach held for seven decades.

Architect Michael Hurdzan redesigned the course from 1998 to 1999, reshaping the once-flat greens into larger, more contoured putting surfaces, narrowing fairways, and adding tree-lined borders to sharpen the test. Since 2006, the club has removed close to 300 trees to improve turf conditions while keeping the character Hurdzan introduced.

Development

Ownership has stayed rooted in the community throughout. The Village of Endicott owns the course, and Broome County has operated it since 2006, the same year flooding forced that year's PGA Tour event off the property entirely.

Recognition

From 1971 through 2005, En-Joie hosted the PGA Tour every year as the B.C. Open, named for Endicott native Johnny Hart's newspaper comic strip "B.C." Hart designed the tournament's logo and trophy at no charge and drew in fellow cartoonists, including Jim Davis of "Garfield," for its pro-am. Champions over the tournament's run included Fred Couples, John Daly, Craig Stadler, and two-time winner Brad Faxon; in 1974, Endicott native and En-Joie club pro Richie Karl won in a playoff and became a local hero.

Severe flooding in 2006 pushed the tournament to Turning Stone Resort for what became its final year under the B.C. Open name. The event returned to En-Joie in 2007 as the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, a PGA Tour Champions stop for players 50 and over that continues to be played there today.

Today

En-Joie remains a municipally owned, publicly accessible course rather than a private club, with seasonal daily rates, a membership option, and amenities including a driving range, putting green, pro shop, and JJ's Grill and Catering. It continues to host the Dick's Sporting Goods Open annually, keeping Endicott on the PGA Tour Champions schedule more than 50 years after its first professional event.