Fireworks expected in upcoming years at historic Congressional Country Club

No city celebrates our nation's independence better than Washington, D.C. After all, our capital city should play host to the Fourth of July's biggest and most spectacular party. This year the calendar has cooperated, allowing for Tiger Woods' AT&T National at Congressional Country Club to be conducted in harmony with the holiday weekend. This is just the beginning of a three year stretch that will bring two United States Golf Association events to Congressional CC and surely put one of America's most famous golf facilities in the national spotlight.

Congressional has a reputation for being one of the most exclusive country clubs from sea to shining sea and surely is a favorite playground of congressmen, senators and Washington lobbyists. The famous Blue Course, which has hosted all of the golf tournaments held at Congressional, also has quite a reputation. Golf Digest ranked it 86^th in America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses. 

In the fall of 2004 the USGA sounded the bell, naming Congressional as the host of the 2011 U.S. Open Championship as well as the site of the 2009 U.S. Men's Amateur Championship. A few years later, the World's No. 1 golfer, Tiger Woods approached the club about the possibility of bringing a routine PGA stop to Congressional. The USA Today reported that more than 90% of the members said yes to the AT&T National.

But Congressional is no stranger to hosting national championships or PGA Tour events.

Designed by Devereux Emmett in 1924 and since renovated by Robert Trent Jones (1957) and Rees Jones (1989), Congressional has been the site of five previous USGA Championships, including the 1964 and 1997 U.S. Opens, won by Ken Venturi and Ernie Els, respectively.

Congressional used to be an annual stop on the PGA Tour, hosting the former Kemper Open from 1980 to 1986. The club also hosted that tournament in 2005 while the tournament's current course, the TPC at Avenel, which is now known as TPC Potomac at Avenel Farms, underwent a renovation.

As far as the original design by Emmett, it's rumored that relatively little is left. In fact, according to the Army Historical Foundation, Congressional served as a training ground for three-man special operations teams that would be dropped behind enemy lines in France during World War II. The training began in 1942.

Emmet himself is one of golf course architecture's lesser known designers. He was from a prominent New York family and was a fine amateur player in his own right. He was also a founding member of National Golf Links of America on Long Island. Some of his other works include Bethpage's Green Course, Hartford Golf Club and New York's Sewane Club.

Currently the course measures 7,250 yards from the back tees. It is a par-70 with a course and slope rating of 75.4/142. Bent grass is used for the fairways, and Annual Bluegrass (Poe Annua) is used for the greens.