 On November 11, 1921 construction on the land that the North Jersey Country Club presently sits began. Walter J. Travis, a well known golf architect, was hired to design the course. Travis became a student of the layout and design features of golf courses early in his career. Travis presented his basic principles of golf course design. Some have classified Travis as a "penal designer". However, a careful study of his writings can lead only to the conclusion that he was a firm believer in "thinking" golf, offering the golfer an opportunity to avoid difficulty with well-considered and executed shots. Walter Travis's first project as a golf course architect was his collaboration with John Duncan Dunn in the 1899 design of Ekwanok Country Club in Vermont. Nearly 50 golf courses bear his mark, either as an original design, or by remodeling. Through consultations, innumerable other courses felt his influence, such as Pine Valley, National Golf Links, and Pinehurst #2. Travis could lay claim to being the first "U.S. Open Doctor" with his remodeling of the CC of Buffalo and Columbia Country Club courses just prior to their hosting the U.S. Open in 1912 and 1920 respectively. Travis made his last visit to inspect the construction of one of his original courses at the Country Club of Troy just a month before his death on July 31, 1927. Opening day for the Travis course was, July 30, 1923, and the same design characteristics are present today.
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