Inside Medinah's 100-Year-Old Clubhouse Ahead of Presidents Cup

By Staff Writer

September 23, 2026

2 min read

U.S. Presidents Cup captain Brandt Snedeker

LoopGolf

Key takeaways

Medinah Country Club’s clubhouse opens its 100th year on September 26, 2026, as the club hosts the Presidents Cup.
Architect Richard Gustav Schmid modeled the Byzantine-style building on a mosque in Turkey after a two-year research trip.
Medinah was founded in 1924 by Shriners from Chicago’s Medinah Temple and originally required members to be Masons.
The club’s three courses, all designed by Tom Bendelow, opened between 1925 and 1928.
Medinah has hosted three U.S. Opens, two PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup, with Hale Irwin’s 1990 U.S. Open celebration and Tiger Woods’ 1999 and 2006 PGA Championship wins among its landmark moments.

Medinah Country Club’s clubhouse, a Byzantine-style landmark topped with minarets outside Chicago, marks its 100th anniversary this year as the club hosts the Presidents Cup between the U.S. and International teams.

Who designed Medinah’s clubhouse?

Charter member and architect Richard Gustav Schmid designed the building after a two-year study trip through the Middle East and Asia, modeling the main structure on a mosque in Turkey. The clubhouse opened on September 26, 1926, sandwiched between the debuts of Medinah’s three golf courses — No. 1 in 1925, No. 2 in 1926 and No. 3 in 1928 — all designed by Tom Bendelow.

How did Medinah start, and how did membership change?

Shriners from Chicago’s Medinah Temple founded the club in 1924. The Shriners’ formal name, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, shaped the clubhouse’s Moorish architectural elements. The Great Depression brought financial strain that forced the club to open membership to non-Shriners, though new members still had to be Masons.

What championships has Medinah hosted?

Professional golf arrived soon after, with Medinah hosting its own Open in 1930, won by Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper, who won the second Medinah Open five years later, and the Western Open three times beginning in the late 1930s. Medinah has since hosted three U.S. Opens (1949, 1975, 1990), two PGA Championships (1999, 2006) and the 2012 Ryder Cup. Hale Irwin’s celebrated sprint around the Course No. 3 green followed his winning putt at the 1990 U.S. Open, and Tiger Woods closed out both of his Medinah PGA Championship victories on the same course.

The entrance gate, winding drive and reveal of the clubhouse is unparalleled in golf.

Club historian Nick Novelli says the arrival experience remains what members remember most, regardless of how long they have belonged to the club. The clubhouse’s centennial arrives as Medinah adds Presidents Cup host to a resume that already spans nearly a century of major championship golf.