Caesarea is located on land once owned by the Rothschild Family before the establishment of the State of Israel. When passionate golfer James de Rothschild visited the Caesarea ruins and saw the surrounding dunes, he was reminded of Scotland's sandy golf courses and decided that he would one day build a golf course in Caesarea.
Upon his death, the James de Rothschild Foundation was set up and run by his widow Mrs. Dorothy de Rothschild and nephews, Lord Victor Rothschild, a microbiologist from Cambridge University in England, and the Baron Edmond de Rothschild from France.
The Foundation decided to fulfill James de Rothschild dream and appointed Max Rowe, chief executive of the British Rothschild Foundation in Israel, to begin the proceedings required to establish the Golf Club in Caesarea.
In 1958, Rowe set up the Golf Club Committee that included Jerusalem
Mayor Teddy Kolleck, who was Chairman, and Director General of the Ministry of Tourism,
Meir de Shalit,
Dr. George Peterson, FAO representative in Israel,
Mr. Khan Bollack, and
Abba Eban as leader of the group. Rowe later hired
Hershel Binyamin and his wife
Carol to manage the future club.
Chief architect of the Carter Seeds Golf Course in England Fred Smith was given free rein to build the 18-hole golf course.
Professor Mansfield, a leading Israeli architect, was hired to design the golf club and Booster Pump facility.
With the arrival of Fred Smith to Israel in 1957, a maintenance team, headed by Hanan Buddenheimer, was hired. Buddenheimer was employed as a gardener in one of the Rothschild Family estates in England as a youth. Hanan was one of the German refugee children whom the Rothschild Family took in (World War II) to live on the estate and receive training, primarily in farming. The ultimate aim was to send him to what was then called Palestina. When the club was looking for a maintenance staff for the golf course, Dorothy de Rothschild suggested Hanan, who resided at that time in Israel. Hanan immigrated to Israel in 1951.
Smith planted lawn seeds in the lot that proved themselves in India.
The law sprouted in the spring but dried out in the summer and was swept away by the irrigation system.
Paul Adsi was brought in on the advice of George Peterson (who was extremely concerned that Smith was not familiar with the conditions in Caesarea). But this was only after the club opened and attempts were made (by George and Hanan) to use various types of local lawn.
At the advice of Paul Adsi, the chief course supervisor at Tamarisk, a prestigious golf course in southern California with similar land and climactic conditions as those in Caesarea. Under the tutelage of Haim Vilensky, the chief landscaper at Ramat Hanadiv in Binyamina, Gilboa grass was selected for the tee area, for the fairways Common Bermuda and Tif Bermuda for the greens. The laws flourished in the summer but lay dormant in the winter.
Adsi was brought to the Club in 1962 and again in 1964 to consult on course maintenance. In 1964, the irrigation system was replaced with an underground network of pipes with a clutch sprinkler heads, which had to be manually replaced at night.
With the club under construction, and the course was not yet completed, an office was opened on Mandaly Street in Tel-Aviv to begin establishing contacts.
Hershel and Coral were sent to England in order to spread the word about the opening of the golf club in Caesarea in all Jewish golf clubs (and some non-Jewish clubs) and to recruit friends from overseas. They were also supposed to try and find a professional manager for Caesarea.
The two visited Jewish golf clubs and other well-known golf clubs, including St. Andrews Wentworth. They conducted several interviews and spoke with people who expressed interest in serving as professional manager at Caesarea. The short list of candidates was brought back to be reviewed by the Club Committee. The Committee decided that hiring a professional manager from England was too expensive. The Committee heard about a local kibbutznik named Charlie Mandelstam, who came highly recommended. Charlie Mandelstam, who immigrated from South Africa in 1948, was intensely involved in golf from an early age and had been an amateur golfer with a low handicap. Charley was asked to play 18 holes at the nearly completed course with four experienced foreign players who were employed in Israel, was observed giving a lesson to a beginner and later to a more experienced golfer. The Committee was extremely pleased that an Israeli was capable of serving as professional manager, and Charley began working in June 1960 as professional manager, a position he served for the next 35 years, until his retirement in 1995 at the age of 72. Since the course was not created as a result of local demand, the Committee could not project the future number of members who would register or when it would become necessary to import a more certified, professional manager. Since no one on the Committee had any background or experience in golf, the Committee knew there was an immediate need for a person who would equip and manage the pro shop, would be responsible for caddies, and would give lessons to beginners.
Teddy Kolleck was supposed to consult on golf course issues, Joseph Schulman, Hershel and Carol traveled to the airport to meet him. The plane was extremely delayed and the group sat and spoke with a group of journalists who were waiting to meet a VIP who was on the same plane. The three generated excellent public relations among the journalists, most of whom knew nothing about golf and the concept of a golf course in Israel. The meeting was covered the next day in the local press!
Joe Schulman became a member of the club and provided a training network as well as several clubs and balls, which Charlie used for the first lessons that he gave in the backyard of the office on Mandaly Street. Young Israelis heard by word of mouth about the golf course and came to take the first lessons and learn how to swing a golf club, long before they did so on the course.
When the office on Mandalay Street closed, all operations moved to Caesarea. Charlie opened the pro shop and began training caddies. Yitzhak Litwin from Haifa, who worked with weapons, firearm and sports equipment, helped Charlie import golf gear from other countries. Later, it was Sam Sharo who was involved in delivery of his pro shop equipment in New York, and so Sam Sharo's involvement in Israeli golf began.
In 1984, the professional team received backup in the form of Yacov (Kako) Avnaim, former caddy, in 1985, Aviva (Penny) Halfon, daughter of the original manager, joined and in 1990, new immigrant from Bolivia, Dr. Ricardo Cordoba - Kore, a psychiatrist who in 1972 became a professional golfer in his home country. In the first half of 1995, the professional manager's position was staffed by South African Des Cohen. In mid-1995, Mariano Materkat. In April 1996, Andy Santos from San Jose, California was hired for the position, which he still fulfills to date.
In August 1960, the Club was unofficially opened by Abba Eban and Arthur Luria (two of the very limited number of golfers in Israel at that time). The Club's official opening took place in January 1961, under the auspices of Dorothy de Rothschild and in the presence of an audience of over two thousand people, including government ministers, ambassadors, and all of the 'who's who' in Israel.
Lord Victor Rothschild and Abba Eban golfed balls from the first tee in order to officially open the course. Afterwards, American Sam Snead and Harry Whitman played the 18-hole course, with Lord Cohen, then captain of the Royal Golf Club and a veteran of St. Andrews, serving as referee. Despite the strong eastern winds, Snead scored a 72, against Whitman's 74.
In 1964, Hershel Binyamin was replaced as Club manager by Lou Kotzen. Afterwards, Elliot Lapinsky was appointed in 1965, Michael Paven in 1979, Don Gotsman in 1981, and the first Israeli General manager, Alon Ben David in 1982.
In order to choose the players and teams that would officially represent Israel in international competitions, an Israeli golf association first had to be established. The Federation was founded in 1965. Ever since, Israel sent various representatives to the Eisenhower Championship for amateurs, world cups, Optimist Junior World Championship, clubs professional team championships, and teams were sent to tournaments in South Africa, England, United States, Canada, Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Venezuela, Morocco, Portugal and Turkey.
Since 1961, the Caesarea Golf Club has hosted golf competitions every four years in the Maccabi Games.
In addition to the 25 countries represented in the golf competitions during the Maccabi games over the years, the Club has also hosted teams from Britain, South Africa, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, United States, Canada, France and Japan.
Young people from Or Akiva were trained as caddies and were prepared from the moment the Club opened. In 1968, the Local Employment Bureau decided that it would allow caddies to continue to work only if they were recognized as full employees of the Club, with restricted work hours and complete social benefits. The Committee decided that these conditions were impractical and cancelled the caddy services, other than for special events such as the Maccabi Games, when young local people were hired and earned minimum wage performing more like baggage handlers than certified caddies.
In 1962, the Members Program was offered to people overseas, particularly in the United States and England but the program gradually dissolved thanks to insufficient follow-up. The first foreign friends of the club were registered in England in 1960.
Since the Club's opening, the Rothschild Foundation allowed members to choose their own committee that would manage the Club on a daily basis but every additional investment remained the responsibility of the Foundation.
In 1967, ownership of the Club transferred from the James de Rothschild Foundation to the Baron Edmond de Rothschild, and Jean Bolk replaced Max Rowe as owners representative in Israel.
The new owners did not allow members to accumulate an unlimited financial deficit. They decided to provide a fixed annual subsidy and members were forced to cover any additional deficit. The special members committee created for this purpose adopted immediate measures to downsize expenses. They contacted Mekorot and obtained a cheaper industrial fee for water instead of the regular fee that had been applied until then.
The width of the fairways was reduced in order to spare water and the fee of the professional manager was delayed.
Henry Cotton, one of the greatest British golfers of all time and who later had a successful career as a golf course architect, was sent by Baron Edmond to Caesarea for two weeks in March 1967 in order to submit a plan to redesign the golf course so that the Caesarea Golf Hotel, built at the time of the Baron, could replace the current Club facility.
According to Cotton's plan, each of the 9 holes would begin and end near the hotel, the training area would be nearby, and the locker rooms and pro shop would be located in the hotel. This plan never came to fruition because the Baron decided to rent out the hotel to Club Med.
In 1970, Abe Axelrod, a Club member and architect, redesigned the locker rooms, and the club facility essentially remained unchanged until the beginning of 1993, when the entire building was completely renovated and refurbished at a cost of over NIS 1 million, including the installation of central air conditioning and wall-to-wall carpets.
Between 1978-1979, under the guidance of Sarah Bruchin, a member of Baron Edmond's Israeli staff, the entire irrigation system was replaced by an automatic computerized system. This process required the closure of the 9 holes for the duration of the renovation of each half of the course.
Upon the recommendation of Professor Nivon, an American lawn expert, the Bermuda lawn was replanted in the fairways. In the preparation of the land prior to the planting of the lawn, tons of organic fertilizer was spread in the tee and fairway areas but it turned out that the fertilizer contained Kikuyu seeds, which soon took over and strangled the Bermuda lawn, and resulted in fairways created with Kikuyu lawn on all 18 holes.
In 1980, once installation of the computerized irrigation system was completed at a cost of over one million dollars, members convened a special meeting during which they decided to inform the Baron Edmond de Rothschild that if he did not significantly increase the annual subsidy, they would no longer be prepared to continue to manage the club for him.
The Baron rejected the members' ultimatum and transferred club management to the Caesarea Development Corporation, half of whose shares were owned by the Baron and half by the State of Israel.
Haim Goldenberg, then GM of the CDC, became actively involved in the everyday management of the Club, and decided that the Club would be open 7 days a week and not remain closed on Mondays.
One of the many changes and improvements instituted by Alon Ben David was to allow every former caddy and any Or Akiva resident to receive full membership in the Club by setting particularly low rates for this population.
In 1983, he took the first of five groups of caddies who had low handicaps to the United States and Canada to play with members in Jewish golf clubs.
As a result, Ben David, in conjunction with Ori Ayalon, President of the Israeli Golf Federation, established the "Twin Clubs' program in order to promote ties with Jewish golf clubs around the world, and to raise the necessary funding to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to advance through golf, thereby helping them advance in their lives.
Three years later, IDF wounded veterans were added to the golf study program in order to facilitate their rehabilitation. Golf does not discriminate as a sport, allowing players of all levels and physical abilities to play.
The fully subsidized golf school was set up for children between the ages of 7-18 in 1987.
IDF wounded veterans received lessons, equipment and the possibility to play free of charge.
Fred Smith designed the course as par 74, with Hole No. 8 having a par 4 and Hole No. 16 having a par 5 but in 1961, Hole No. 8 was redesigned to have a par 3 and Hole 16, which although remaining the same for that time, became a long par 4.
The ranking as par 72 remained in place until 1966, when the new coastal highway cut through Green 5 and Tee 6. Both of these holes needed to be redesigned, which required increasing the par to 73.
Hole No. 11 was redesigned in 1978 and Holes 5,6 and 7 were replanted in 1987-88.
The lawn bowling field was built in 1974 but closed in 1979 with the decline in the number of members of the lawn bowling club.
The lawn bowling field became the pitching and chipping training area.
The training field tee was expanded westward in 1985 and eastward in 1993. The field's fairway was equipped with lawn in 1993, which allowed for the first time the mechanical, rather than manual, collection of training balls.
In 1994, eight fairways were replanted, four of which had to be replanted the following year.
In March 1995, the entire irrigation system was replaced at a cost of one million shekels.
In 1979, Yitzhak Beinstock replaced Hanan Buddenheimer as maintenance manager, to be replaced by Hillel Goren in 1993.
In 1984, Bob Tannen, a new immigrant from the United States, took over responsibility for the pro shop from Mandelstam and made electric golf carts available for rent. A very successful addition to the Club. In 1989, pro shop management shifted hands to Yigal Salah and Yacov Avnaim, both former caddies.
Based on a continual concern of additional restrictions on water consumption, the CDC managed to reach an agreement with Mekorot to receive a supply of water from 4 wells near the beach, located 2km from the Club. This water is suitable for agricultural purposes.
Because the water obtained from these wells are supposed to be pumped into a reservoir located on Club premises, in order to enhance the game as well as the esthetics of Hole 18, an attractive lake on the left side of the green was created in 1993.
At the beginning of 1994, John Fobion, representative of Club Corp Consulting from the United States, and Bob Walker, a golf course architect from Florida, were invited to the Club to submit plans to add 9 holes and 18 holes to the current course. The decision whether to continue with the submitted plans was deferred.
Sam Sharo was one of the first Jewish golfers in the world. His love affair with Israeli golf began in 1961 when he heard about the opening of the first and only golf course in the country. Ever since, Sam adopted the Caesarea Golf Course and every Israeli golfer he met. In addition, he established a courageous and long-term relationship with the Club's professional manager, Charlie Mandelstam.
Sam's main goal was to promote the game among young Israelis. He regularly sent equipment and donations, and hosted every young Israeli golfer who visited the United States. Out of respect and admiration for his dedication, efforts and generosity to Israeli golf, the Club, in conjunction with the Israeli Golf Federation, launched the Sam Sharo Annual Golf Competition. Sam suddenly died in April 1994 at the age of 91.
At the invitation of Teddy Kollek, Danny Kaye, in 1959, visited the ever expanding course. Later, when the Club was already active, he came to play there each time he visited Israel. Danny Kaye always stopped first to amuse the members' children who arrived at the course on Saturdays.
In addition to President Chaim Herzog and his wife Ora, both members of the Club, the wife of former president Reuma Weizmann, as well as dozens of ambassadors who were members since establishment of the club, other celebrities played or visited the club, including Deputy Secretary of State Joseph Sisco and movies stars Kirk Douglas, Danny Kaye, Frank Sinatra, Sean Connery, Mickey Rooney, Peter Lawford, Stanley Baker and actors from the television series Dallas.
Top ranked golfers in addition to Snead, Whitman and Cotton, who played at Caesarea included Billy Casper (two-time US Open and Masters champion), Herman Baron (Seniors World Champion in 1963), Tony Lemma (British Open Champion), Marley Spearman (British Women's Champion) and two Maccabi gold medalists - 1969 Bruce Fleisher (US Amateurs Champion) and 1981 Corey Pavin (US Open Champion in 1995), both of whom joined the PGA competitions in the US shortly after the games and continued on to successful careers as professionals.