ST. LOUIS — Golf debuted as an Olympic sport in Paris back in 1900, but four years later, it came to St. Louis, the only city where Olympic golf has ever been played on U.S. soil.
5 On Your Side's Annie Krall hit the links with pros at that very same course, Glen Echo Country Club.
While Olympic golfers like Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda are teeing it up in Paris, Glen Echo can thank a different part of Europe and the Foulis brothers for their 18 holes.
"The two brothers who designed this course were from Scotland," president of Glen Echo Country Club Leonard Toenjes said. "They worked for old Tom Morris at St. Andrews. Then, they migrated to the United States and designed this course."
Now, the course is under the stewardship of head professional Michael Herbig, a former University of Missouri-Columbia Evans Scholar who talked history and strategy with Krall.
"Give me the lay of the land with this hole 15," Krall said. "This is a special one, but why is it so special?"
"15 is very special because the lake you see ahead here, Chandler Egan, George Lyon, final match of the Olympics back in 1904, Chandler Eagan standing on this tee, down one, hooks his tee shot down left into the water," Herbig said.
That's something you definitely don't want to do.
The 15th hole cost the Illinois golfer Egan gold as the Canadian victor Lyon would end up winning the tournament at Glen Echo.
No women played in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. Yet, they competed in Paris in 1900. The women's Olympic competition returned along with the entire sport in 2016 to Rio after a 112-year hiatus.
Impressively, most of the holes at Glen Echo Country Club are the original 1901 design. The equipment is certainly different, Toenjes said, but the St. Louis pride is not.
"Even though it's been over 120 years, that spirit that those two brothers brought is still here on the grounds," Toenjes said. "You feel it every now and then. Not all the time, but I think that's something that hasn't changed."
In golf's brief Olympic history - it's only been played five times including the Paris matches - the U.S. is by far the most successful country with 13 medals total, including five golds.