Rockingham Country Club (‘The Rock’) is a public 9-hole, 3,026-yard, par 35 golf course located on route 108 in Newmarket, NH. Since 1933, the course has been recognized by both seasoned and novice players as an affordable, relaxing, and enjoyable golf experience.

 

Manuel Francis came to America in 1919, at the age of 16. He was hired to work building a series of golf courses in the New York City area for Donald Ross. This launched a lifetime of work in the golf industry. In addition to designing Rockingham and other courses in the 1930's, he invented the Vesper Velvet Bentgrass while Superintendent of the Vesper Golf Club in Tyngsborough, MA. He also invented a machine that vertically sliced turf that has since become a universal piece of equipment. What a guy!

What we do know is that the course record was set in the early 1940's on the shorter course by then RCC Golf Pro, Les Kennedy, who shot an astounding 27! Kennedy went on to play in both the US Open and the Masters. We don't see his record falling any time soon.