Saturday, October 3, 2009

JFK's Private Course at Glen Ora

After the election, the President-elect leased a 400 acre horse farm called Glen Ora, which was near Middleburg, Virginia, a two hour drive or twenty minute helicopter ride from the White House.

They liked it there, and they purchased some land nearby and lived at Glen Ora during the construction of their own home, which they called Wexford, named after the town of Kennedy’s Irish roots.

While at Glen Ora, they tried to enjoy life outside of the Washington limelight. As Sally B. Smith wrote "…For Jack’s forty-fourth birthday on May 29, Jackie conspired with Paul Fout to create a three-hold golf course at Glen Ora – ‘rather long & difficult ones – so it will be a challenge to play and not just so easy that one gets tired of it.’"

"To further amuse Jack, she asked that the holes have Confederate flags that would ‘not be visible from the road.’ The Bradlees visited Glen Ora on May 20 for a birthday celebration, and Ben and JFK inaugurated the course, which had grown to four holes ‘9,000 square yards of pasture, filled with small hills, big rocks, and even a swamp,’ Bradlee recalled. JFK ‘shot the course record, a thirty-seven for four holes.’"

From Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House By Sally Bedell Smith. (P. 201)


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