This week at Bellevue Country Club featured the 98th running of the League of the Iroquois Golf Tournament. The tournament was started in 1913 at Oak Hill in Rochester, Oak Hill has held the U.S. Open in recent years. It features the best from Bellevue, Oak Hill, Wanakah in Buffalo and Yahnundasis in Utica. It is the longest running continuously played golf league in the world, surviving both World Wars, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, and all other military conflicts. The tournament is meant to reflect the Iroquois Nation's original footprint in upstate New York. It's an event that is very competitive, but at the same time, is a lot of fun for those involved and helps spur business in CNY by the players making relationships with those from other cities.
As Jack Rade from Bellevue points out "This league was really started (in 1913) to promote the development of Upstate NY cities business through fellowship and good business decisions and it was to emulate the League of the Iroquois Nation, which is the world's oldest democracy and was started here at Onondaga Lake, and we're proud to name our league after the Iroquois Nation"
Judging by the 98th running of the tournament which included 180 golfers, it seems like a safe bet the continued success of this historic and unique Upstate New York tournament has as bright a future as it does a past.
