The Van Cortlandt Golf Course, which opened on July 6, 1895, with nine holes, is located centrally on the park grounds.
Within a year, the course became very crowded and disorganized, with crowds behaving poorly.
Rules were set in 1896, with golfers paying caddies 15 cents per round or 25 cents per two rounds.
Only caddies with badges could be hired, and bicycles, baby strollers, horse-riding, and horse-drawn carriages were banned from the course.

The course was upgraded to 18 holes in 1899, and the grounds gained a new clubhouse by 1902.
The new Van Cortlandt Golf Course was supposed to be "experimental," and if the course was successful, similar courses would be laid around the country.
Other American cities were interested in building such courses.
The 1899 Bendelow reconstruction had rebuilt the course so that it now spanned 120 acres (49 ha), compared to the 55 acres (22 ha) of the previous course.
The new course was now 6,060 yards (5,540 m) long, or about 3.44 miles (5.54 km).
NYC Parks reconfigured the course again the following year so that "congestion would be prevented and accidents avoided."
Boulders were relocated, greens were enlarged, and hazards were built in order to space out the holes.
A clubhouse was added two years later.
Plans to extend the clubhouse were rejected in 1917.

On July 13, 1905, Isaac Mackie won an Open Tournament at the Van Cortlandt Park course, shooting 152 and holding off joint second-place finishers Willie Anderson and Bernard Nicholls who finished at 157.
It was the first ever professional tournament held on a public golf course in the United States.

In 1914, a second golf course, the Mosholu Golf Course, opened adjacent to the existing Van Cortlandt Park course.
 It is located at the southeast end of the park.
By the 1930s, both courses were being intensively used, with restaurants located near both clubhouses.
Around this time, six holes of the Van Cortlandt course were rebuilt as part of the Henry Hudson Parkway's construction.
Due to the Major Deegan Expressway's construction in 1949, there were plans to fill in 7 acres (2.8 ha) of the nearby marshlands so new holes could be built.
A third of the way into the filling-in project, conservationists and residents called for the rest of the marsh to be preserved.
Two greens were eventually placed on the filled-in marshland.

In 2002, a First Tee course, for young golfers, opened at the Mosholu course.
The Van Cortlandt Golf Course and its attached clubhouse were renovated from 2007 to 2014 for $5 million.
Prior to the renovation, there was poor management, dirty grounds, and "a proliferation of prostitutes and drug dealers operating much too close for comfort plagued the grounds."
The renovation overhauled the course with such improvements as seven new greens and a new drainage system.
The clubhouse received an infusion of historic golf artifacts from NYC Parks, including "vintage photographs" and an exhibit about the history of the golf ball.
The Van Cortlandt Golf Course, which opened on July 6, 1895, with nine holes, is located centrally on the park grounds. Within a year, the course became very crowded and disorganized, with crowds behaving poorly. Rules were set in 1896, with golfers paying caddies 15 cents per round or 25 cents per two rounds. Only caddies with badges could be hired, and bicycles, baby strollers, horse-riding, and horse-drawn carriages were banned from the course.
The course was upgraded to 18 holes in 1899, and the grounds gained a new clubhouse by 1902. The new Van Cortlandt Golf Course was supposed to be "experimental," and if the course was successful, similar courses would be laid around the country. Other American cities were interested in building such courses. The 1899 Bendelow reconstruction had rebuilt the course so that it now spanned 120 acres (49 ha), compared to the 55 acres (22 ha) of the previous course. The new course was now 6,060 yards (5,540 m) long, or about 3.44 miles (5.54 km). NYC Parks reconfigured the course again the following year so that "congestion would be prevented and accidents avoided." Boulders were relocated, greens were enlarged, and hazards were built in order to space out the holes. A clubhouse was added two years later. Plans to extend the clubhouse were rejected in 1917.
On July 13, 1905, Isaac Mackie won an Open Tournament at the Van Cortlandt Park course, shooting 152 and holding off joint second-place finishers Willie Anderson and Bernard Nicholls who finished at 157. It was the first ever professional tournament held on a public golf course in the United States.
In 1914, a second golf course, the Mosholu Golf Course, opened adjacent to the existing Van Cortlandt Park course.  It is located at the southeast end of the park. By the 1930s, both courses were being intensively used, with restaurants located near both clubhouses. Around this time, six holes of the Van Cortlandt course were rebuilt as part of the Henry Hudson Parkway's construction. Due to the Major Deegan Expressway's construction in 1949, there were plans to fill in 7 acres (2.8 ha) of the nearby marshlands so new holes could be built. A third of the way into the filling-in project, conservationists and residents called for the rest of the marsh to be preserved. Two greens were eventually placed on the filled-in marshland.
In 2002, a First Tee course, for young golfers, opened at the Mosholu course. The Van Cortlandt Golf Course and its attached clubhouse were renovated from 2007 to 2014 for $5 million. Prior to the renovation, there was poor management, dirty grounds, and "a proliferation of prostitutes and drug dealers operating much too close for comfort plagued the grounds." The renovation overhauled the course with such improvements as seven new greens and a new drainage system. The clubhouse received an infusion of historic golf artifacts from NYC Parks, including "vintage photographs" and an exhibit about the history of the golf ball.
Van Cortlandt Park