A Brief History

The Golden Age of Nutley Golf Legends

Before the Yountakah Country Club closed for the final time in 1943, Nutley was widely regarded as a "Golfer's Heaven." During this era, the town became a crossroads for international icons and local titans, tied together by the prestigious Nutley Invitational Golf Tournament and the manicured greens along River Road.

The story began in 1909, when Benjamin Hurd became the first-ever champion of the Nutley Invitational. The original tournament was by invitation only. The event took place in September, but the winner was not revealed until the black-tie dinner the night before Thanksgiving — where tradition called for the champion's cup to be filled with champagne and passed around the table, every guest drinking and toasting from it.

While Hurd was a local force, his household was a global golf powerhouse. His wife, Dorothy Campbell, was a world-renowned prodigy who had been swinging a club since the age of eighteen months. In the same year Hurd won in Nutley, Campbell made history as the first woman to win the British and U.S. Amateurs in a single year.

Throughout the 1910s and '20s, the Invitational's leaderboard read like a Who's Who of Nutley civic life. Champions like L.S. Rothwell (1919) and A.M. Elliott (1924) took the title in years when the town's attention was fixed on legendary charity exhibitions at Yountakah.

Hundreds of Nutleyites once gathered to watch Gene Sarazen — the first player to achieve a modern career Grand Slam — team up with Johnny Farrell, facing off against Yountakah's own pro Jack Beckett and the reigning U.S. Open champion Cyril Walker.

As the 1930s unfolded, the legacy was carried on by men like Edgar Sergeant, winner of the 1921 Nutley Invitational, whose family was so synonymous with the town he was simply known as "Mr. Nutley."

The era reached a grand finale in 1939, when Yountakah hosted the New Jersey State Open. The winner was World Golf Hall of Famer "Long Jim" Barnes, a man who had already captured four major titles.

The spirit of these pioneers remains.

An Enduring Legacy

Though the Yountakah fairways were sold to ITT in 1943 as young men left to fight in World War II, the spirit of these pioneers remained. While the pre-war era of the Nutley Invitational was defined by the legendary grounds of Yountakah, the years between 1943 and 1990 saw the tournament evolve into a vital civic institution. The title holders of this period weren't just exceptional golfers — they were the doctors, leaders, business owners, and veterans who shaped modern Nutley.

After a brief one-year hiatus in 1990, longtime Nutley Commissioner Frank Cocchiola turned to Jim Piro and Frank Zinna, among others, to reimagine and reinvigorate the tournament with a renewed focus on community impact. The new committee created the Frank Cocchiola Trophy, awarded to each year's winner along with the honor of chairing the following year's tournament.

Past winners and tournament chairs often continue on as part of the committee, whose goal is not only to host the tournament but, more importantly, to reach out to the community for donations to fund the many charities in the area. The more recent list of past winners reads as a Who's Who of Nutley families, leaders, community activists, professionals, and golfers who simply want to support their town — like the Maurillo family: Joe, Barry, and Anthony, all past winners, all continuing to support the tournament with generous donations each year.

Each year we thank our many sponsors and golf participants, because without them the thousands of dollars donated to the Nutley Family Service Bureau, Cerebral Palsy of Belleville and Nutley, and the many other charities supported throughout the years would not have been possible.