Featured Member: Profile Club

Featured member, the Profile Club, established in 1897, is one of the Franconia area’s most enduring and beloved private membership organizations, offering a rich blend of sports, recreation, social connection, and family programming against the stunning backdrop of the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

A History Rooted in the Golden Age of White Mountains Tourism

The Profile Club‘s origins are deeply intertwined with one of the most celebrated chapters in New Hampshire history. In the mid-19th century, the White Mountains became one of the most fashionable summer destinations in the northeastern United States, drawing wealthy families from Boston, New York, and beyond to a string of grand resort hotels nestled among the peaks and notches of the region.

The most magnificent of these was the Profile House, a grand hotel that opened in 1853 at the north end of Franconia Notch. Named for the iconic rock formation known as the Old Man of the Mountain, the Profile House grew over the following decades into a sprawling, self-sufficient resort community. At its peak it could accommodate 600 guests, offered running water and electricity, operated its own narrow-gauge railroad, maintained a working farm and greenhouse, and provided amenities ranging from a bowling alley and billiard hall to a boathouse on Echo Lake. Among those amenities was the Profile Links Golf Course, laid out in the late 1890s and designed by golfer and course architect Arthur Fenn.

It was from those links that the Profile Club was born. The golf course opened in 1897 and quickly became a gathering place for the affluent summer community that had grown up around the hotel, including families who owned private cottages on the hotel’s grounds and returned season after season. That tight-knit summer community planted the seeds of what would become the Profile Club’s enduring identity as a place built on friendship, family, and tradition.

The Profile House itself did not survive. After a complete rebuild in 1906, the hotel burned to the ground in 1923 at the height of its final summer season. The surrounding land was subsequently protected from logging interests by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and dedicated as Franconia Notch State Park in 1928. But the golf course and the community that had formed around it carried on, evolving from a hotel amenity into the independent private club that exists today.

More than 125 years later, the Profile Club remains on the same ground where those early summer visitors first teed off with views of Cannon Mountain before them. The course has been carefully restored, a new clubhouse was built in 2014, and the membership has grown and diversified, but the spirit of the place connects directly back to that Victorian-era gathering of friends in the mountains.

A Community of Friends, Not a Country Club

What sets the Profile Club apart from the very beginning is its philosophy. Members view themselves as a community of friends belonging to a club in the country, rather than a traditional country club. With more than 180 member families, the club is staffed by professionals but driven by its members, whose volunteer committees plan and oversee the social and recreational life of the club throughout the season. This member-centered culture has made the Profile Club an important part of the lives of successive generations of families, many of whom have been members for decades.

Golf on a Historic and Scenic Course

The Profile Club’s golf course dates to 1897, making it one of the oldest in New Hampshire. The course plays over nine holes with two sets of tees, creating a challenging 18-hole, 5,810-yard experience. Extensive restoration work has greatly enhanced the course’s playability, charm, and enjoyment. From the fairways, golfers enjoy spectacular views of Cannon Mountain and the surrounding peaks of Franconia Notch.

Golf at the Profile Club is diverse, welcoming, and competitive at all levels. The club offers clinics for women and men, scrambles, tournaments, and private lessons, along with a junior golf program. The club also features a driving range that hits directly into one of the White Mountains’ most breathtaking views. Conditions permitting, the course is open to the public during the fall off-season.

Tennis on Red Clay Courts

The Profile Club has four red clay tennis courts that are professionally maintained and available for daily play. Red clay courts are relatively uncommon in New England and offer a distinctive playing experience that is easier on the body and well suited to all skill levels.

The club’s tennis professional offers a full range of programming including weekly women’s clinics, co-ed clinics, cardio tennis, Saturday morning round-robin play, and an annual member-guest tournament. Private and semi-private lessons are available for all ages and experience levels. The junior tennis program provides structured clinics for beginners through advanced players ages 5 to 17, giving young members a genuine developmental pathway in the sport.

Swimming, Yoga, and Fitness

The Profile Club’s 50-foot heated swimming pool is a centerpiece of summer life at the club. Members enjoy the pool after golf and tennis, or spend relaxed days there with children and grandchildren. Water aerobics classes are offered regularly, and the youth swimming program provides beginner, intermediate, and advanced instruction for children ages 5 to 17.

Yoga classes are offered multiple times per week, either in the clubhouse or on the patio, and are taught by certified instructors. Classes are co-ed and focused on flexibility, stress relief, and proper technique, rounding out a fitness offering that serves members of a wide range of ages and interests.

A Vibrant Social Calendar

From the opening Directors’ Cocktail Party in June to the closing dinner in September, the Profile Club’s Social Committee delivers a full and varied events calendar. Members enjoy Friday night patio dinners, Sunday brunches following golf scrambles, Lunch and Learn programs, themed parties, a Family Fourth of July BBQ, performances by local artists, and the popular Labor Day dance party.

The club also carries on a long tradition of Game Night, where members gather for bridge, Mahjong, or Trivial Pursuit. The Grille serves lunch throughout the season with a full bar, and the clubhouse is available for private events including weddings, showers, reunions, and corporate gatherings. Built in 2014, the clubhouse offers 1,200 square feet of dining space with a double-sided stone fireplace, an 1,800-square-foot outdoor patio, and a screened-in porch, with a combined capacity of 125 guests.

Welcoming New Members and Families

The Profile Club warmly welcomes new member families to join a tradition that has spanned more than 125 years. Whether drawn by the historic golf course, the clay tennis courts, the pool, the fitness programming, or the rich social life, members of all ages find a place at the Profile Club. To learn more, connect with the club on Facebook and Instagram, or visit profileclub.net.