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Jim_Kennedy

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #25 on: November 25, 2015, 11:48:29 PM »

Just posting, no opinion.


Two authenticated Colt drawings...







...and a couple of words and letters pulled from each of them, and the blueprint.








"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Dan Moore

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #26 on: November 26, 2015, 10:36:12 AM »
Excerpts from the Old Elm linen map (the one with the white background) and the Colt Pine Valley map. While there are differences the similarities are striking.



Old Elm




Pine Valley
"Is there any other game which produces in the human mind such enviable insanity."  Bernard Darwin

Anthony Gholz

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #27 on: November 26, 2015, 10:42:26 AM »
see also Ed Oden's Compilation reply #292 10/30/10 for more Colt writing

Anthony Gholz

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #28 on: November 26, 2015, 11:19:29 AM »
[/URL][/img]

Anthony Gholz

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #29 on: November 26, 2015, 11:22:46 AM »





This from my Port Huron GC book trying to show differences and similarities between C&A's hands.  The samples l&r from Old Elm (thanks Ed) and middle from PHGC

Anthony Gholz

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #30 on: November 26, 2015, 11:35:36 AM »
Phil:


This is from Hawtree's book Colt & Co. p155.  Colt green drawing from a NLE course designed in 1936 per Whitten. This was long after his three American trips and Old Elm 1911-1914.  This drawing looks very much like a quick on-site sketch from the master.  I find it very interesting that in this 214 page book, for which Hawtree had access to Colt's files, this is the only drawing from Colt's hand.   Perhaps Gil Hanse might have a comment on Hawtree's access to Colt's files as he did much leg work for the book in Europe.


Tony

Bret Lawrence

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #31 on: November 26, 2015, 11:16:16 PM »
Phil,


Tony's recent post included a letter from Colt that mentions the club would be receiving a book of plans with an accompanying blue print.


Considering the first blueprint you posted has striking similarities to the drawings in the book of plans, and is titled 'Proposed Golf Course', what makes the club think this isn't the plan from April 27, 1913? 


Regarding the artist, I am not a handwriting expert, but hiring one may not be a bad option?


I also find it interesting that Colt refers to Douglas(?) Ross in his letter!


As for the letter from 1894 and The Committee, the only avenue I can think of is the 120 Broadway address on the letter head.  The Equitable Life Building has been at this same location in the financial district of New York since the 1850's.  The building was destroyed in 1912, then rebuilt on the same location and re-opened in 1915.  There are some interesting articles dealing with the fire and the new building including the beginning of the "World's Biggest Bankers Club" in 1915.  I didn't have time to get back to 1894, but perhaps looking through some of these articles you may find names that will lead you in the right direction.


Bret




Jim,


Your post of Colt's Rough Sketch helped answer Mr. Hawtree's question. D.O. = Draw Off.


Bret

Phil Young

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #32 on: November 27, 2015, 12:32:11 AM »
Bret,

The 1894 letter mentioned that a "blueprint" was attached to it. It was explained to me by the club's representative that the blueprint I first posted was always thought to be that one. Consider that there is no date on it and so its quite possible that somewhere in its past the two documents ended up together.

As for a handwriting expert, they can only compare signatures/writing to known examples of those to whom a comparison is desired. If the drawings were done by a "local" person as some have suggested, to whom would you make a comparison? Also, in order to eliminate someone more than just a few examples would be needed as a person's handwriting is specific to the function for writing (a quick note versus a formal signature), date of signing (Bobby Jones signature changes drastically and quickly through time because of his illness) and other factors.

Also, the original author of the "proposed course" design is the real question since these may or may not be copies of the original provided by the designer.

All that said there are a number of very good reasons to believe that the drawing(s) are either originals or copies from the original Colt 1913-14 design.

Your suggestion regarding the 120 Broadway address is a good one but also a near impossible one. Yes, it was home to Equitable but it also had a large number of private individuals who had office space there including many engineers (this from a search of several articles mentioning specific occupants of 120 Broadway in 1894). The real challenge is trying to obtain a list of all those who worked or had an office at the building in 1894 and then to make a search of the few golf articles, newspaper accounts, golf journals, etc... that can be found to see if any of those names played or were associated with any club at that time. And even then, proving that any or all of those found with that connection were part of a "Committee" formed to advance and expand the game in Chicago (and presumably elsewhere) at a time before the USGA was founded (that was in December 1894) is probably an insurmountable task at the moment due to lack of information of that time period and the game itself. 

A better avenue of research might be an attempt to identify the "John Eliot Warner" to whom the letter was addressed. I've located a "John Warner" who was a diamond merchant in Chicago in 1894 and who would relocate to the financial district in NYC by the end of the century. Were his business interest's which clearly would point to his having long-term relationships with the exact community in which the Equitable building was located simply coincidence? Again, much more research is needed to come to any conclusion.


John McCarthy

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #33 on: November 27, 2015, 09:29:03 AM »
Phil:  Any explanation why the second blueprint has Green Bay Road as the northern bound?  Maybe Old Elm Road was not formally established?  And the "Old Elm" in the northwest corner is assumed to be a surveyor's mark?
The only way of really finding out a man's true character is to play golf with him. In no other walk of life does the cloven hoof so quickly display itself.
 PG Wodehouse

Phil Young

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #34 on: November 27, 2015, 09:59:11 AM »
John,

"Green Bay Road" on the dark blueprint is but one of a number of anomalies between the 3 drawings that needs explaining. I'm wondering if there are old road maps from both 1894 & 1913 to see if the road is shown and what its name is at the time.

I don't believe that the "Old Elm" is a surveyor's mark but rather a significant and notable tree from which the club probably derived its name (I could be wrong). The reason why I don't believe its a surveyor's mark is because then one would expect others to be shown on the drawing and none are. In addition, if it were a surveyor's mark wouldn't it be at the actual corner of the property? This isn't.

John McCarthy

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #35 on: November 27, 2015, 10:21:44 AM »
John,

"Green Bay Road" on the dark blueprint is but one of a number of anomalies between the 3 drawings that needs explaining. I'm wondering if there are old road maps from both 1894 & 1913 to see if the road is shown and what its name is at the time.

I don't believe that the "Old Elm" is a surveyor's mark but rather a significant and notable tree from which the club probably derived its name (I could be wrong). The reason why I don't believe its a surveyor's mark is because then one would expect others to be shown on the drawing and none are. In addition, if it were a surveyor's mark wouldn't it be at the actual corner of the property? This isn't.

Phil: I am quickly running out of my surveying knowledge but old and prominent trees were often used to define boundaries.  Charter Oaks and such.  I think they are called benchmarks.  I am guessing that this was such a tree because it is specially marked on the print, the road is Old Elm Road, and the road defines Highland Park and Lake Forest.  I wonder if Lake County Recorder of Deeds is online?  But this is a minor issue, overall. 
The only way of really finding out a man's true character is to play golf with him. In no other walk of life does the cloven hoof so quickly display itself.
 PG Wodehouse

Sven Nilsen

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #36 on: November 27, 2015, 10:57:04 AM »
It was a tree.  There are photos of it in some of the old magazines from when the course was built noting that is where the name of the club came from.


Sven
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

Dan Moore

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #37 on: November 27, 2015, 11:46:54 AM »
One of the Club's questions asked if the blueprint (the map with the blue background in post #1) could have been the blueprint mentioned in the 1894 letter.

It is 100% clear that it could not have been the blueprint referred to in the letter. The blueprint, regardless of who drew it or when, clearly represents the Old Elm course as designed and built by Colt and Ross. There is abundant information from 1913 and 1914 that Colt and Ross collaborated on the design, where on site together in April 1913, staked out the course and prepared a map and drawings in 1913.  That question is settled. I'm also inclined to think the map with the white background is the oldest and the maps with the blue backgrounds came later. They date pre-1930's as the Skokie was rerouted in the 30's and the stream seen on the 4th hole was replaced by bunkers when the Skokie was re-engineered.

Could the blue print have been attached to the letter.  Yes, as a practical joke played between members on some future date. Its also possible they were innocently filed together at some much later date. 

Could the letter be authentic and the jokesters combined a real letter with the blueprint. Maybe, but there are enough questions to make one wonder if the letter is a fake, part of a joke. Why a fake; no "Bonny Jock," The Fort Sheridan Station did not exist in 1894, it opened in Feb. 1895 (thank you David Moriarty), there are questions about the authenticity of the 540 N. Michigan Ave address, it was unsigned, sent from NYC?? 

The Ft Sheridan Station may have referred to the Highwood station which served Ft Sheridan in 1894.  The station was directly west of the Stupey Farm which was considered by the Chicago Golf Club as the site of their Club before they deciding on Wheaton instead where they moved in 1895. The Stupey farm was selected by WA Alexander for the Exmoor Club which was formed in 1896 with HJ Whigham, HJ Tweedie and Charles Blair Macdonald contributing to the original 9 hole lay-out which opened in 1897 (revised by Macdonald in 1898). Coincidently Alexander came up with the idea for Old Elm in 1912 when he was frustrated with the long waits at Onwentsia where he was a founding member in 1896. Could Macdonald have sent the letter from NYC in an attempt to solicit more members to support the move to buy the Stupey Farm property for this then ideal 18 hole course? Could the Committee have been a committee of the Chicago Golf Club doing the same by someone with business interests that took them to the Equitable Building in NYC?

A key to its authenticity seems to be if there was a John Eliot Warner at 540 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago in 1894.  Exmoor's historian Don Holton has noted in emails that street addresses in Chicago were very different in 1894. What today would be 540 N. Michigan Ave. was Pine Street in 1894. Street numbering was dramatically changed in the early 1900's.  A 1890's map of Chicago lists a Michigan Street north of the River running east west near where Kinzie street is today. 

I found a reference to a Mrs. John Eliot Warner in the 1950's stepping down as President of the Western Women's Golf Association. Could her husband (or his father or grandfather) be the letter's John Eliot Warner? A 1931 newspaper report lists a John Eliot Warner as VP of Warner Reciprocal Insurers 155 E. Superior Street Chicago. President Lansing Warner. Another article in 1920 has Lansing Warner as president of Lansing Warner Insurance 1?4 S. Michigan Ave with a home address of 542 Michigan Ave. Evanston.  Both in the instance business, ties to the Equitable building in NYC? 

More questions than answers. I suspect some of the answers may lie in the Club's archives. 
« Last Edit: November 27, 2015, 12:05:48 PM by Dan Moore »
"Is there any other game which produces in the human mind such enviable insanity."  Bernard Darwin

Jason Way

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #38 on: November 27, 2015, 12:40:26 PM »
To piggy back on Dan's post...


The local lore is mildly more scandalous (for the times) than Dan's description that OEC was founded because of "long waits at Onwentsia".  The story goes that a small group of members from Onwentsia, who had become quite taken with the game, became frustrated with Presbyterian social-religious mores which prohibited both drinking and the playing of sports on Sundays.  Therefore, they located their new club outside of the Lake Forest city limits and made it a men's club to be out of reach of the powers that be (including their ministers and their wives). 

I'm not sure if there were actual "Blue Laws" in Lake Forest at the time, but the social pressure would have certainly been there.  Onwentsia was a family club, and would have adhered to the social conventions.

Back to the letter.  Onwentsia was looking for a new/permanent location in 1894, and it is certainly possible that the land that would ultimately become OE was found (but rejected) during that search.  Perhaps the letter refers to Onwentsia, and not Old Elm? 


Or perhaps more likely, the letter is the equivalent of a recruitment letter for a secret society?  Perhaps the men who ultimately founded Old Elm ("The Committee") were already contemplating the off-shoot, but wanted to keep their plans under wraps?  Keeping up appearances was much more important then than it is now, even for those who had the wealth and power to do whatever they wanted.  These men would have known from their exposure to Scottish heritage, the history of the game, and how it came into conflict with the Church.

All speculation, I know, but not entirely implausible.
"Golf is a science, the study of a lifetime, in which you can exhaust yourself but never your subject." - David Forgan

Sven Nilsen

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #39 on: November 27, 2015, 12:59:27 PM »
Until someone can find an early pro named Jock McGillicuddy (who we have yet to locate in any source), I wouldn't give much credence at all to the letter.


To add to the rampant speculation, perhaps it was the 1890's version of spam.


Sven
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

Bradley Anderson

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #40 on: November 27, 2015, 05:53:40 PM »
 I have this from a xeroxed copy of the Old Elm Club Report of Board of Governors, dated October 17, 1914.
In January, 1913, Old Elm Club was organized and plans for commencing construction of the course as early in the spring as the weather would permit were made. Donald Ross was engaged to lay out -the course, and later, H. S. Colt, the famous English golf architect, who was in this country, was secured, and Old Elm represents the best ideas and skill of two recognized experts in this work. The results obtained have been very gratifying and experts who have played on prominent courses of the world pronounce Old Elm superior to a great majority of the inland courses and equal to many of the seaside courses. The topography of our grounds astonishes nearly everyone who visits Old Elm.

Our original purchase of land comprised 140 acres. In April, 1913, after spending many days trying to adapt the 140 acres to the kind of golf course we wanted, Messrs' Colt and Ross recommended the purchase of twenty acres additional land. We finally bought the twenty acres which now comprise our southwest twenty, and the purchase of these twenty acres helped create our deficit, as our calculations as to the cost of constructing the course were made before the necessity for this additional land was known. The Club owns 160 acres of land, and competent appraisers value this land at prices much higher than the club paid for it.


According to this document, twenty additional acres of land were purchased to accommodate a routing that both Colt and Ross were mutually satisfied with. The “southwest twenty” is probably referring to the area where the various prints show the location of the 12th fairway, 12th green, 13th tee and the first half of the 13th fairway. The blueprint is probably from sometime after Ross and Colt made their reconnaissance of the property, between January and April 1913. It is highly doubtful that the “blueprint” attached to the letter from the committee in 1894 could have been this one.

I would not be surprised however if this letter was written on behalf of a group of gentlemen who were even then in possession of the land where Old Em Club now sits. It is unlikely that the club would have had a name at this point because it did not have a golf course. The name was chosen from a huge Elm tree that sat directly behind the original 1st green. Probably the name was voted upon some time during the routing of the course by Colt and Ross in 1913.

When I was the assistant of Old Elm in the early 1980s I was given an orientation around the clubhouse. One of the older employees, Rudy,  explained to me that the club was founded by Lake Forest businessmen who wanted to play golf on Sunday and enjoy the fraternity of a game of cards and a cocktail. Lake Forest, being the musty fusty Presbyterian community that it was in those days, did not allow any of these activities within the city limits.

My guess is that the founders sat on this land in Highland Park (right over the border) for many years before finally building the golf course. By 1913 this land would have been highly valued for real estate; it makes perfect sense that the austerity and foresight which gentlemen of that era prided themselves on, would have prompted the purchase of this land during an earlier and more affordable market period. My guess is the letter was sent at a time when there was some initial excitement for starting the club which waned and was rekindled later.
« Last Edit: November 27, 2015, 06:44:10 PM by Bradley Anderson »

Bret Lawrence

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #41 on: November 27, 2015, 08:27:32 PM »
I have this from a xeroxed copy of the Old Elm Club Report of Board of Governors, dated October 17, 1914.
In January, 1913, Old Elm Club was organized and plans for commencing construction of the course as early in the spring as the weather would permit were made. Donald Ross was engaged to lay out -the course, and later, H. S. Colt, the famous English golf architect, who was in this country, was secured, and Old Elm represents the best ideas and skill of two recognized experts in this work. The results obtained have been very gratifying and experts who have played on prominent courses of the world pronounce Old Elm superior to a great majority of the inland courses and equal to many of the seaside courses. The topography of our grounds astonishes nearly everyone who visits Old Elm.

Our original purchase of land comprised 140 acres. In April, 1913, after spending many days trying to adapt the 140 acres to the kind of golf course we wanted, Messrs' Colt and Ross recommended the purchase of twenty acres additional land. We finally bought the twenty acres which now comprise our southwest twenty, and the purchase of these twenty acres helped create our deficit, as our calculations as to the cost of constructing the course were made before the necessity for this additional land was known. The Club owns 160 acres of land, and competent appraisers value this land at prices much higher than the club paid for it.


According to this document, twenty additional acres of land were purchased to accommodate a routing that both Colt and Ross were mutually satisfied with. The “southwest twenty” is probably referring to the area where the various prints show the location of the 12th fairway, 12th green, 13th tee and the first half of the 13th fairway. The blueprint is probably from sometime after Ross and Colt made their reconnaissance of the property, between January and April 1913. It is highly doubtful that the “blueprint” attached to the letter from the committee in 1894 could have been this one.


Bradley,


I would think that the 12th and 13th would be considered the southeast twenty, if they have such a name?


The twenty acre rectangle to the west (including the 5th green, 6th tee and 16th tee) would most likely be considered the southwest twenty.  The club's property includes 8-20 acre parcels, all making an equal rectangle.  If you look on the white linen map in Reply #9, the southwest twenty wasn't included, showing only 7-20 acre parcels.


Bret

Bret Lawrence

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #42 on: November 27, 2015, 10:48:50 PM »
Is there any information regarding the acquisition of more land?
Something in the vicinity of 49 or 50 acres?
The dark blue map shows an acreage of 209.327.

Phil Young

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #43 on: November 28, 2015, 07:36:23 AM »
Bret,

As for land acquisitions, that information is with the club and is proprietary. Several members are watching this thread and so if they want to share it they will pass it along.

Bret Lawrence

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #44 on: November 28, 2015, 08:44:24 AM »
Phil,


I understand.  I don't need to know this information.  If the club knows when they acquired enough land to get to 209.327 acres, that would be a good starting point for finding the approximate timeline for the dark blue print.


The Board of Directors meeting notes that the Club owns 160 acres on October 17, 1914.  The dark blue print would have to be post 1914.


Bret

Bradley Anderson

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #45 on: November 28, 2015, 09:19:22 AM »
I have this from a xeroxed copy of the Old Elm Club Report of Board of Governors, dated October 17, 1914.
In January, 1913, Old Elm Club was organized and plans for commencing construction of the course as early in the spring as the weather would permit were made. Donald Ross was engaged to lay out -the course, and later, H. S. Colt, the famous English golf architect, who was in this country, was secured, and Old Elm represents the best ideas and skill of two recognized experts in this work. The results obtained have been very gratifying and experts who have played on prominent courses of the world pronounce Old Elm superior to a great majority of the inland courses and equal to many of the seaside courses. The topography of our grounds astonishes nearly everyone who visits Old Elm.

Our original purchase of land comprised 140 acres. In April, 1913, after spending many days trying to adapt the 140 acres to the kind of golf course we wanted, Messrs' Colt and Ross recommended the purchase of twenty acres additional land. We finally bought the twenty acres which now comprise our southwest twenty, and the purchase of these twenty acres helped create our deficit, as our calculations as to the cost of constructing the course were made before the necessity for this additional land was known. The Club owns 160 acres of land, and competent appraisers value this land at prices much higher than the club paid for it.


According to this document, twenty additional acres of land were purchased to accommodate a routing that both Colt and Ross were mutually satisfied with. The “southwest twenty” is probably referring to the area where the various prints show the location of the 12th fairway, 12th green, 13th tee and the first half of the 13th fairway. The blueprint is probably from sometime after Ross and Colt made their reconnaissance of the property, between January and April 1913. It is highly doubtful that the “blueprint” attached to the letter from the committee in 1894 could have been this one.


Bradley,


I would think that the 12th and 13th would be considered the southeast twenty, if they have such a name?


The twenty acre rectangle to the west (including the 5th green, 6th tee and 16th tee) would most likely be considered the southwest twenty.  The club's property includes 8-20 acre parcels, all making an equal rectangle.  If you look on the white linen map in Reply #9, the southwest twenty wasn't included, showing only 7-20 acre parcels.


Bret


You make very good points Bret.

Dan Moore

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #46 on: December 01, 2015, 05:46:36 PM »
I have submitted my draft report to the Club and here is what I've come up with. Much of this was already discussed in my last reply.
With the help of several people (thank you Kevin, Hilary, Don, David and Paul) here is what we have found so far regarding the Warner letter.

The Ft. Sheridan Station did not open until February 1895 nine months after the letter was sent.

The Scottish pro “Bonny Jock MacGillicuddy did not exist.

Extensive searches failed to find a John Eliot Warner at 540 North Michigan Ave. in 1894.

North Michigan Ave. as we know it today did not even exist in 1894. Michigan Ave. ended at the river until the Michigan Ave. bridge opened in 1920.  What is North Michigan Ave. today was called Pine Street until the bridge opened and the streets were joined.

Census and internet news searches located a John Eliot Warner who was born in 1899. In 1930 he was VP of his father’s insurance company. Warner Insurance opened an office at 540 North Michigan Ave. sometime between 1930 and 1932.  Warner’s wife was elected President of the Western Women’s Golf Association in 1952. They were members of the Glen View Club.

The letter was filed in the club archives with a blueprint of the Colt/Ross course that was created no earlier than April 1913.

Notwithstanding these factual inconsistencies it is very curious that the Old Elm Club has the Warner letter in its archives. John Eliot Warner was never a member of the Club.

Can a case be made that the letter is genuine and was sent to a different John Eliot Warner on May 1, 1894?  I have done extensive research on the early years of golf in Chicago. There were only several dozen players in 1894, mostly novices, who had just taken up the game, and probably only 2-3 individuals or groups that were trying to found a golf club in 1894.  Macdonald founded the Chicago Golf Club which incorporated in 1893 and had their links in Belmont. Hobart Chatfield Taylor was trying to get golf going in Lake Forest but had little success until the summer of 1894. Old Elm’s founder WA Alexander founded Exmoor in 1896, but its pretty clear that effort started in 1896. Golf was also being played at that time in Riverside by residents of the area, but they would not have been looking at land for a course in Highland Park.

One might be tempted to think the brash, relentless Charles Blair Macdonald, having found some ideal land west of the soon to be opened Fort Sheridan station sent such a letter from New York on a business trip to a knowing friend with Macdonald humorously referring to himself as “Bonny Jock” since he in fact functioned as Chicago’s first golf pro distributing clubs and teaching the game to fellow aficionados during those first two years of golf in Chicago.  However, given all the factual inconsistencies that just seems to farfetched to believe. Ultimately one is hard pressed to make such a case. Absent finding another John Eliot Warner at 540 N. Michigan Ave. in 1894, there are simply too many hurdles to surmount.

Therefore, I feel the evidence we have so far conclusively shows the Warner letter was concocted no earlier than 1931. The Warner letter probably was a practical joke involving members of the Old Elm Club perhaps involving members who knew John Eliot Warner and were having fun with him about “joining or refusing to join” a proposed new golf club located directly west of the Fort Sheridan Station with a blueprint of the proposed course (the Colt/Ross Old Elm blueprint) attached. I found a neat photo from the 1950's of Mrs. Warner and Mrs. WA Alexander together at a WWGA event. WA Alexander founded Old Elm so they clearly moved in related circles.

Here's a quick look at how the Old Elm Club was actually started in 1912.

Joe Davis was the dean of early Chicago golf writers. He was the lead golf reporter for the Chicago Tribune from 1899 to 1925, a contributor to national golf magazines such as the American Golfer using the name Lochnivar, and the founder and editor of the CDGA Magazine Chicago Golfer in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Davis wrote numerous articles about the Old Elm Club when it was formed in 1913 in the Tribune and American Golfer Magazine.  In the September 1932 issue of the CDGA Magazine Chicago Golfer he looked back on the “interesting story” of how the Old Elm Club was formed. Davis reported the Old Elm Club was founded in response to crowded conditions at the Onwentsia Club in 1912. W.A. Alexander and R.H. McElwee were waiting to play one day when Alexander asked if there was some place to get away from the long waits. McElwee suggested the Dick farm and other property near Fort Sheridan which coincidently is located “directly west of the Fort Sheridan station.”

They moved quickly to obtain the land and sign on 46 Charter members and the Old Elm Club was born. The Club was incorporated in January 1913. By February work on the land had commenced and in late April, Colt and Ross convened to go over the land and design the course. The course was seeded by September 1913 and opened for play by June of 1914. As written by Colt in his notes dated April 27, 1913 “Everything is marked out on the land and with this book of plans and with the accompanying blue print there should be no difficulty in carrying out the work.”

   
Old Elm is the only course in the world where Colt and Ross, two of golf’s greatest architects of the Golden Age, worked together on an original design. Truly a one of a kind course.


 
 
[size=78%]   [/size]
« Last Edit: December 01, 2015, 06:19:38 PM by Dan Moore »
"Is there any other game which produces in the human mind such enviable insanity."  Bernard Darwin

Phil Young

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #47 on: December 01, 2015, 06:13:59 PM »
Nice work Dan.

Jason Way

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #48 on: December 01, 2015, 08:29:05 PM »
Thanks for sharing your findings Dan.  Always a joy to learn more about that special place.


How cool would it have been to walk the property with Colt & Ross as they worked out the routing?


So, was a conclusion reached about the different course maps and drawings from earlier in the thread?
"Golf is a science, the study of a lifetime, in which you can exhaust yourself but never your subject." - David Forgan

Sean_A

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Re: An Old Elm Conundrum...
« Reply #49 on: December 01, 2015, 08:47:40 PM »

Paul Turner believes this writing is by the hand of Colt and I agree.  It certainly matches Jim's drawings/writings.





Ciao
« Last Edit: December 01, 2015, 08:50:29 PM by Sean_A »
New plays planned for 2024: Fraserburgh, Turnberry, Isle of Harris, Benbecula, Askernish, Traigh, St Medan, Hankley Common, Ashridge, Gog Magog Old & Cruden Bay St Olaf

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