The Jon Cavaliers and Ron Montesanos of this site owe a debt of gratitude to JB for legitimizing the stalking now known as golf course photography. I can't wait to spend time in the archives.
All told (research + gold standard photo tours) Mr B has been amongst the very most valuable contributors to this site for a very long time. I'm so pleased that his name is now enshrined along with his legacy. One of the good ones, for sure, is Joe B
Peter
All told (research + gold standard photo tours) Mr B has been amongst the very most valuable contributors to this site for a very long time. I'm so pleased that his name is now enshrined along with his legacy. One of the good ones, for sure, is Joe B
Peter
All told (research + gold standard photo tours) Mr B has been amongst the very most valuable contributors to this site for a very long time. I'm so pleased that his name is now enshrined along with his legacy. One of the good ones, for sure, is Joe B
Peter
Next juicy addition to the Bausch Archives are the writings of Ted Hoyt of the Evening Public Ledger from 1925-30. Those with interest in Delaware Valley golf history will find these hard to break away from!Brian Chapin has been chewing his way through Hoyt
http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/archives/TedHoytEPL/index.html (http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/archives/TedHoytEPL/index.html)
#53
Hugh Wilson laid out Seaview, Donald Ross trapped it.
Is this correct ?
#53Neil,
Hugh Wilson laid out Seaview, Donald Ross trapped it.
Is this correct ?
#53Neil,
Hugh Wilson laid out Seaview, Donald Ross trapped it.
Is this correct ?
I'm disappointed that you haven't read my Hugh Wilson IMO articles. :'( ;)
...
#43Hi Neil,
The purchase of Cobb’s Creek, to be laid out by Wilson, Smith, and Klauder.
Mike,
My question was my method of using the GCA search function.
Seems better to me. 🙂
#37
And I did not remember that Travis had worked with Ross at Pinehurst.
How much work did he do there ?
#71Bonus points awarded for identifying the green at Merion the left-handed player is putting on towards the wicker basket. ;D
1915
Photo of the new “globe standard” at Merion, aka the wicker basket.
#28
Hugh Wilson, “who is responsible for the two most excellent courses at Merion”, designed 2 new holes at Philmont in 1914.
I suppose this is not news ?
—
#37
And I did not remember that Travis had worked with Ross at Pinehurst.
How much work did he do there ?
I suppose you could argue that whatever Travis did at Pinehurst was so bad it took Ross 40 years to fix it.You could, but you'd be mistaken. ;)
You'd be mistaken to argue that No. 2 as it exists today is in any way a Travis course.
Mike:
As long as we're translating influence into design credit, you probably should be giving Madonald a bit more credit for Merion.
;)
Sven
I found it interesting that the article on Tredyffrin CC from 10/01/17 noted that Alex Findlay is also designed Plymouth CC. I’d never heard this before.
BTW I hear good things about the work being done by Ron Prichard and Tyler Rae over there at Plymouth or 1912 as it’s been renamed.
JB,when do you have time to chemistry? ;D
One thing that appeals to me often in these old newspapers is the vibrant enthusiasm for the game of golf.
It was still a young game in America, and much more of an adventure than nowadays.
And being pre-internet, stories of courses and shots became legends and myths.
Nowadays when you hear of a great hole or shot, you check it out on the web.
Right away, the charm is gone because there is no waiting, no embellishing, no heightened imaginings.
Joe posted a few months ago a link to articles called Golf Holes They Talk About.
Great holes have always been a seminal to golf’s appeal.
But nowadays it seems we have heard already of every great hole, and seen every architectural notion somewhere.
I think we live in a time when golf courses have never been better,
yet it’s rare that they capture the thrill of the early days.
Below is a link to one of Joe’s finds,
an article about Oakmont and its #12, 621 yards, a “plague” to golfers in this “Hades” of golf.
A few tales of Jones and Armour, Fownes and Herron, Melhorn and Cooper.
It was still an era when you might ask how a golfer traversed “that long harassing route”,
and hear about each shot as an episode in an adventure
where golfers “epidemically died in droves.”
Nowadays, of course, the answer would more likely be a dronish monotone “Driver, 3 wood, wedge.”
Fun golf, perhaps, but not the same.
So, a few questions:
1. Are those thrilling days gone forever ?
2. How long would must a hole be to match this 621-yard test from 100 years ago ?
3. Does anybody know the history of the hole, when it was first hit in 2 shots, how often does that happen now ?
http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/archives/GolfHolesTheyTalkAbout/pages/page_8.html? (http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/archives/GolfHolesTheyTalkAbout/pages/page_8.html?)
Hopefully others are silently enjoying these articles.
Thanks for sharing, Joe...
I can't even imagine how twisted and misinterpreted the history of Philadelphia region (and other regions) golf course architecture would be without your incredible efforts to unearth contemporaneous accounts from all of these sources.
Dear Joe,
Did anything noteworthy happen in Philadelphia golf in 1912?
Signed,
Curious
Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn I will pay proper homage to Mr. Joe Coble, the true Rocky story in Philadelphia, by playing Community Golf Course in Dayton, OH where Coble won the 1924 US Public Links.
My goodness, Joe -- thank you, sir, for all your work and your generosity is sharing this. And hurrah to William Everett Hicks -- what a knowledgeable and clear/good writer he was. I started to copy out some of my favorite (and most 'relevant to today') paragraphs, but there were too too many. Talk about getting lost for a few days: start reading WEH and you can hardly stop.
Thanks again
Best
Peter
The latest addition to the Bausch Archives comes from the 1932 Brooklyn Times Union newspaper where over 50 Long Island country clubs are reviewed.
I wish there was more focus on the golf courses, but they are still excellent reads and come with photos:
http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/archives/1932BrooklynTimesGlimpses/index.html (http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/archives/1932BrooklynTimesGlimpses/index.html)
And who were the "Macdonald and James Bray" guys who gave it their blessing?
Joe,
Thanks for posting the AZ articles. Before I moved here full time in 2012, I was a frequent winter visitor starting in 1985 for vacations and business. These articles remind me of some experiences from those times. I remember playing Troon North when the pro shop was a trailer. I remember Desert Mountain Renegrade when it was the only course there. I remember the early days of TPC Scottsdale and my first experience at Desert Forest. . I learned about winter overseeding. After seeing the golf rates at Encanto, I should have played there more. In my golf library I have Bill Huffman's book- Arizona's Greatest Courses, Bradley Klein's History of Desert Forest and Joan Fedula's Golf in Scottsdale. You need to visit and give your own reviews with pictures!
In what started by my interest in the early history of Cobb's Creek golf course resulted in having thousands of early golf articles of mostly Philly area golf courses. Many of these were gathered the old-fashioned way: from microfilm.
Many are familiar with the Bausch Collection of golf course photos at MyPhillyGolf, and just yesterday a new addition was added to the site known as the Bausch Archives. It is here where I'm slowly but surely putting up my research findings from the last 12 years.
Don't blame me if you spend way too many hours reading these articles. ;)
The link:
http://www.myphillygolf.com/archives.asp (http://www.myphillygolf.com/archives.asp)