Chandler Egan - looking for an expert.

[Gib_Papazian]

Gentlemen,

The phone rang this afternoon, and on the other end was a good friend in the middle of researching the history of one of our local tracks, here in the heart of Nutville, USA.

The subject was Chandler Egan and whatever I knew about this quasi-mysterious man. I saw some of his drawings while consulting a few years ago for a club that has lost track of their pedigree.

They had been formalized by Doug Nickels (Cal Club) and looked astonishingly good. Sorry to report the plans still sit unused in a cabinet . . . . they spent the money on clubhouse renovations.

Don't know what they have over there in the Oakland Hills. Pretty rare opportunity to raise a Golden Age designer from the dead and bring his creation to life.  

So, I pointed my friend in the direction of another historian I thought might shed some light, but also suggested we might query the Treehouse Panel of Savants for anyone who fancies themselves expert on Egan and his architectural style.

If anyone has some photos of his wonderful work at Pebble Beach, please post. If not, any historical data or input would help a great deal.

Egan worked with Hunter and that chap who gets credit for Raynor's routing at Cypress Point     - but it is difficult to pin down a particular style in trying to ascertain what was Egan, what was Hunter and what was designed by that guy who got famous because C.B. let him design the last hole at Lido  

Any thoughts? My friend does not want to be identified, so please don't call him out. (That means Tommy N. and Huckster, too) The membership he is working for is . . . . .uh . . . .a trifle sensitive.

[Gib_Papazian]

C'mon guys, there has to be somebody who knows a lot about Egan. . . . . . . . jeeez, you're making me look bad.

[Bill_McBride]

Gib, didn't he design Eugene CC?  (No cheating here, I didn't even look it up).  He couldn't be too good, Robert Trent Jones turned the course around 180 degrees!  All the tees became greens and vice versa.

[scott anderson]

No expert bu I think Egan designed Tualatin C.C. in Oregon as well...

[T_MacWood]

Gib
I don't know a lot about Egan, but based upon what I've seen of his work pre- and post-Pebble Beach, that course was aetypical for Egan stylistically...for that reason I suspect MacKenzie and Hunter were largely responsible.

From what I've seen bunkering was not his strength, it appears most of his courses are sparsely bunkered. He worked on a number of hilly sites, perhaps he put more emphasis in using the contours of the ground. Most of his courses are described as having tricky rolling greens.

[Michael Dugger]

I know Egan spent a good deal of time near Medford, Oregon.  Enough time, apparently, to be considered from the beaver state.  His designs include Tualatin, as someone mentioned already, Eastmoreland, Medford CC (I think), Lake Oswego CC, of course the Pebble remodel and Indian Canyon, I think it is called, near Spokane, Washington.

Egan was a very good player for his day, winning tournaments and what not, but I know that doesn't really speak for his architectural style.  So, I won't try and answer Gib's question.

I know that Tommy praises the Egan Tualatin CC, mentioning to me once that he thinks it has deteriorated a great deal over the years.  I have played a lot of golf in Portland but never got inside the gates at Tualatin.  If it is not the original Egan, though, who cares, right??  I wish someone had pictures.

I have played a lot of rounds at Eastmoreland.  If that course is any indication of his work, or an accurate assessment of his "style," I would say he was good at using the land by not forcing the golf holes upon the landscape.

Beyond that, his stuff is ok.

 

 

[A_Clay_Man]

I thought Eastmoreland was better than what's on the surface(now). It included both subtle and blatant use of natural terrain, and features. Which were cleverly mixed, in a flow that was wonderfully refreshing, to a guy who has seen too much modern crap.

[Sean_Tully]

Gib,

Since you have not found an expert as of yet, I can only offer what I have come across through my research at the Meadow Club.  I went through all of the Fairway Magazines and came across some info on Egan.  It was regarding some of his courses and his work at Pebble with Hunter and Lapham.  I was looking for other things but I have most of the notable info indexed on my computer.

I recall some pictures of him and some details of the reworking of Pebble hole by hole(with diagrams). Also a picture of the three talking about the proposed changes.

If you are interested, or your friend, I would be more than willing to help.

Also- I don't know how special(as in "one of a kind") it is but I know of a blueprint of the redan hole that appears to be very old and might be just what you are looking for on your thread about the redan at North Berwick.
 
Tully

[Gib_Papazian]

Sean,

If you will just shoot me your e-mail, I will forward it to my friend. I'm sure he would be appreciative of anything you might have.

It never occurred to me that Egan may have had a hand in Meadow.

Duh! I must be slipping a bit between the ears.

[Mike Erdmann]

Gib, you might contact Rogue Valley Country Club in Medford, OR.  Egan designed the course, and I believe then made it his home in his later years.  The club has a very short webpage on Egan which really has no useful information on it, but it does seem to display what looks like a book cover with Egan's photo on it with the title "They Sleep Beside the Highway".  I haven't been able to find any information on that at all, but you might pursue it.

[BCrosby]

Egan grew up in Chicago in a wealthy family. Went to Harvard ('05?), won the NCAA's, won the US Am (twice, I think), came in second in the only Olympics where golf was played, was on numerous Walker Cup teams.

A mentor and close friend of Jones. A rough contemporary of Quimet and a good friend. Was at one time the oldest person ever to play on the Walker Cup team ('32?).

After college he moved to Oregon and ran an apple orchard business. Dropped out of the golf world almost totally for about 15 years. Got divorced. Got involved in golf again about 1925 by reentering some national amateur events. Met MacK and the whole Monterey crowd. Redid Pebble in '28 for the '29 US AM. (See pictures in the Hoteling book on Pebble for what his stuff looked like. There is some debate about how much of the work was really done by MacK. Others will know more.)  Hung out with Jones when he came out to California to play in the US AM in '29. Sounds like he was a very quiet, retiring sort who was respected enormously by his contemporaries.

Jones invited him to play in the first Masters in '34. My guess is that the trip would have been too expensive, so Jones arranged a little architectural commission at Chastain Park in Atlanta (a WPA project) to make the trip worth his while. Egan came, designed the course, played in the Masters and returned home.

He contracted pneumonia in the winter of '35 and died suddenly. Jones was shocked at his sudden death and made the train trip to Oregon to attend his funeral.

If Chastain is indicative of his style, I would summarize it as low key, relatively few bunkers, but - and this is the important part - with a genius for routing. Chastain's was/is wonderful. His ninth hole at Chastain, a par 4 with a creek that traverses the fairwy, a green perched on on high ridge, one greenside bunker, is the best par 4 in Atlanta. Let me say that again. It is the best par 4 in Atlanta. Strategic, interesting, challenging, fun hole. There are other holes on the course almost as good. (And then there is a flood plane that he unfotunately had to deal with on other holes.)

I know nothing about his courses in the NW, though I understand they are a mixed bag. But a very interesting character.


Bob

[W.H. Cosgrove]

Interesting story concerning Egan.  Chandler Egan also designed courses in the Seattle Tacoma area.  His death of pneumonia in 1935 may not be accurate.  

West Seattle Golf Course opened in 1940 and Egan is credited with the design.  West Seattle held the US Pub Links in 1952.  Since that date the course has been degraded by a a parks department looking for reduced maintenance and faster speed of play.  Only one bunker remains on the front side (9th hole) and only very few on the back side (four, I think).  This winter Seattle Golf will return 20 bunkers to West Seattle.  Architect John Steidel has been hired to oversee the work.  Thwe gola is to return West Seattle to its 1952 Pub Links configuration.

Egan also designed Indian Canyon in Spokane.  Both West Seattle ans Indian Canyon show the earmarks of depression era WPA projects.  Local Stone was used in the construction of buildings etc.  Indian Canyon in particular is a course in need of restoration.  Although somewhat short by todays standards it has some wonderfual features.  West Seattle and Indian Canyon were built on sometimes very steep hillsides.

http://www.seattlegolf.com/west_course.asp
http://www.spokaneparks.org/golf/ic/

[Sean Leary]

Mr. Cosgrove,

How were the conditions for the Mid-am Qualifier yesterday at West Seattle? A good friend of mine was the medalist, but I haven't talked to him yet.

[BCrosby]

I stand corrected. Egan died in 1936, not 1935.

See below for a nice summary of his life:

http://www.thepnga.org/AwardsAndHonors/halloffame_people/hall1985_3.asp