does opa locka still exist??

[Tom Roewer]

first please be gentle as i'm a virgin    thanks   in his eclectic flynn18 wayne morrison includes OPA LOCKA #5  does this course still exist under another name or is it gone?   the closest i get is miami springs c.c.  and all it says for design is city personnel, however date is 1923 so that coincides with flynn being in the area.   please help.  

[Craig Disher]

Tom,
Opa Locka does not exist now, in any form. A good question is whether it existed at all. There's tantalizing evidence that it was built - but if so, it didn't last long. It would have been located on the site of the Opa Locka airport, just west of the town.

[Tom Roewer]

THANKS CRAIG  THE QUESTION NOW COULD ONLY BE FOR WAYNE MORRISON METHINKS SINCE HE PICKED THE HOLE FOR HIS ECLECTIC  LET ME KNOW WAYNE MORRISON WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS MYSTERY    THANKS

[Gordon Oneil]

Someone is pulling your leg.

[wsmorrison]

Craig unearthed a photograph of the area, pinpointed by some streets (Fisherman's Wharf or something, right Craig?)  There is evidence that it was started and reached some stage of completion.  The land bust and hurricane of 1926 squashed a lot of dreams and a lot of bank accounts.  There was a lot of European money in this project and also some shady practices.

I'll post a photo of a very interesting hole when I get back.  Craig, nice to see you're back.  I'll call you in a bit.

[Gordon Oneil]

The only courses in that part of Miami that I know of, whether they exist today or not, would  be Miami Shores just north of the airport and Westview, 4-5 miles north of the Shores.  I asked my dad who, although he has only lived here since 1953, was a newspaperman for years and has a pretty good handle of the history of South Florida.  He was not aware of any other course in the area built by Flynn, something he probably would have been aware of since he was a member of Indian Creek for 45 years.

[wsmorrison]

Gordon, what a terrific club Indian Creek is.

The Miami historical society didn't know anything about Opa Locka either.  Then again, they didn't know anything of Miami Beach Polo Club as well.  If your father is still around, could you ask him about that club?  We have newspaper articles that mention MBP but can't find out if it was built.  Likely the course was not completed.

However, the Opa Locka course did exist for a time.  There is a February 25, 1928 article in the NY Times that mentions a tournament there.  The development was the brainchild of Glenn Curtiss of aviation (and motorcycle) fame.  He built an airport, zoo, and golf course; part of a planned city which was popular in Florida at the time.  Flynn's daughter remembers going down there and seeing it.  I am certain it was built and around for a short time.  Likely it went into collapse in 1929.

[TEPaul]

Gordon:

If Opa Locha was completed and then went under or even if it was under construction and then went under, one thing is for sure, somebody was building a golf course there. We have some very good and elaborate Flynn drawings of Opa Locha and Flynn didn't do that stuff for nothing or no reason.

One of the holes on it, I guess the one Wayne's talking about is a mirror image of Macdonald's great "Channel" hole at Lido.

[Craig Disher]

Wayne,
Does the NYT article refer specifically to "Opa Locka GC?" I'm still not convinced that the course existed although Connie Langerman's comment ought to be evidence enough. Is it possible she could have confused OL with Indian Creek, Floranada, or another Flynn project in the area?

Around the holidays I called the Opa Locka city government and tried to find the person in charge of the archives hoping that there might exist an old plat, plans or photos of the airport/course area. I kept getting the run around and never found anyone who could help. A personal visit is probably needed.

[wsmorrison]

Craig,

Here's the first paragraph of the NYT article:

Miami, Fla., Feb 24

"The first half of a thirty-six hol match was contested today in the inaugural of the national open archery golf championship (Curtiss was an avid golf archer--archery contest staged around a golf course) tournament over the municipal golf course here.  The final eighteen holes will be played tomorrow at the Opa Locka Links."  Glenn Curtiss was one of the participants.  He was in second place after the first day.

The third paragraph describes the sport:

..."The players used bow and arrow instead of the regulation golf implements.  The rules of golf prevailed."  About 1/4 of the participants were from Opa Locka.

[wsmorrison]

Here is Flynn's drawing for the 6th hole at Opa Locka.  As Tom said earlier, it is a mirror image of the Channel Hole at Lido.



As a 471 yard par 5, it was more tempting to have a go for it than Macdonald's Lido hole which was 34 yards longer.  In Flynn's design, the better angle to the green (dictated by the greenside bunker) is from the island fairway.  The Lido green complex did not seem to dictate the angle of play as much.

It would seem by the indicated landing area past the 250-yard mark and on an angle, that the prevailing wind was with the player.  Note the mound (C) that would have hidden some of the green and landing area before the green unless the tee shot was long enough and left enough.

The Flynn hole today would be interesting as a par 4.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Speaking of archery, I just came up with this after doing a Google search for "opa locka golf flynn" :

From http://www.stickbow.com/FEATURES/HISTORY/Hill.CFM
     

 Howard Hill -Ol' One- shot!
by Cliff Huntington

    "I hesitate to use superlatives to describe this man's ability for fear I may sound trite, but how else does one describe an athlete who is phenomenal. In pro sports today the standouts are referred to as super stars. Howard Hill was a super SUPER star. He is one of the few men to become a genuine legend during his own lifetime." Bob Swinehart, a pretty fair country archer himself, made those statements in Sagittarius. Has Hill's popularity waned since his death in 1975? As a collector of archery books I keep pretty close to the market, always searching for that rare, elusive title and over the past year I've seen the demand for Hunting The Hard Way and Wild Adventure sky-rocket. It doesn't appear that Howard Hill shall be forgotten anytime soon.

    Was Howard Hill the super star Swinehart claimed? Is he, as many suggest, the greatest archer of this century and possibly of all time? These questions probably are best suited for late night campfire discussions, but certainly, it would be difficult to dispute that Howard Hill was the complete archer. He could do it all and like Elvis, we will never see the like again.

    Hill was a physical power-house, weighing better than 200 pounds and standing six feet two inches in height with huge forearms. Coupled with his strength and size was an athletic ability that enabled him to excel in most sports. He played football, basketball and baseball at Auburn University. He played semi-pro baseball for seven years. While living in Miami, Florida, Hill worked for the Hughes Tool Company during the week and as a golf pro for the Opa Locka Golf Course on weekends. Only one thing kept him from playing professional golf, he couldn't putt. We are all fortunate that when he read The Witchery Of Archery by Maurice Thompson, his life turned around and a life long dedication to the promotion of Archery became his guiding light.

[wsmorrison]

Now that is a piece of information I did not know.  Great job, Steve!

[TEPaul]

Steverino:

That Howard Hill sounds like some kind of archer. But calling him the best of all time is a got to be a stretch. I mean come on, do you really think he could've held his own with the likes of King Arthur or Robin Hood? You've seen the films of those guys---they were awesome. They didn't make movies about them for nutin' ya know.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Tom

Do you mean Errol Flynn as Robin Hood or the real one?

Steve

[Sean Leary]

TE Paul,

Funny post, but I was fully expecting that you would know the gentleman or one of his family members somehow.  So you actually don't know EVERYBODY...

[wsmorrison]

Craig Disher and I had a long talk about this.  His research (something to be admired) indicates that it is likely the course was never completed and in fact early 1940s aerials on parts of the course site not decimated by the airport show no signs of a golf course.  If so, I don't know what club that champion archer was the professional at.  Maybe he was the archery golf professional

The course had to be in some stage of development (after all, Connie Lagerman remembers seeing it and noted her father was there for several months) but never completed.

[Evan Fleisher]

Just as a quick aside...I grew up in Miami Lakes which is the town adjacent to Opa Locka on its West side.

I've seen many an air show on the grounds at that airport, but never knew of a course there.

Then again, I was only there from 1972 to about 1992...

[wsmorrison]

Missed it by 44 years, Evan.  Have you ever heard anything about a Miami Beach Polo Club?

[Evan Fleisher]

Being only 37 years old, my knowledge of the areas "older" courses is not very good.

And to answer your questiom, unfortunately no...I had not heard of the Miami Beach Polo Club.  Where was it supposed to be located?

[wsmorrison]

Between Dumfoundling Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and abutting Fulford Road.  Players representing the club played in tournaments around the country.  Nobody seems to have heard of it at the Dade County Historical Society.

[David Kelly]

Wayne,

What do you know of Flynn's involvement with Normandy Shores and what is still left there from the original course?  I used to play it when I lived in Miami Beach and from what I remember it wasn't much.
http://www.geocities.com/normandyshoresgc/coursemap.jpg

[wsmorrison]

Tom Paul and I toured the place.  It was supposed to be a private course part of a development project; sort of the not so poor man's Indian Creek.  Indian Creek is the not so rich but very rich man's Normandy Shores  

There have been some changes to the course, holes have been dropped and moved but it is fairly intact though poorly kept these days as an inexpensive daily fee course.  Lots of bunkers are now gone.  The greens aren't perched as high as those at Indian Creek but there are some similarities.  I'd say more than half the course is still there although very rough around the edges.  The bunkers are now shallow--likely piled up sand a few feet deep by now.

Friendly staff however.