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HJ Whigham

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Dan Moore:
H.J. Whigham, a Scot, grew up playing at Prestwick where his father DD Whigham was a member. DD was a contemporary of Macdonald’s at St Andrews.


There is a new deeply researched Exmoor history book available. I rely on the older one.


The current routing of the course (as later revised by Dick Nugent) was put in place in 1909 by Stewart Gardner their professional. That wiped out earlier versions that involved CBM and Tweedie.

Bret Lawrence:
Here is a link to H.J. Whigham’s 1897 book: “How to Play Golf”
(For anyone interested)

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn5qc2&seq=1


An article discussing the hopes that Macdonald and Whigham would visit Town & Country in 1897 to offer suggestions for their golf course. Foulis is also mentioned::




H.J. Whigham was the Chairman of the Greens committee at NGLA in 1927 and likely held that position at many of the courses he was involved with.  He was one of three members (Macdonald being the chairman) on the Piping Rock Golf Construction committee in 1922.  Whigham was also listed as an honorary member at Garden City Golf Club in 1920.


The Garden City Golf Club, Club Book for 1920:



This Piping Rock listing for Macdonald may come as a surprise to some readers who have been disillusioned by previous writings.  Macdonald was still on board at Piping Rock in 1922 and very much in control with what was happening to the golf course.  Macdonald was one of two honorary members and the Chairman of the Golf Construction committee.  After Piping Rock, he designed several  courses for members of Piping Rock including Ocean Links, The Creek, Brookville, and others. The myth that Macdonald didn’t get along with Piping Rock doesn’t seem to be factual.  In fact, when Macdonald or Raynor would bring superintendents or architects to see what a first-class course was supposed to look like, Piping Rock was always one of the stops on the tour.  Whigham and Macdonald are both listed on page 5, Macdonald’s honorary membership is listed on Page 33.


https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044098896665&seq=38


To follow up on the Macdonald quote from his book, it’s important to read his quote to the end.:


“In 1911, Roger Winthrop, Frank Crocker, Clarence Mackay and other Locust Valley friends wished me to build the Piping Rock Golf Club course.  I found they wanted a hunt club as well as a golf-club.  Some of the leading promoters thought golf ephemeral and hunting eternal.  Consequently, I had my troubles.  The first nine holes were sacrificed to a race-track and polo fields.  However, all’s well that ends well, for to-day golf is King and Queen in Locust Valley.”  I employed Raynor on this job. It would have been difficult to accomplish it without him.  There was too much work and too much interference.”


All’s well that ends well is the line that sticks out to me.  In the end Macdonald was satisfied that golf won the day at Piping Rock and Clarence Mackay (one of the Piping Rock founders) had asked him to build the Creek on his property.  Golf was King because of those two courses and the Queen of Locust Valley was Women’s National.

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