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Sven Nilsen

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GCAofTD - #9 - Col. J. Hamilton Gillespie
« on: September 05, 2012, 01:11:19 PM »
Col. Gillespie, a Scot, was sent by his father's company to develop the town of Sarasota, Florida (the Colonel would later serve as the mayor of Sarasota).  In 1886 he laid out a rudimentary two hole course (the two holes shared the same fairway with the greens on either end).  As Gillespie gained converts to his game, his course would eventually expand to a nine holer. 

Gillespie's writing for some of the early golf magazines drew the attention of Henry Plant.  Plant hired Gillespie to build courses at each of his hotels, including the first such effort at the Tampa Bay hotel in 1898.  Plant used the game of golf as a means to promote his hotels to winter visitors, signaling the advent of the American golf resort.

Gillespie's American sojourn was interrupted by World War I, during which he trained the Scottish Volunteer Force in his native country.  After the war, the Colonel returned to Florida for a short period of time before succumbing to a heart attack while playing his Sarasota course.

Course List:

Sarasota (1886) (NLE) - expanded to 9 holes in 1905
Tampa Bay Hotel (1898)
Kissimmee (1898)
Port Tampa (unk)
Belleair (unk)
Naples (unk)




"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