I found this article from the October 7, 1999 Boston Globe written by Jim McCabe:
"They were gathered outside the entrance to The Country Club Sept. 24, not waiting to get into the Ryder Cup Matches, but preparing to pay tribute to one of the biggest winners of the event.
Willie Campbell.
Willie Campbell?
Yes, Willie Campbell, the first golf professional at The Country Club, that venerable piece of landscape in American golf. Campbell is given credit for the original design of this classic layout back in 1894 and while that alone is worth a significant spot in golf history, there is so much more to Campbell.
'An incredible man. A visionary, so ahead of his time,' said Brian DeLacey, who helped organize the tribute to Campbell. The timing was planned to coincide with the opening day of the Ryder Cup Matches and while DeLacey and Co. numbered a handful of spirited people, their purpose was no less passionate than the festivities going on inside the gates.
Perhaps because he was introduced to the game the old-fashioned way -- by carrying clubs -- DeLacey has the priceless gift of a caddie's eyes. He sees detail, understands the nuances of the game, and appreciates how the sport took its shape. All of which explains why, one day a few years ago, DeLacey found himself walking the golf course at Franklin Park (technically it is William J. Devine Golf Course) in Dorchester.
'Sitting right in the heart of a major city is this beautiful park space, a great golf course, and I wondered about how it got there, who put it there.'
The answer, discovered DeLacey, was Campbell. It tickled his interest and added fire to his wonderment. So the Jamaica Plain resident headed to libraries, pulled out reference books, and corresponded with golf historians.
Next thing he knew, he was off to Musselburgh, Scotland.
\ To golf historians, there are three important places when it comes to the birth of the game: St. Andrews, which needs no introduction; Prestwick, site of the first British Open; and Musselburgh.
There is documentation that golf was first played at Musselburgh in 1672, though historians speculate that Mary, Queen of Scots played there as far back as 1567. Musselburgh Golf Club dates back to 1774 and it is generally accepted that it is the oldest remaining golf course in the world.
It is also where Willie Campbell came from.
Born in 1862, Campbell broke into the game caddying for Bob Ferguson, British Open champ of 1880-82. Though he never won the world's oldest tournament, Campbell was a legendary golfer of his era, a fierce match play competitor, said DeLacey.
His research on Campbell and subsequent trip to Musselburgh fascinated DeLacey, so much so that he published a book, 'Battlefield of the Best: The Historic Golfing Glories of Musselburgh.' It was a labor of love. 'Certainly not done for financial reward,' said DeLacey, laughing.
Tracing Campbell back to Musselburgh brought DeLacey in touch with golf purists who treasured their special little town and its place in golf history. DeLacey was told that five British Open champions came from Musselburgh, including the legendary Willie Park Sr., who won the first event in 1860. There was also Willie Park Jr., Dave Brown, Mungo Park (Willie Sr.'s brother), and Ferguson.
Quite proud of this special note, those at the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club came up with an idea that would pay tribute to these giants of the game. And DeLacey, they agreed, would play a role.
DeLacey was invited to take part in A Celebration of Musselburgh Golfing Greats this past June and he was accompanied by Bob Lamprey of Center Harbor, N.H. Lamprey is Campbell's grandson, and proved invaluable to DeLacey's research.
The trip, said DeLacey, afforded Lamprey the opportunity to meet relatives, and provided incentive for DeLacey to do something locally to pay honor to the memory of Campbell. 'I think he's very important, a very special person to remember,' said DeLacey, who, in his book, helps trace Campbell's trip to America.
'He had studied under Old Tom Morris at Prestwick, but was offered the job at The Country Club.' Having decided to accept the job, said DeLacey, Campbell was offered a piece of advice in a letter from Thomas P. Ronaldson, who had helped secure his services.
'I have just received another letter from Boston impressing on me to see that you make no mention on your way across or on arrival that you have any engagement with anyone in America,' Ronaldson wrote to Campbell. 'I cannot too strongly impress this upon you and I feel sure you will take care.'
The concern, as DeLacey discovered in his research, was that another club would 'steal' Campbell from The Country Club during a time when golf clubs were becoming more prominent in America.
Members at The Country Club, among them Laurence Curtis, were impressed when, in 1894 upon his arrival in Brookline, Campbell accomplished two key goals: He extended the existing six holes to nine and he defeated the heralded professional at Newport CC, Will Davis.
Campbell's victory over Davis, Curtis would later write, 'was the first real golf any of us had ever seen.'
As golf professional and course designer, Campbell's spot in TCC history is reserved forever, though it was a brief tenure. DeLacey discovered that Campbell also served at Essex CC and had a hand in designing Myopia, too. But of the greatest intrigue to DeLacey was Campbell's move to what is now Franklin Park.
'Campbell was ahead of his time,' said DeLacey. "He believed that if golf were to become popular, city officials had to help encourage the game."
Holes had been in existence at Franklin Park for a few years before his arrival (there is documented history to the effect that golf was played Dec. 12, 1890) but until Campbell, in about 1896, the club had never had a golf professional. The sport was not being taught, not being handled with care, and on both fronts, said DeLacey, Campbell succeeded.
'He died, in 1900, at the age of 38, but deserves recognition,' said DeLacey, who noted that Campbell's wife, Georgina Stewart Campbell, succeeded her husband.
'She was the first lady golf professional in the United States.'
To honor Campbell, DeLacey and friends proceeded from the gates of The Country Club to Franklin Park. From there, they went to Forest Hills Cemetery, where Campbell is buried. Bagpipes were played, a few words were spoken, and the soul of the game, for one evening anyway, was alive."