[Joe Bausch]

Perhaps much of this is available in that Park book, but I find this article from the July 14, 1895 edition of the NY Sun to be quite informative:

[Joe Bausch]

Ya gotta love some of the hazards present on the Knollwood Country Club course that it appears Willie Park laid out.  This from the February 2, 1896 edition of The Sun:

[Adam Lawrence]

Mungo's piece appeared in our magazine about eighteen months ago. It can be read on our Web site at http://www.golfcoursearchitecture.net/Root/Homeactualpage/Articlesactualpage/Article/tabid/70/ItemId/1444/Default.aspx

Adam

[Joe Bausch]

Adam:  thanks for that link.

MikeC has asked me to post this article on Ocean City Golf Club (now Greate Bay) from August 6 1926 (Ocean City Sentinel Ledger) where Park and Robinson are mentioned.

[BCrosby]

Joe - A remarkable sketch. Park certainly seemed to like stone walls, roads and cop bunkers. And a few creeks here and there. Wow.

Bob

[Tony_Muldoon]

Steve

Check out the book WILLIE PARK JUNIOR THE MAN WHO TOOK GOLF TO THE WORLD  the following link will give you a little detail    http://www.pickabook.com/bookdetails.aspx?ISBN=1905222211&source=aw&awid=65970.

Gents save your money, of all the books I’ve waited for that has to be the bottom 3 for biggest disappointment. The author loves to talk about himself "a humble baker", recycles half truths and offers no new historical research. It is incredibly frustrating when books like this come out killing the market for what is potentially an amazing story.

[Tom MacWood]

Mike
You're right it was 1923. I dug this up in the British magazine Golf Monthly from 1923.

[Tom MacWood]

Gents save your money, of all the books I’ve waited for that has to be the bottom 3 for biggest disappointment. The author loves to talk about himself "a humble baker", recycles half truths and offers no new historical research. It is incredibly frustrating when books like this come out killing the market for what is potentially an amazing story.

I agree completely - its not good. However another book - The Parks' of Musselburgh - is very good.

[TEPaul]

Adam Lawrence:

Thank you for that link to Mungo Park's piece in your magazine in 2008. Actually it is somewhat similar but does not seem to be the  same version as the one Kyle sent me that he got from Mungo Park. There is different information in both.

If Mungo Park is correct, Willie Park left America in the fall of 1923 having gotten fairly ill and he never returned.

[Mike Cirba]

Tom MacWood,

Thanks for that additional information.  

A larger piece from months prior to the one I posted (well, that Joe posted for me) calls Wilie Robinson the architect, so I wanted to see what proof there was of Park's involvement, which I guess we've collectively cinched.


EDIT*** Here's the October 1925 piece;

[Joe Bausch]

Here is a nice summary of the genesis of the Ocean City Golf Club (now called Greate Bay).  This from the September 2, 1927 edition of the Ocean City News.

[archie_struthers]

 

Some neat stuff from Mssrs. Bausch and Cirba on my home course , Greate Bay .  

Just to clarify for those who might be a little confused  for years Greate Bay was called the Ocean City- Somers Point Golf Course It may be the last work of Willie Park to open for play , as he died in 1925.  The course opened in 1923 , was operated as a semi private course owned by some of the early Ocean City land barons, notably the Lake family. It traversed some marshlands and yet had some stately oaks and plenty of pine trees , which are still in evidence today.  

The course retains a great deal of the Park flavor , with lots of false fronts , a fabulous punchbowl on what is now the 5th hole , and small, wicked greens, . Alas the two toughest greens to hit and putt were lost over the years , with one still evident at the back of the practice range that exists today. Balls regularly were putted off the front of this beauty which has a severe back to front cant.

Gene Gatti a local businessman bought the club in the late 70's and renamed it Greate Bay ....he built some condo residences in the southeast corner, necessitating some changes to the routing and the loss of what was then the second hole. A new clubhouse was built where it presently exists at this time.  Gatti did a fine job of renovating the facility , which had fallen into disrepair over the years.

Gatti went on to build the what became the Sands Hotel and casino in Atlantic City , along with local businessmen Art Kania, Joe DiOrio and Nick Collova. When the Pratt Corporation bought out the locals , they took the golf course and renamed it the Sands Resort and Country Club. In an interesting twist of fate Gatti bought it back from them in the early eighties and renamed it Greate Bay and operated it until he sold it in 1998.  The new owners restored some of the old holes, notably number two , to reflect more closely the work of Park Jr..

Forgive me if I digress , my point being the golf course was always located in Somers Point,  as Ocean CIty has only a small 12 hole muni built in the late 50's or early 60's. The old name often has caused confusion and given thought to Ocean City - Somers Point being a "lost links"  it is not.

[Mike Cirba]

Archie,

The only note I'd make is that it seems the course opened in fall of 1927, not 1923, and that pro William Robinson, who supervised construction, seems to have done some unspecified alterations to Park's original plans, but I agree that the course is a throwback and a treat! 

Also, the same source provided info that the par three course was designed by Horace Smith, who did a number of courses in the 50s and 60s, primarlly in SJ, and opened in 1968.

Still looking to see if he designed the first nine holes at Beer World (Ponderlodge), as well as trying to dig up who designed the Apex Golf Club (Pomona) that opened in 1947.

[Joe Bausch]

The formal opening of the club (and the clubhouse finished) was in the fall of 1927.  The course was certainly open up for that spring.

I have a few other articles from a few years early that I'll try to post later.

[Joe Bausch]

May 17, 1923 Ocean City Sentinel:



Sept 23, 1923 Ocean City Sentinel:



Oct 6, 1923 Ocean City Ledger:



Nov 29, 1923 Ocean City Sentinel:

[Mike Cirba]

Joe,

Do we know yet why the club didn't open that following year, but instead three years later?

Moolah??

[Joe Bausch]

Joe,

Do we know yet why the club didn't open that following year, but instead three years later?

Moolah??

Yep. $$$, it seems.

[Joe Bausch]

It seems this Ocean City course in 1916 never got built.  I'm assuming WW1 could have been a factor.

[Mike Cirba]

Joe,

Is this the one that was talked about in that 1915 article you sent me where it seems perhaps our Mr. Robinson was involved in the design?

[TEPaul]

I note the name W.H. Follett prominently mentioned in one or two articles above in connection with the Ocean City GC at Somers Point. One article calls him an associate of Willie Park.

Follett does rate a listing and brief bio in C&W's "Architects of Golf" that says;

"A genial Englishman, graduate of Oxford and resident of Staten Island. Wilfred "Pipe" Follett was editor of Golf Illustrated in the early 1920s, succeeding Max H. Behr, who went on to design many courses in California, and preceded golf architect A.W. Tillinghast, who later worked as its editor during the Depression. Follett wrote extensively about course architecture in the magazine and dabbled with it, too, though he was not nearly as prolific as either of the two editors-cum-architects."

[Mike Cirba]

I note the name W.H. Follett prominently mentioned in one or two articles above in connection with the Ocean City GC at Somers Point. One article calls him an associate of Willie Park.

Follett does rate a listing and brief bio in C&W's "Architects of Golf" that says;

"A genial Englishman, graduate of Oxford and resident of Staten Island. Wilfred "Pipe" Follett was editor of Golf Illustrated in the early 1920s, succeeding Max H. Behr, who went on to design many courses in California, and preceded golf architect A.W. Tillinghast, who later worked as its editor during the Depression. Follett wrote extensively about course architecture in the magazine and dabbled with it, too, though he was not nearly as prolific as either of the two editors-cum-architects."

Tom,

It was rumored that Mr. Follett was somewhat of the Milton Berle of architects, and his nickname was derived from "laying out" more than golf courses.



It should probably be mentioned at this juncture that I'm not sure we've really helped Steve Curry with his initial question that seems perhaps more specific to the history of Shuttle Meadow.

[Steve Curry]

It should probably be mentioned at this juncture that I'm not sure we've really helped Steve Curry with his initial question that seems perhaps more specific to the history of Shuttle Meadow.

Mike,

I have enjoyed all of this.

Thanks,
Steve

[Mike Cirba]

Steve,

Good to hear,

I was starting to worry that we had veered off-track from your original intent.

[Steve Curry]

The routing plan at Shuttle Meadow was drawn by an engineer, local I believe, is this consistent with Park courses?  I believe I read in The Parks of Musselburgh that he did some sketching?  Any examples?

Thanks,
Steve

[Tom MacWood]

Steve
I believe you are correct about him drawing most of his plans himself. They look a lot like Ross, Travis and others from that era, being on the typical graph paper. Ashland CC, in Ohio, has a full set of his plans hanging on the wall of their grill room. I've attached Kyle Harris' photo of the Penn St. plan, and a hole plan for Castine.

Park must have thought very highly of Shuttlemeadow because he often listed it in a very prominent place in his advertisements.

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