Mr. Brooks

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

At this very moment there is research taking place in regards to the Hay Harbor Club on Fishers Island, part of which is a 9-hole golf course. Information has been uncovered that in 1914 or so, a certain "Mr. Brooks" was the pro and reconfigured the layout. A newspaper article reads, "Mr. Brooks comes well recommended,having taken charge in Scotland, his native land, of a much larger course."
Any idea who this might be? Mr. Brooks is never given a first name.


Anthony

[TEPaul]

Anthony:

One thing I've never quite figured out is whether the Hay Harbor golf course and club preceded the development of the Fishers Island Club but it certainly must have if you're mentioning 1914.

As far as I've known Fishers Island pretty much in toto was owned by one family preceding the development of the Fishers Island club. If that's true they must have been the ones who created the Hay Harbor club, right?

As to their name, I've got the book downstairs and I'll check it.

[TEPaul]

Anthony:

Have you ever read a book from 1895 by one James P. Lee entitled "Golf in America" (A Practical Manual)?

This thing is really good stuff because he writes about golf and pros and such over here at a time when things were at the very beginning for golf in America. His facts I find just spot on as he seems to have been most everywhere he writes about. Unfortunately, I've never heard of James P. Lee before so I have no idea who he was or even where he was from. He sure seemed to have a lot of good connections though.

One of the points he makes about those very early immigrant pros like Dunn, Davis, Campbell et al who seemed to be on the move and at so many clubs for one thing or another is that one of their primary functions was to come and play and put on exhibitions just so a whole number of people who were getting interested in golf could see how the game was supposed to be played.

The other point he made is just how fast golf went from just about nothing over here in the early 1890s to really popping in just a few years. If one thinks about it they had to bring those Scottish immigrant pros over because there was no Americans in the professional ranks at that time. How could there have been---eg golf was far too young here.

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Tom:

Hay Harbor existed well before Fishers Island Club. Pierce Rafferty, the Director of the Henry L. Ferguson Library on Fishers, is the one researching the club and the golf course.

Anthony

[TEPaul]

Anthony:

In the "Chronology" of the Fishers Island book it says the Fergusons bought 9/10th of the island in 1889 and sold 215 acres to the government in 1898 for what became Fort Wright. Hay Harbor club was established in 1907 so I suppose that means the club or the land it's on belonged to the Fergusons, right?

[Rich Goodale]

Anthony

In the one book I have which lists the most prominent of the golfing emigrants from Carnoustie in the early part of the last century and before, there is no mention of any Brooks.  Given that Carnoustie probably provided the plurality if not the majority of immigrant golfers to the USA during that period, and the fact that "Brooks" is not a particularly Scottish name, I wonder about your attribution.  I can check out another more detailed Carnoustie source, if you wish.

Cheers

Rich

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Rich:

I appreciate the effort. The attribution is the New London Day newspaper.

Anthony

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

It appears Charles Brooks designed the original 9 at New London (Conn.) Country Club and had something to do with Old Lyme (Conn.) Country Club; he was possibly the pro there.

Anthony

[Joel_Stewart]

I really regret not playing here when I visited Fishers a few years ago but it actually motivates me to go back.

Whats the story on the 2nd hole which they promote as the hardest hole on Fishers Island?

[TEPaul]

Isn't the Hay Harbor course where they traditionally sent the kids?

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Joel:

It's a beauty. Straight uphill par-4 with the ocean on the right and the wind either coming from there or against you. Just before the green is a natural little gorge to trap the underplayed shot. Steep hill on the left makes for interesting recoveries for balls that get caught up in the steep slope. Just an absolute brutal hole, but fun.

Anthony

[M. Shea Sweeney]

Isn't the Hay Harbor course where they traditionally sent the kids?

TEPaul-

You have mentioned this before.

I was talking to a member who has been around the place since she was a kid, (shes now around 70) and I was asking her if she knew anything about the golf course. She knew very little besides some information about the Hay Harbor Club itself.

I remembered you mentioning that the parents would send the kids to Hay Harbor, while the adults would go play the big club. She said this wasn't true.

For what its worth.

-Mike

[TEPaul]

Mike:

I heard that from a couple of different members who are generational on Fisher's Island. On the other hand, I thought Hay Harbor was sort of a kid's course but apparently it isn't. I was thinking it was sort of like the additional nine at Maidstone which is somewhat considered a kid's and women's course. I guess one could also include in that model the additional holes of Shinnecock.

Man is there some good music on the radio early this morning------"Boogie, oogie, oogie, 'til you can't boogie no more."

[M. Shea Sweeney]

Mike:

I heard that from a couple of different members who are generational on Fisher's Island. On the other hand, I thought Hay Harbor was sort of a kid's course but apparently it isn't. I was thinking it was sort of like the additional nine at Maidstone which is somewhat considered a kid's and women's course. I guess one could also include in that model the additional holes of Shinnecock.

Man is there some good music on the radio early this morning------"Boogie, oogie, oogie, 'til you can't boogie no more."

Hay Harbor is a completely different membership with a Pro, etc. It may be true you have to be a member there for sometime before getting into the "big club". I don't know how true that is. The place is really cool, I'm sure Mr. Pioppi could tell us whats happening over there.

Talking about that model; I thought Quogue Field Club was where some children, women or members who just can't make it up the hill at shinny anymore hang out..

-Mike

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Pierce Rafferty, who is in charge of the Henry L. Ferguson Museum on Fishers Island has finally confirmed that Charlie Brooks, the then longtime pro at nearby New London Country Club, was the man responsible for redesigning the Dave Strath incarnation of Hay Harbor. The article in The Day, based in New London, also confirms that Brooks is responsible for the Old Lyme Country Club layout.

Here is a link to the article.

 
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=paAtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bXEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1361,6626137&dq=golf+fishers-island&hl=en

Anthony

[TEPaul]

Anthony:

I was speaking to Pierce Rafferty about an hour ago about this and about Charles Brooks as well as that explanatory article in the 1939 New London newspaper.

Charles Brooks was from a town in Scotland named Jedburgh and it appears he was born around 1876-77. Apparently he became a golf professional at 13 under the apprenticeship of George Lowe of Lytham and St. Anne's in Lancashire England. The article seems to suggest low apprenticed him into golf design in some form.

Perhaps some of our good researchers abroad like Niall Carlton, Tony Muldoon, Rich Goodale, Melvyn Morrow could tell us more about Brooks's time in Scotland before coming here. As the article says, Brooks mentioned he was involved in a number of designs over there before emigrating to America.

[Phil_the_Author]

Anthony,

In 1925, a young Scottish professional named Roland Oswald came to America after serving as a member of the First Team of Carnoustie Golfer's as an 18 year-old the year before, and was given a job as clubmaker and professional at the Fisher's Island Golf Club. His is an amazing story including his enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1940 despite not being an American citizen. In 1942 the PGA of America gave him entry into the PGA championship (only major held that year) because of his playing ability and to honor his military commitment. Even though this was his lifelong dream to play in the PGA championship, he wrote to them and declined the opportunity. He said, "Uncle Sam has ordered me to be at Camp Livingstone… [Louisiana] where, with a few other Sergeants, we will form a new company.” He did this in part because he had been "promoted to Technical Sergeant last Friday... I cannot say that I’ll enjoy my new location as I was out there last summer during maneuvers, but will have to make the best of it.”

Despite almost getting killed in a freak accident after WWII ended (he served in the tank repair unit with Patton's army suring the Battle of the Bulge without a scratch) causing him to almost loose an arm & a leg, he would end up back at Fisher's Island as a pro and would later on serve as head pro at Hay Harbor.

I believe that his family may have information that can help you as both Brooks and White aided him in landing the Fisher's Island job. I have the contact information in my files for his son who contacted me after I wrote an article about his father several years ago.

[TEPaul]

"Pierce Rafferty, who is in charge of the Henry L. Ferguson Museum on Fishers Island has finally confirmed that Charlie Brooks, the then longtime pro at nearby New London Country Club, was the man responsible for redesigning the Dave Strath incarnation of Hay Harbor."


Anthony:

I don't believe it was Davie Strath (of Eden Hole bunker-name fame) who did the first incarnation of Hay Harbor. I think Pierce Rafferty said his name was George Strath (maybe Davie Strath's brother?). Also the first incarnation of Hay Harbor was apparently 1897 and Strath redid or improved the course in 1901. But maybe I'm wrong about that. I can't remember when he said Charles Brooks first got to Hay Harbor.

By the way, how do you make that 1939 article you just linked large enough to read?