The CB Mac Trail

[John Dunn]

I think Macdonald's overt use of features that demand certain strategies teaches us something about golf that might otherwise go unnoticed. That's the real fun of it... knowing what you are doing or at least trying to do something and knowing what will happen if you succeed. In a way its the same satisfaction that pros feel...plotting your way around the course. Course management in the truest sense as opposed to just hitting three wood off the tee so you don't miss the fairway.

For example, at the Road Hole at the Old Course, if the pin is back left tucked behind that Road bunker the best play is to hit it long left onto the back tee at eighteenth and leave yourself an uphill putt from off the green or easy bump and run, but that is so counterintuitive to most golfers who fixate on the pin and the surface of the green... they would never think to do that and more often than not by taking the direct route they end up in that awful bunker or over the short side of the green and onto the Road. And if you choose the shot to the left (only for that pin placement) and make par and your opponent slaps three into the sod wall in the bunker or has to carom it off the wall and hits himself in the foot, there is great satisfaction in outsmarting him.

That's one small part of it anyway. Then there is the romance of his designs.... the sheer audacity and variety of them. The very real sense of adventure. I try to capture that feeling in my Mid Ocean Chapter.

[Ben Voelker]

The Downer's Grove Park District Golf Course was originally the Chicago Golf Club when it was built in 1892 according to their website.

http://www.dgparks.org/Golf/course-information-rates.htm

So I understand the history, CBM built two courses for Chicago Golf Club, with the original being converted into a public course when the club moved?

Looking at the website, it would seem that you are correct; however, the website states that CBM built 18 holes on this site. Along with finding out how much of the original design elements still exist at Downers, it would be interesting to see what happened to the other 9 holes.

I read through this pretty quickly the first time through because I was supposed to be heading out the door and my better half was breathing down my neck!

Interesting that there were 18 holes there in 1895.  I did a bit of searching online and there are a number of references to Downers Grove being 18 holes and reduced to 9, but no detail seems to be given.  I sent an email to the manager of the Dowers Grove Parks to see if he can shed any light on it.

I do wonder if it would have primarily been in the Belmont Prairie Nature Preserve, which sits more-or-less adjacent to the current course on the west side and looks to be a similar acreage.

[George_Bahto]

John Dunn said:

 I'm caddying for the summer at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort - been around Old Macdonald caddying or playing probably about 20 times now.


you dog - you didn't tell me that

gb

[John Moore II]

George: Given your research, what are your thoughts on the originality of Downers Grove Park as it currently exists?

[George_Bahto]

John Moore:

From the Downers Grove Golf Course History:

The Chicago Golf Club in 1892 was established by a group of Chicago businessmen on the site of the current Downers Grove Golf Course. The founding father of the Chicago Golf Club was Charles Blair Macdonald who was, according to Golf Journal, "a true and imposing pioneer of golf in America." Macdonald has been credited with having great influence in establishing the United States Golf Association, the development of golf course architecture in America, and "defending the faith" as taught to him at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland.”

Early in 1892, Macdonald, motivated by England's Sir Henry Wood, Commissioner General to the Chicago World's Fair, persuaded thirty of his Chicago Club colleagues to contribute ten dollars each to design and construct a nine-hole golf course. The site that was chosen was a sixty-acre stock farm owned by A. Haddow Smith. A. H. Smith was a Lanarkshire golfer who had immigrated in 1890 to the United States from Musselburg, Scotland, where the game of golf was first played in 1774. When Smith heard of Macdonald's plan, he enthusiastically offered his land as the location for the new golf course.


my insertion here:
Charley first laid out a few holes on his friend Hobart Chatfield-Taynor’s father-in-law Sen. J B Farwell before estate before they went on to group together and form the nine-hole course on the sixty-acre A H Smith property - different location.

There were 7 holes “not one of which was over 250 yards long.” four of the holes were very short and the “course” on the early Farwell Estate course thru trees and flower beds.
(Macdonald): “.......... and this eventually bore fruit in the formation of the Onwentia Club.”

They group Macdonald formed then bought property in Belmont and built 9-holes, then added a second nine (I think it was a year later).

They outgrew that and bought the property in Wheaton where the club is now located.


Back to the Downers Grove history .........
"The golf course was completed and ready for play in the late spring of 1892. Thus America's first golf course west of the Allegheny mountain range had been established. When the inaugural season had ended, Macdonald convinced Chicago Golf Club members to add nine more holes to the course. Therefore, in 1893, the first eighteen-hole golf course in the United States was established on this site.

By 1895, Chicago Golf Club members had become so taken with the sport that they decided to build a new eighteen-hole golf course on two-hundred acres of land located near Wheaton, Illinois. The Chicago Golf Club is still in existence there today.
From 1895 to 1968, the site of the Downers Grove Golf Course was owned by several different individuals and was operated under the name of Belmont Country Club. In 1968, the course was purchased by the Downers Grove Park District and was renamed the Downers Grove Golf Course.

.........  gb:  this is one of my favorite quotes:

        "A club whizzed through the air - a sharp click - and Charles Blair Macdonald drove the little sphere of gutta percha far over the water of Lake Michigan in St. Andrews fashion. I looked at Macdonald in amazement, and then followed his eyes in the direction of the Lake. He may have seen the ball, but I would have to take his word for it. That drive, however, started the golf craze in the West."

            -From an article by Horace Chatfield-Taylor of Chicago in 1900.

[John Moore II]

George: Thanks for the the response. However, my question was not so much about whether or not Downers had a CBM pedigree as it was about how much of that original CBM course exists there today, from the routing to the bunkers, greens and the like.

[George_Bahto]

John - I have no idea but I doubt, after all these years, little if anything is left.

[John Moore II]

John - I have no idea but I doubt, after all these years, little if anything is left.

Not an ideal situation to be sure. Have you seen a routing map for the original Chicago Golf Club course/Downers?

[George_Bahto]

I think I have a stick routing

[Matthew Sander]

Hey all,

I don't have much if anything to add regarding the history of Downers Grove GC. However, Chris Flamion and I played the course a couple of weeks ago and I'm going to be posting a photo tour. As was pointed out in a earlier Downers Grove thread, H.J. Tweedie was a member during its post Chicago Golf Club days and did some work. The clubhouse actually has some cool old photos and member lists. I doubt there is much if any left of the CBM work or even Tweedie's contributions. The course has been through many iterations with varying memberships and stewards. It is currently a Downers Grove Park District property. In a brief interest story about the course (on the local NBC affiliate), the park district director claimed the 7th hole (running along the very top of JK Moore's google image) is an original. Not sure, but it is kind of a neat hole or at least an interesting approach shot.

[John Moore II]

I think I have a stick routing

If so, is there any chance you would be willing to post that on here?

[Tim_Cronin]

Downers Grove Golf Course is on some of the land the original Chicago Golf Club is on. When CGC moved to Wheaton in 1895, the course was shuttered and was returned to farmland. When H.J. Tweedie restarted on the site as Illinois Golf Club, he couldn't get all the original land from A. Haddow Smith. Three holes of the new course were on adjoining property. The course has been remodeled several times since. When I played the course in 1992 during a 100th anniversary deal, the course started with a pair of par 3s.

I can't imagine much more than the seventh is original, and there's no guarantee the seventh is.

[Tim Nugent]

I mentioned in another post that HistoricAerials.com has aerials of DG going back to 1939 (although the one from the 40's is clearer and I doubt much changed during the war yrs).  Use the Swipe tool in the Compare tag to loo at 2 yrs side-by-side.  Now if George can find the old stick routing, it would be possible to ascertain if any of CB's is left.

[Ben Voelker]

From the head of the Downers Grove Parks, Dan Cermak, on what happened to the other 9 holes...

we believe….. from information obtained from a man who lived next to the course and also caddied at the course……   in the teens and twenties……that several of the holes went off the existing property to the west. After studying the history of the course for more than 30 years, I have found that detailed information is difficult to find. My speculation that in addition the  westerly holes….. is that several of the lost 18 were most likely holes that used the same green from very different tee locations or vive/versa….similar to some of the early European courses. We have additional information from the 1901 green book, which contains hole yardages and other information.

It doesn't shed that much light, but perhaps there were only a couple of additional greens along with much larger greens than what are there today.  It would be very interesting to see this green book from 1901!

[Tim_Cronin]

CBM being an old St. Andrews guy, I've always thought he just played the original nine backwards. There weren't many members, so it could be gotten away with.

[Tags:]

Tags: