Mackenzie at Mare Island

[Neil_Crafter]

Mare Island, near San Francisco, is the oldest course west of the Mississippi, being established in 1892 as a 9 holer. Robin Nelson recently extended the course to 18 holes.

I believe it has been suspected that there was some sort of Mackenzie involvement in modifying the old nine holes, but that it has only been rumour and hearsay. Well I have now found a newspaper article from the Oakland Tribune dated 26 September 1929 that confirms Mackenzie did indeed visit the course in September of that year with a view to planning a revised course due to train line and ammunition bunker intrusions proposed for the land where the existing course lay.

The club history section on their website indicates the course was revised in 1933 due to encroachment of ammunition bunkers  - as per the newspaper story - but does not say who, if anyone, was the architect of that revision. Is it possible that Mac did draw up plans for the revised course and that these were eventually implemented? Hopefully one day we can find out more.

[TEPaul]

Neil:

Unfortunately for such as us those kinds of newspaper articles probably raise more questions than they answer or can be answered, at this point.

[Neil_Crafter]

Of course they do TE, but as there had been some speculation of a possible Mac link with Mare island I wanted to report that there was a least a modicum of truth to it. Tully is on the case too 

[TEPaul]

Neil:

I'm certainly not criticizing your thread or that article----not at all. I just mentioned what I did as an example of something that is very prevalent these days with the onset of far more and far more detailed analyses of the earlier ages in golf architecture and the details of what those architects did.

Unfortunately, it seems the kinds of details many of us are looking for and would certainly like to have were probably just never recorded (in such detail).

[Tim Leahy]

This is a very fun course to play with some great views and a great way to beat the valley heat in the summer time. The history makes it even more interesting and quirky. The course is definitely worth a play if you are in the area.

[Neil_Crafter]

TE, I know you weren't.
What we hope might have been recorded may have been but later discarded - or never recorded at all. Shouldn't stop us looking though!

Tim
It is a fun course to play - I got to play it a few years back with Robin Nelson the architect. As it turned out the next two courses we played were San Francisco and Cypress Point so hard to remember too much about Mare island as a result!