Club Historians

[PCCraig]

In talking last night with our own Rick Shefchik about the research he completed towards his soon to be released From Fields to Fairways: Classic Golf Clubs of Minnesota, he noted the wide range in preservation of club histories and various items documenting their histories.

This piqued my interest into the role of a Club Historian. What are the primary responsibilities? Is anyone on GCA their Club's historian? Is this a common role at most older clubs, or one that is it somewhat rare?  

[Carl Johnson]

Mr. Craig,

I asked a related question a year or so ago, maybe earlier, and received no responses at all.  What that told me was, while there are a lot of members of this site interested in GCA, few (but of course some) have any interest in club history apart from the issues involving the evolution of the club's course, which makes sense, given the purposes of the discussion group.  Moreover, based on my limited experience with the members of my own club, with an old and somewhat rich history, this is just not something that interests the typical club member today.

Carl Johnson

[Dale Jackson]

I imagine there as a many responsibilities for a club historian as there are historians themselves!  Although I do not have the official title at my club I would think most would regard me filling that role.  I am researching and writing our 100 year history and seem to have a fascination with anything old and related to the club.  In other words in my particular case, it is a rather loose commitment and very much what I choose to make of it.

In other clubs it will be more formalized, with a clearly defined role and official appointment by the President/Board.

More important is the archival policies of a club.  Are proper records kept year over year?  Is/has there been a consistent effort to locate and properly store old documentation?  Are records catalogued properly and stored properly (off site and in appropriate packaging)?  Unfortunately the answer to all those questions is almost always no, I would wager not 1 club in a 100 has a proper set of records going back to it founding.

[William_G]

Myself and another fellow are the two members of our club's History Committee at Eugene Country Club.

We have acquired and accumulated anything we could as our club was established in 1899.

The presentation of historical materials in printed form or on display in cabinets or on clubhouse walls is an enriching experience for members and guests alike.

For instance our golf course is known among golf geeks as the one where Trent Jones Sr., in 1967 inverted the 1929 layout of Chandler Egan by making the old 18th green the new 1st tee and so on until the old 1st tee became the new 18th green.. a truly unique re-design. By acquiring aerials from the 30's, 60's as well as today I was able to contribute to the display of our club's history.

Current is history is easier to document in the digial age and a historian should be an active part of any club going forward.

Thanks

[Greg Ohlendorf]

Pat,

I am the unofficial historian at Flossmoor CC. We have had a member in the roll for quite a few years. I have attempted to research many of the old documents and publications which are available online from the USGA's web site. It is a wonderful resource for old clubs like ours as many of these publications would be otherwise unavailable to most clubs. I also found the LA84 Foundation as a great resource.

The hunt for old club material is truly enjoyable. I recently found an article written by Chick Evans which detailed how he thought a number of our holes should be played. Since he won his first national title at Flossmoor (then Homewood CC) he should know.

Best,

Greg

[Mike_Trenham]

At my club my father is the historian, with the help of a few others, he was our head golf professional from 1966-1994 so he collected a bunch of verbal histories and is digging up stuff constantly.  Always trying to make sure the verbal histories match what he finds in print.

His real passion is the Philadelphia Section PGA, which I kind of regard as his club.  He is presently building a website to house his findings.

 As he is always finding new old stuff he has no intention to write a book as a website can always be updated if you find new things.

For our club he writes a piece for the monthly newsletter, which the members seem to enjoy.  I bet most would never read a 12 page story on the club's history, but they do get a page a month this way.

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I am glad to see that we are not discussing the need to include the local society page in the clubs history. I have found on more than one occasion that most of the history is pictures and discussions of members.  We might include in Eugene Cc history the night of the 3rd of September 2011 when the members crowded the mens grill after a joyous day of golf only to see the ducks get the hell beat out them by the LSU Tigers. Most drove home to kick the dog and beat the wife. One member was found the next morning sleeping on the 18th green with "SEC bitch" written on the back of his pants.. Another was in the trap on 18 still drinking and mumbling "not again" and "what color do you wear to watch this team".

[William_G]

I am glad to see that we are not discussing the need to include the local society page in the clubs history. I have found on more than one occasion that most of the history is pictures and discussions of members.  We might include in Eugene Cc history the night of the 3rd of September 2011 when the members crowded the mens grill after a joyous day of golf only to see the ducks get the hell beat out them by the LSU Tigers. Most drove home to kick the dog and beat the wife. One member was found the next morning sleeping on the 18th green with "SEC bitch" written on the back of his pants.. Another was in the trap on 18 still drinking and mumbling "not again" and "what color do you wear to watch this team".

hahahahahahahahaha, I was watching the game from TPC Sawgrass while many ECC folks were at the "home game for LSU", hope is dim for a rematch this year..... let me know if anyone wants to catch a game at Autzen...its a 1.5 mile walk from ECC 

[Bill_McBride]

I am glad to see that we are not discussing the need to include the local society page in the clubs history. I have found on more than one occasion that most of the history is pictures and discussions of members.  We might include in Eugene Cc history the night of the 3rd of September 2011 when the members crowded the mens grill after a joyous day of golf only to see the ducks get the hell beat out them by the LSU Tigers. Most drove home to kick the dog and beat the wife. One member was found the next morning sleeping on the 18th green with "SEC bitch" written on the back of his pants.. Another was in the trap on 18 still drinking and mumbling "not again" and "what color do you wear to watch this team".

Tiger, you are the man, and the abuser of the fans of opposing teams!

[Ed Homsey]

My proposal to establish the position of Club Historian, in 1997, was approved.  Previously, I was dismayed by the lack of a systematic approach to preserving and reporting the history of our club that was established in  1921.  In my proposal, I listed several specific functions for the Club Historian.  A few years later, feeling good about my accomplishments as the Club Historian, I thought that it was a task that would best be handled by a committee--thus expanding the responsibility, awareness, and knowledge of the club's history.  Since then, our History and Archives Committee has been able to established procedures for archiving Board of Governor minutes, club newsletters, etc.  In addition, we have created an Archival Storage area where all records and memorabilia of historical value are preserved.  Accompanying that accomplishment has been the creation of inventories of all collections, e.g. newspaper accounts, club records, pictures, etc.  We continue to concentrate on collecting information on each current year.  Regular accounts of our history are important.  This season, we created several events celebrating our 90th anniversary.

What we've learned thus far:  It is great fun to talk, and record the memories of old-timers.  They have rich memories to share.  However, it is even more important to search every corner for written documentation of what took place.  Those old memories are often unreliable.  Invite old memories and former officers to look into their attics for old club documents that they'd liike to have preserved.  Encourage long-tenured memories to share--if not donate--old photo albums (but make sure they, or someone can help you identify who is in the pictures.)

If you gather some enthusiastic people around you, it will be great fun, productive, and great for your club.

Ed

From my experience, it is important for any club to establish procedures to preserve their past.  It will not happen unless there is some official position and policy that makes it happen.

[PCCraig]

Thank you for all the great info and background everyone. I appreciate it!

[PCCraig]

I have attempted to research many of the old documents and publications which are available online from the USGA's web site.

Greg,

Can you point me in the direction of the section of the USGA's website which allows you to search old documents?

[Greg Ohlendorf]

Pat,

Here is the link to the Seagle Electronic Library.

http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/

Greg

[PCCraig]

Pat,

Here is the link to the Seagle Electronic Library.

http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/

Greg

Thanks Greg!!

[Alfonso Erhardt]

Pat,

I am responsible for historical archives at my club, in Spain. The club had absolutely no policy regarding its historical materials until a history book of the club (which dates back to 1895) was published for members.

Structuring the club history into a book was not very complicated, albeit time consuming. What came out of the research effort for the book was the need to store and classify all historical records properly, something nobody had cared to do in the past.

Since then we have embarked in a program to collect, classify and store all the material we can. This includes photos, magazines, TV coverage of Spanish and Madrid Opens, newspaper quotes, etc. Since history is created every day, the process does not only cover the past, but is something which will be ongoing and anything which happens going forward will also be included in the database.

One of the interesting things we realized was related to photographic records. When cameras were uncommon, professional photographers would be summoned to the club to take pictures of members, competitions and events. This lasted until the mid 50s. So we have great pictures until then.
When small cameras became commonplace, the role of club photographer disappeared and although many more photos were taken, the quality dwindled. I believe it would be similar at most historical clubs. Many old photos of people playing golf while current photos (60s onwards) mostly show people collecting trophies. Very monotonous.

We have now gone back to the professional photographer and one is called to take pictures for selected events during the year. This ensures that the photo records of the club have not only many photographs, but of good quality and significance.

Regards,

Alfonso

[PCCraig]

The historian at my club does truly astounding work in so many facets of the job, I don't even know where to begin.  He's got the archives in tip-top shape, he just led recent presentation efforts, he's gathered tons of information, amazing old photos and other that nobody knew about or had seen before, and he's made some pretty amazing discoveries that change portions of the historical record not only of the club, but of the game itself.  I only know a few club historians, two of whom are participants here, but if there's anybody doing any better of a job than the historian at Exmoor, Don Holton, that'd be a pretty doggne impressive accomplishment!   Here's a link to a little piece that the local golf association did on the recent efforts he spearheaded:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zzqLRi0CHE

Great stuff Shivas, thanks for posting.

[PCCraig]

The historian at my club does truly astounding work in so many facets of the job, I don't even know where to begin.  He's got the archives in tip-top shape, he just led recent presentation efforts, he's gathered tons of information, amazing old photos and other that nobody knew about or had seen before, and he's made some pretty amazing discoveries that change portions of the historical record not only of the club, but of the game itself.  I only know a few club historians, two of whom are participants here, but if there's anybody doing any better of a job than the historian at Exmoor, Don Holton, that'd be a pretty doggne impressive accomplishment!   Here's a link to a little piece that the local golf association did on the recent efforts he spearheaded:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zzqLRi0CHE

Great stuff Shivas, thanks for posting.

Since May, when that aired, he's found even more pre-1900 stuff, some of which is really, really cool, but which I'm not at liberty to share (actually, come to think of it, by now, I might be, butat least  as of 3 or 4 months ago, I wasn't, so I'm staying mum at least for now...)

Relating to the golf course?

It's amazing that ECC has kept so many things in storage over the years. It sounds like that is rare and more often then not clubs either lose or throw a lot of things away over time.

[William_G]

Pat,

Here is the link to the Seagle Electronic Library.

http://www.usgamuseum.com/researchers/usga_segl/

Greg

Very cool Greg!

FWIW, the archives at the University of Oregon is where I acquired aerials of ECC...so I would suggest also looking locally for any history out there regarding your/one's club's history.

Thanks

[Tim_Cronin]

Yes, related to the pre-Ross/(Colt?) course...

Exmoor is to be commended on the level of both preservation and the presentation to the members. Among other Chicago-area clubs, Medinah was one of the first to get on the archive bandwagon, thanks to the late Wally Hund, and may have more items catalogued than any other area club. Beverly (thanks to Rich Holland and Paul Richards) also has an ample display, and, like Medinah, a room dedicated to the archives. Olympia Fields, Glen View Club (with the Chick Evans Room) and Chicago Golf also have fine displays. (Chicago Golf, of course, is a museum in itself, inside the clubhouse and out.) Congrats to all!

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Pat,

I, along with another member, am in the process of forming a history committee here at Springdale GC in Princeton, NJ. Although the club dates to 1895 we have never had an official club historian.

We are by far the oldest golf club in our immediate area in central NJ and see advantages in utilizing our identity as a historic local institution as an amenity to our current members as well as a tool to help attract new members. To that end we will be archiving and preserving what materials we currently have while also soliciting historic materials for our archives from former members, staff and the community in general. Additionally, we are planning to research, gather and preserve information on former members, tournaments and other items of interest.

This process is in it's infancy right now. Check in with me again sometime this spring and I hope to be able to report significant progress by then.

[Tim_Cronin]

Pat,

I, along with another member, am in the process of forming a history committee here at Springdale GC in Princeton, NJ. Although the club dates to 1895 we have never had an official club historian.

We are by far the oldest golf club in our immediate area in central NJ and see advantages in utilizing our identity as a historic local institution as an amenity to our current members as well as a tool to help attract new members. To that end we will be archiving and preserving what materials we currently have while also soliciting historic materials for our archives from former members, staff and the community in general. Additionally, we are planning to research, gather and preserve information including former members, tournaments and other items of interest.

This process is in it's infancy right now. Check in with me again sometime this spring and I hope to be able to report significant progress by then.

Malcolm,
   Good luck with the work. One thing you'll want to do eventually is make a duplicate of key club papers, such as minutes, newsletters, as well as digital copies of photographs, etc., and store the other copy off-site. Then, if there's a fire or flood, you still have your history. Often, the maintenance building is a good place. (And have copies of key maintenance files, including course maps, stored in the clubhouse in case of misadventure there.)

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Guys areal photos can be found many places. As William noted the local University library can be one of them The department of agriculture for the county often has some. I would think out west the Forestry agencies might be good too.

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Dale's point about only one club in a hundred having a full set of records is well made. I have been involved in a number of club histories and there are always gaps in the information. At one club it was minuted that the secretary had undertaken to get rid of unwanted correspondence. I wonder what he felt was unwanted. In another case the old records were stored in an attic and when I came to look at what material they had none was legible. I went to examine some MacKenzie documents at a club recently and the secretary discovered that they weren't there. Someone had taken them home. In another case a recent clubhouse fire destroyed most of their records. A club secretary told me that there used to be some albums of old photographs and other memorabilia but that a member took them home. When his wife found out that her husband was having an affair with someone else at the club she destroyed the albums as she wanted nothing to do with the club ever again.

I was consulted by the Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs about their impending centenary (2021, I think). I asked what records they had. None until very recently!

Trying to help the MacKenzie Society with its researches is particularly frustrating in the UK. Few clubs have historians or archivists. Secretaries are no longer Honorary (and members of the club) but professional managers whose job is to run a small business. It's too much trouble to look in the cellar or attic to see what there might be.

[Rick Shefchik]

Mark,

As Pat alluded to in his initial post, I had similar experiences while researching the 20 or so clubs I wrote about in "From Fields to Fairways." Clubhouse fires and benign neglect stymied my research in many, many cases.

The saving grace was historical newspaper archives. In the early 1900s, activity at private golf clubs was covered heavily by daily newspapers, since many of the members were also prominent businessmen whose social activities would have been reported in the society columns. I was able to turn up rich detail about clubs like Town & Country, Minikahda, Interlachen, White Bear Yacht Club and Minneapolis Golf Club by combing through the back issues of the St. Paul Dispatch,St. Paul Globe, Minneapolis Tribune, Minneapolis Journal and Duluth News Tribune.

To all historians --would-be or official -- if your club is located in or near a metropolitan area, I would recommend that you dig into the archives of the local papers to search for coverage of tournaments, annual meetings and personnel hires. You might be amazed at the level of detail that once found its way into print. 

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Rick, the trouble is that the fees clubs are prepared to pay (£2,000-£3,000) are not sufficient to spend weeks and weeks in libraries (plus umpteen journeys there and back) on the hope of finding something. The main newspapers may be in electronic form but the local papers (which have probably folded long since) are not easily accessed.