Highland Country Club (NLE) in Meriden/Middletown, CT

[Sven Nilsen]

Jim:

Its from the May 1914 edition of Golf Magazine.  Here's the article that went with it:

[Jim_Kennedy]

Thanks Sven,
When I was looking back on the compilations thread I noticed that there were quite a few that I posted where I didn't add the source attribution, as was the case w/Highland. I used to write it onto the file name before saving, but no way to get that back now. Dang.

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Come spring, if anyone wants to walk the site, I'd be glad to revisit.

Also, just found a piece on the construction of the original 9-hole Wethersfield (Conn.) Country Club. Robert Pryde laid out the golf course and the tennis courts.

[Bret Lawrence]

Anthony,

I'd be happy to check the old Highland site out once all this snow melts.  9, 10 and 11 must have been a fun stretch!  Back to back to back par 5's.

I am attaching an old advertisement from The American Golfer, July 1910.  The advertisement mentions Robert Pryde also lays out tennis courts too!  I remember reading in the Bendelow thread that Tom Bendelow also laid out some tennis courts.  I'd imagine the tennis courts were mainly grass surfaces back then, so it would make sense.

Bret

[Sven Nilsen]

Pryde wasn't the only architect doing tennis as well.  William Tucker was another.

Interesting that all of this coincided with a general move from the early "golf club" to the more modern "country club." 

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Nice find Sven.

My old post said it was the first course in Meriden, but I'm pretty sure it was the third. The first was called Bartlett Links, the second Bradley Park, and then Highland, which was actually located just over the Middletown border in the Westfield section of that city.
My best understanding is that all of these courses were under the helm of The Meriden Golf Club. Their clubhouse at the Bradley Park links is used today as private residence:




Here's the flame engulfed Highland Hotel that was renovated for the Meriden Golf Club to use as their clubhouse at the Highland CC site:



They did rebuild after the fire, but I don't know of that one still stands.

Hopefully Tony Pioppi will chime in if he sees this.

A little follow up on this old thread.


Here's an Oct. 16, 1937 Record-Journal article that confirms the sequence that Jim noted above.


1.  Meriden GC's first course located in a field west of North Colony Road (what Jim calls the Bartlett Links);
2.  Meriden GC's second course in Bradley Park; and
3.  Highland GC.


All three designed by Robert Pryde.

[Ronald Montesano]

It's glorious when a thread you have no recollection starting, pops up. Thanks, Sven, for your grit.


On a sadder note, the bro-in-law is now an ex-bro-in-law, the subject of (and villain in) many Randy Travis songs.

[Sven Nilsen]

I took Bret's list of Robert Pryde courses from earlier in the thread and updated it below.

If anyone has any updates, additions or new source material, please feel free to add it to the thread.


New Haven GC (1895/1899)

1899 Golf Guide notes course laid out by Robert Pryde in 1895.

1900 Harpers notes 18 hole course laid out by Robert Pryde.

Should be noted that Vardon and Bendelow consulted on the expansion of the course in 1900.

April 10, 1900 Morning Journal-Courier -




Shenipsit CC (1896)

1899 Golf Guide and 1900 Harpers note course laid out by Robert Pryde in Fall of 1896.

1900 Connecticut Magazine -








New Haven CC (1898/1900)

Should be noted that Vardon and Bendelow consulted on the expansion of the course in 1900. 


See the April 10, 1900 Morning Journal-Courier article above.

March 21, 1911 Brooklyn Daily Eagle -




Meriden GC (First Course) (1899)

See the Oct. 16, 1937 Record-Journal article in my last post.


Meriden GC (Second Course) (1900)

1900 Harpers notes course laid out by R. D. Pryde.

See the Oct. 16, 1937 Record-Journal article in my last post.


Watertown GC (1900)


I don't have anything on Pryde at Watertown GC.


Pine Orchard G&YC (1900)

Aug. 1915 American Golfer -







Highland CC (1910/1919)

Oct. 1909 Golf Magazine -





Feb. 13, 1912 Meriden Daily Journal -





Oct. 9, 1919 Meriden Daily Journal -




Charlotte CC oka Mecklenburg CC (1910)

Sept. 3, 1908 Henderson Gold Leaf -



Oct. 4, 1908 News and Observer -



Hotchkiss School GC (1911)

May 17, 1912 Brooklyn Daily Eagle -




Mountain House GC (1911)

Is this the St. Regis River GC course in Paul's Smith that opened in 1912?

See the May 17, 1912 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article above.


Norwich GC (1911)

Sept. 9, 1911 Norwich Bulletin -




Racebook CC (First Course) (1912-13)

See the May 17, 1912 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article above.

May 1913 Golf Magazine -




Sequin GC fka New Britain GC fka Maple Hill GC (1912)

I don't have anything on Pryde at Sequin.


Asbury-Belmar GC (1914)

Sept. 27, 1914 New York Times -



April 1915 Golf Magazine -






Wethersfield CC (1916)

July 31, 1916 Hartford Courant -



Sept. 9, 1917 Hartford Courant -




Goodwin Park GC (1917)

Oct. 14, 1917 Hartford Courant -




Litchfield CC (1917)

I don't have anything on Pryde at Litchfield.


Wyantenuck CC (1918)

I don't have anything on Pryde at Wyantenuck.


Penn State GC (1919-20)

I don't have anything on Pryde at Penn State.


Racebrook CC (Second Course) (1924)

I don't have anything on Pryde doing Racebrook's Second Course.



Orange Hills CC fka Rolling Ridge CC (1927)

Noted in the 1926 Annual Guide as Rolling Ridge CC and in the 1931 Annual Guide as Orange Hills CC.

I don't have anything on Pryde here.


Alling Memorial GC aka New Haven Municipal GC (1929)

Feb. 13, 1927 Hartford Courant -




March 31, 1928 Hartford Courant -




Hunter Memorial GC (1929)

The course opened with 9 holes.  I have nothing confirming Pryde's involvement with the opening of the course.  The 9 hole addition that took place in 1932 appears to have been designed by Ardsley Flood.

April 7, 1932 Meriden Daily Journal -

[Sven Nilsen]

There are two courses that perhaps should be added to the list, both derived from the May 17, 1912 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article above.  The article notes the golf club at Toronto and the Lenox golf course, but does not clarify if the work described was done by Pryde.


Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Hunter Memorial should be deleted from the Pryde list.  The articles below note the first 9 holes of the course were designed by Robert Ross.  In my previous post, I included an article noting the second 9 were built by Ardsley Flood.


Aug. 28, 1929 Meriden Daily Record -

[Sven Nilsen]

Two additions to the list above, both taken from articles Jim Kennedy posted earlier in the thread.


First, in 1911 the Norwich GC opened a new course.  Pryde assisted in the layout of the 9 holes.


June 3, 1911 Norwich Bulletin -





In 1920, Pryde prepared plans for a 9 hole course for the Stafford GC.  I don't have anything saying his plans were utilized, but around that time the course was extended from 6 to 9 holes.


Dec. 14, 1920 Norwich Bulletin -

[Bret Lawrence]

Sven,


Thank you for sorting all of this information out.  I would agree that Hunter Memorial Golf Course/Meriden Municipal GC should be removed from Robert Pryde’s list of courses. 


Regarding Ardsley Flood, would this have been Val Flood?  Was his middle name Ardsley or was this a different person? Val Flood was the longtime pro at Shuttle Meadow after they opened in 1916. The history of the Hunter course mentions a V. Ardsley Flood (on their website).  Apparently a book on the history of golf in Meriden was written about 20 years ago and a lot of this information is included.  I have never known about it until know.  I’d like to take a look at it.


I think it’s fair to say Robert Pryde designed the first three golf courses in Meriden, but not the course that still exists today.


Bret

[Bret Lawrence]

Here are some additional Robert Pryde articles or pieces of articles (I apologize that some of these are just screen shots.


New Haven Golf Club:

The first one doesn’t mention Pryde, but it’s one of the earliest mentions I have found of the New Haven Golf Club.


The Daily Morning Journal and Courier., July 13, 1895:




The Daily Morning Journal and Courier., February 26, 1900:



The Daily Morning Journal and Courier., November 22, 1900:



The Washington Times., February 18, 1907:



In 1908, Robert Pryde leased the New Haven Golf Club and worked to make the game more available to the general public.


The Morning Journal-Courier., February 03, 1908:



Here is a photograph of Robert Pryde.  This is probably the most typical one shown for him.  It comes from the 1915 Spalding Golf Guide.  The same photo sequence appeared in the 1909 Spalding Golf Guide as well.  He was listed as owner of New Haven Golf Club, because he had taken over the lease at that point.





This isn’t the best picture, but I thought it was interesting to find another photograph of Robert Pryde and George Sparling together 40 years later.

[Bret Lawrence]

Here are a few articles to add to Norwich Golf Course-Norwich, CT



Norwich Bulletin., July 28, 1910:



Norwich Bulletin., September 09, 1911:



Norwich Bulletin., September 09, 1911:



Norwich Bulletin., October 21, 1912:

[Bret Lawrence]

Sven,


I had the date wrong on Wyantenuck earlier in the thread. The Robert Pryde layout was designed in 1913.  I don’t have any articles on Pryde at Wyantenuck, but there is a dated copy of his layout in the Wyantenuck Club History Book.





Bret

[Bret Lawrence]

Robert Pryde appears to have designed Weatogue in Stratford, CT (NLE):


The Bridgeport Evening Farmer., August 17, 1915:




Robert Pryde designed a 9-hole course for Mattatuck Country Club in Prospect, CT.  This course was later known as Chase Country Club and today it’s known as Farmingbury Hills Golf Course. Anthony Pioppi sent me this article when he was researching the course.  William Burkoski, the pro mentioned in this article eventually shortened his name to Billy Burke.


Waterbury Republican., August 21, 1924:



Here is a link to another story on New Haven Municipal Golf Course from Golfdom., March 1933:


https://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/golfd/article/1933mar50.pdf

[Bret Lawrence]

Here is an obituary for Robert Pryde from The Bridgeport Telegram., March 30, 1951:

[Sven Nilsen]

Bret:


Thanks for adding all of this in.  The picture of Robert Pryde is a bit more complete when you can look at all of this in one place.


Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven,


I had the date wrong on Wyantenuck earlier in the thread. The Robert Pryde layout was designed in 1913.  I don’t have any articles on Pryde at Wyantenuck, but there is a dated copy of his layout in the Wyantenuck Club History Book.





Bret

Bret:


A little more information on the expansion of Wyantenuck to 18 holes.  Skelley may have implemented Pryde's plans.


Sven


Jan. 1915 Golf Magazine -

[Bret Lawrence]

Bret:


Thanks for adding all of this in.  The picture of Robert Pryde is a bit more complete when you can look at all of this in one place.


Sven

Sven,


Happy to add to this thread.  I agree that putting everything in one place paints a clearer picture.


The Mountain House course is called Mohonk Golf Course today and is located in New Paltz, NY.  It is different than the St. Regis course in the Adirondacks. My only source for Mohonk is their own website.  The old website claimed Robert Pryde was there in 1911 to make alterations to the original course and stretch it out a few hundred yards. Today’s website still mentions Pryde, but not as many details. The golf course information is listed under the Year 1897 on the timeline.


https://www.mohonk.com/history/timeline/


I have a few more articles and pieces I can add later today.


Bret

[Sven Nilsen]

Bret:


Seems to me Pryde many have been involved at both Mohonk and St. Regis River.


Sven

[Bret Lawrence]

Here is an article about Watertown Golf Club from the school newspaper.  This evidence is a little shaky, because they don’t mention Robert Pryde by name, but we do know he was the expert from New Haven.


The Papyrus., April 12, 1900



Sequin Golf Club is known as Indian Hill Country Club today.  The club has a very comprehensive history book which was written in 1999 and they discuss Pryde designing their 1912 and 1921 courses.  The history mentions John Duncan Dunn as the original designer in 1899, then Pryde in 1912 and 1921, then Robert Jack Ross (who was a member) designed a new layout in 1924. Orrin Smith did most of the construction work on the R. J. Ross layout building greens, bunkers and tees.


Indian Hill is a very fun course to play and it has improved tremendously just in the last five years since I have seen it. They seem to have a good grasp on their history and have done well to preserve and improve their 1924 course.


Here is a copy to their history book online.  The architect information can be found on Page 81 of the PDF.  (Page 67 numbered in the actual history book).  The history  includes pictures of Dunn, Pryde and Ross. 


http://www.ihccgolf.com/test/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/centennialbook.pdf