Comprehensive U.S. Timeline Document

[Sven Nilsen]

I've been working on a Excel file tracking the U.S. courses worked on by various architects up to 1940.  Its basically a gigantic grid with years tracked across the top of the page and the various architects listed down the left side. 

If you have any interest in viewing the doc (currently saved in Google Docs), please shoot me a PM with your email and I'll give you viewing access. 

My goal is to get this as complete as possible, including adding in notes of interest, dates of death, etc.  Its still very much a work in progress, and I by no means am declaring any of the information contained in it as 100% accurate.  Once its been rounded out into somewhat complete and comprehensive form, I'd like to find a good place to host it so that it is readily available as a resource to anyone that wants to use it.

Any thoughts, suggestions or comments on the doc would be greatly appreciated.

All the best,

Sven

[PCCraig]

I'd love to see it Sven. I'll send you a note with my e-mail address. Thanks.

[Joe Bausch]

This is quite the undertaking Sven and I admire you for the effort.  Send me the link in a PM and I'll try to digest it.

[Joe_Tucholski]

Sven,

How are you doing this?  I can't think of anything but a very tedious process.

[Sven Nilsen]

Its either this or continuing to duel with Mr. Mucci.  You tell me which is more tedious.

I started with the Historically Notable Courses lists I put together last year and have been supplementing it with info as it comes up.

[Nigel Islam]

Sven, What is your criteria for including a course and also attributing it to an architect?

[Sven Nilsen]

Nigel:

I'm erring on the side of being overly inclusive.  As its still a work in progress, it might not look that way yet.

If there are questions as to attribution or date, my plan is to mark those courses differently and perhaps include notes explaining questions or discrepancies.

Hope that answers the question, and thank you for forwarding your list by email.  It will be very helpful.

Sven

[Tim Martin]

Sven- This is a great resource and it's obvious that a lot of work went into it. Thanks for the opportunity to check it out.

[Nigel Islam]

I am at work so have only glanced at this, but I love it because it allows us to look at where courses we might have played fit into the span of the architects activity. Thanks

[Sven Nilsen]

I've updated Ross and Bendelow to the best of my ability.  The rest should be gravy train after those two.

[David Harshbarger]

Sven,

I would love to see that.  Check out:

http://timeline.verite.co/

Works with Google docs. 

Dave

[David Harshbarger]

Sven,

Here is my quixotic GCA data creation effort, geocoding GCA.com photo tours and essays.

https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?snapid=S593446TZ0s

Maybe there's a way to combine the two?  Think, a timeline and a map showing when and where architects work?

Dave

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven,

Here is my quixotic GCA data creation effort, geocoding GCA.com photo tours and essays.

https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?snapid=S593446TZ0s

Maybe there's a way to combine the two?  Think, a timeline and a map showing when and where architects work?

Dave

Dave:

Link sent.

I wonder if there's a way to put a code in the XL file so that if you click a name it takes you to the pin on your map for that course.  Would be an awesome feature, especially since you can link through the map to GCA threads and essays and other third party material as well.

Sven

[David Harshbarger]

Sven, that is really cool.  Yes, there is some mashup technology out there that will mash up our data, just not sure what it is. May take a few weeks but will look into it.

There's probably some scripting involved, but then again maybe not.  The tech world is changing.  We both are using the cloud data stores, which opens a host of opportunities.

Again, cool stuff you are doing.

Time and Space the next frontier.

[Sven Nilsen]

David:

I've figured out how to hyperlink to a website from the XL file, but I'm not sure if there's a way to link directly to each course on your map.  Perhaps someone with a bit more tech savvy has the answer.

Sven

[David Harshbarger]

Sven,

I have that tech savvy, but ironically, since I use my iPad almost exclusively, I can't get to the details that would enable a solution.

 Basically, if you bring up the map and choose the Download KML link, you can launch the map in Google Maps.  In theory, then, you could address a specific placemark by building the URL to reference the KML file and adding a #course name qualifier to the URl.  In code, I can do that, but since I am confined to the iPad, I'm stuck using what Google gives me (which is pretty darn amazing).

The map markup language KML (Keyhole Markup Language) supports a ton of cool features:

Time stamps
Time Spans
Camera Views
Image Overlays
Tours

Google Earth is the de facto rendering engine (as opposed to a browser).  If you think about the above features, you can do things like:

Build a timeline of courses for an architect, where you could use a slider to make the courses appear (and disappear) on the map as you look at any point in time.

Place and orient pictures in a photo tour on the map

Twist, and stretch the old maps and drawings and place them on the map.

Build a guided tour of an architect's career, or maybe the history of a course (Pine Valley, perhaps?).

My dream for this is to build out a collaborative, structured data collection of the history of GCA.  The map is a first step. I now have 749 place marks for golf courses.  That's 749 publicly available data points, enriched a little with some Archie info, dates, etc. And of course, embellishing the data with the references back to the World's most valuable collection of unstructured GCA content.

What you are doing is another important element, getting a more comprehensive list of architect's work catalogued in an accessible format.  My original thought was to collect data much like yours, architect's and dates engaged on courses including type of work.  To me that makes what you are doing even more cool - you are actually doing it!

Anyway, here's some data: McGregor Links is Dev Emmet 1921, and Mungo Park did Duchess CC in 1897.

If I get on a PC I'll see if I can figure out the linking thing.

Dave

[Ronald Montesano]

I am enjoying this. I hope to create a thread for the Niagara On The Lake golf club. It promises to be brief, as the course runs 9 holes only.

[Ben Voelker]

Sven,

Here is my quixotic GCA data creation effort, geocoding GCA.com photo tours and essays.

https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?snapid=S593446TZ0s

Maybe there's a way to combine the two?  Think, a timeline and a map showing when and where architects work?

Dave

Dave,

That is one hell of a resource, thank you.  I always relied on the Delicious directory, but what you have put together is amazing.

The link to the Delicious directory is below for those who are interested.

http://www.delicious.com/golfclubatlas

[RJ_Daley]

I'd like to see what you have so far also, Sven.  I was wondering where most of your bio info comes from, particularly on Fox and Fenn.  C&W may have them in the other book, Architects of Golf, which I don't have.  I only have the first of their books with the bios of archies and index of courses in the back.  I think the second book has some updated info.  Is that correct. 

It sounds and looks like this might be a great collaborative effort with David's work.  I seems like you saavy computer programming experts  might come up with something pretty cool.

[Ed Homsey]

Sven,  Your project is a very ambitious and, potentially, invaluable.  The Travis Society would be happy to contribute information about Walter Travis.  Our Travis course listing is available on our blogsite:   www.travissociety.com

We are continually searching for additional documentation of Travis's work. Our listing identifies those courses for which we do not have sufficient documentation to be absolutely certain of Travis's role.  It's a never ending search.

I would like to expand our directory of Travis golf course projects to include the contractor who constructed the course.  Perhaps that is something you would consider for your project?

If there is any other way in which we can be of help, contact us at:  travissociety@yahoo.com

[Sven Nilsen]

RJ -

Sent you a PM.  You should now have access.

Ed -

Thank you for reaching out and thank you for providing the link to the Travis Society list. 

I am hoping that the timeline will be a bit organic in nature, and over time will grow to include as complete a picture as possible (including adding links to David Harshberger's excellent map page, the various societies dedicated to each architect and additional information such as the contractors and other key parties involved).

If you would like to take a look at the document, please PM me an email address that I can use to add you to the list of "shared" parties in Google Docs.

Thanks,

Sven

[David Harshbarger]

I second Sven here in that I think it's very cool that these independent efforts are developing along similar and complimentary (and complementary) trajectories. Organic is exactly the right term to describe this.  There are many directions these efforts can evolve, but it seems we both are content to wait to see which directions speak to us the loudest.

My viision, long term, is of an authoritative, online, accessible reference to the history and present of golf course architecture.  Some of that will be structured (like Sven's document or my map), some unstructured (like GCA.com and the society sites), and much a hybrid, blending data that is organized and structured with search results, links, reviews, etc. in ways the novice can engage and explore, visualize and learn from.  One exciting thing today is the technology is largely there.  The spreadsheet Sven uses is free and shared, just as is the mapping tool.  I've built that map on an iPad, for crissakes, with free tools and my index fingers! 

I also second Sven for your encouragement, and urge you to share, as you are, your insights, information, and enthusiasm.

Dave