I'm not looking to belittle Findlay's impact on the game of golf in the U.S. But a comparison between him and Bendelow is a non-starter.
Sven
Kind of seems like you just did, Sven!
That's your read Joe. I don't think the articles Mike attached are 100% factual, but that doesn't mean I'm belittling his contributions.
I give Findlay a ton of credit for his volume of work, especially in the Northeast and the impact that had on getting the game going. But his numbers pale in comparison to TB's.
Any discussion of golf missionary work starts and ends with Bendelow. From 1895 to 1915, no one designed more courses in this country, and no one traveled more to do so. Bendelow was also the games biggest proponent of municipal courses, working tirelessly and often for free to convince cities and towns to take up the game.
Here are a few additional highlights from Bendelow's resume:
-He was one of a number of early figures responsible for populating the club ranks with pros. He would meet the incoming boats from the UK to round up guys with golf experience and get them set up with a club to work with.
-He was instrumental in Vardon’s tour of the US (arguably moreso than Findlay), probably the seminal event in getting the game publicized and popularized in the US.
-He served as the main official for numerous golf tournaments, including the St. Louis Olympics and just about every major event in the Western Department.
-He essentially founded the first professional golfer’s society in the US, which was the precursor to the PGA.
-He penned articles for newspaper and the publications on the game, edited Spaldings Official Golf Guide for a number of years and taught college courses on golf course architecture.
-His efforts to collect information on existing clubs in the late 1890’s was the first effort to compile a guide to American courses.
There was no bigger figure in the game of golf in the United States from 1895 to 1915 than Bendelow. Yet I don't have the sense that he had any kind of ego about his role. I have yet to read anything from Bendelow that stretches the truth of his accomplishments.
I wrote the following a while back about a comparison between Ross and Bendelow. You could substitute in Findlay for DR, and it still pretty much works:
"None of this is meant to belittle Ross’ role in the game. He was a master of his craft, and the breadth and scope of his work speaks wonders. But if we are trying to identify the most “influential” person in the development of American golf, I think you have to look to the person that helped make golf the most popular sport to play of its time (the amount of money spent on golf in the 1920’s compared to other sports is staggering). Its hard to argue that this was anyone other than Bendelow.
If you look at golf through the eyes of top 100 courses and tournament venues, Ross is the pick. If you look at the game in its entirety, all the way down to the local beer league and the small town pro teaching a new generation of players, its Bendelow."Sven