GCAofTD - #12 - Alex Findlay

[Sven Nilsen]

Imagine my surprise when I first perused the Courses By Country list on this site years ago and stumbled upon John's review of Walnut Lane, a course I enjoyed thoroughly during the two years post-college I lived in Manayunk, but one I never thought would be associated with the greatest courses in the world.  We all have humble beginnings (at least most of us do), and Walnut Lane, and thus Alex Findlay may be mine.

Here is Ran's thread introducing the Feature Interview with Findlay's Grandson Richard Findlay:  

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,52349.0.html

And here's a direct link to the interview itself:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/richard-b-findlay-june-2012/

And a link to an older thread on Findlay:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,19685.0.html

The following list of courses is by no means certified as exact.  I've culled it from a variety of sources, and hope that those with the knowledge will chime in with any additions, edits or related items of interest.  I will update the list in this first post as information is added.

1887 -Merchiston Ranch (NE) - Believed to be one of the earliest courses in the U.S., laid out on a ranch in Nebraska where Findlay worked.

1892 -Moorestown (9) (NJ)

1894 - Siasconset (9) (MA)

1896 - CC of Rochester (NY) (NLE)
Greenfield (9) (MA)
Hotel Champlain (NY)
Long Meadow (MA)
Martha's Vineyard (MA)
The Breakers (Ocean) (9) (FL)
Vesper (9) (MA)
Woodstock
Essex County

1897 - Beaver Meadow (NH)
Brae Burn (MA)
Dedham (MA)
Framingham (MA)
Highland (MA)
Maplewood (NH)
Miami Golf Links (9) (FL) (NLE)
Mount Pleasant (NH)
Nassau (6) (Bah.)
Omaha (NE)
Omaha Ladies (NE)
Ormond (FL)
Salem (MA)
Soo Nipi Park (9) (NH)
St. Augustine CC (9) (FL) (NLE)
St. Augustine GC (FL)
Stevens House (NY)
Wellesley Hills (MA)
Weston (MA)
Woodbury (9) (NJ)
Essex Falls

1898 - Andover (MA)
Belgrade Lakes (9) (ME) (NLE)
Berkely (NJ)
Berkshire (PA)
Bethlehem Park (NH)
Clifton (ME)
Crawford House? (NH)
Fabyan House? (NH)
Hawthorn (MA)
Intervale (9) (NH)
Kearserge (NH)
Lake George (9) (NY) (NLE)
Magnolia (FL)
Meadowbrook (MA)
Medford
Merrimac Valley (ME)
Nantucket Island  (MA)
Plymouth (MA)
Portland (ME)
Powelton (NY)
Twin Mounts? (NH)
Wannamoiset (RI)
Warner Meadow (MA)
Winter Harbor (ME)
Wood's Hole (MA)

1899 - Abenaqui (NH)
Abnarkir - I have found no addtl. references to this course and wonder if it was an alternate spelling of Abenaqui.
Arlington (MA)
Augusta (ME)
Bass Rocks (MA)
Brockton (9) (MA)
Granliden on Sunapee (NH)
Hartford (CT) (NLE)
Haverhill Island (Great) (MA)
Lake Placid (Mountain) (NY)
Miacomet (MA)
Mount Vernon (NH) (NLE)
Old Pine (VT) (NLE)
Poland Springs (ME)
Summit (9) (ME)
TCC (NH)
(r) Soo Nipi Park (NH) (NLE)
Wentworth-By-The-Sea (9) (NH) (NLE)
(a) Essex County E (9) (NLE)

1900 - Ashland (PA)
Barre (VT)
Bear Hill (9) (MA)
CC of Bristol (9) (TN) (NLE)
Megunticook (9) (ME)
Canaan (NH)
Charlotte (NC)
Dover (NH)
Doylestown (PA)
Freehold (NJ)
Guthrie (9) (OK)
Newark Athletic (NJ) (NLE)
Northward Ho! (ME)
Oak Valley (NJ)
Ocean City (NJ)
Overbrook (PA)
Palm Beach (FL) (NLE)
Plymouth (SC)
Roseneath Farms (P3) (9) (PA)
Russell Cottage (9) (NH) (NLE)
San Antonio (TX)
Sharon (MA)
Tate Springs (TN)
The Greenbrier Lakeside (9) (WV) (NLE)
Wilmington Muni. (DE)
Worcester (MA)

1901 - Forest Park (MA)
(r) Hyannisport (MA)
Portsmouth County (NH)

1902 - (a) Mount Washington (9) (NH)

1903 - Fort Smith (9) (AK)

1905 - Northfield (9) (MA)

1906 - George McFadden (TX)

1907 - Beaumont (TX)
Oceanside (9) (FL)
Port Jefferson (NY)
Roanoke (VA) (NLE)

1908 - East Lake (GA)

1909 - Butte (MT)
Glenburnie (9) (NJ) (NLE)

1910 - Clinton (9) (PA) (NLE)
Galen Hall (PA)
Lake Placid (Mountain) (NY)

1912 - Eseeola Lodge (NC) (NLE)

1913 - Aronomink (PA) (NLE)
Langhorne (PA)
Middletown (PA)
(r) Tarrantine (9) (ME)

1915 - Pittsburgh Field (PA)

1919 - Edina (MN)
Saranac Lake (9) (NY)

1920 - Lebanon (PA) (NLE)
Llanerch (PA)
Pennsylvania Railroad (PA)
Philipsburg (PA)
Shamokin Valley (9) (PA)

1921 - Centre Hills (9) (PA)
Coatesville (PA)
Cohanzick (NJ)
Tavistock (NJ)
Wildwood (NJ)

1923 - Forrest Hills (PA)
Manor (PA)
Paxon Hollow (PA)
Reading (PA)
Chester River Yacht (MD)
Curwensville (PA)
Phillipsburg (9) (PA)
Royal Swan (MD)
Tredyffrin (PA)

1925 - Tyrone (PA)

1926 - Pitman (NJ)

1927 - Basking Ridge (NJ)

1928 - Yardley (PA)

1929 - Blackwood (NJ)
Burlington (NJ)
Fort Washington (PA)

1930 - Medford Lakes (NJ)
Oak Terrace (PA)
Riverside (PA)

1931 - Green Pond (PA)
John F. Byrne (PA)

1935 - Walnut Lane (PA)

Date Unknown:  Grindstone Inn (9) (ME), Lowell (9) (MA), Meadow Brook (9) (MA), Ferncliffe (NH) (NLE)

[Jim Sherma]

Sven - Lebanon (1920) is most certainly still in existence and a wonderful day out. Joe Bausch has a photo tour of if. Findlay is very underrated in my opinion.

[Michael Moore]

I'm no historian, but Grindstone, Tarratine (not Tarrantine), and Meguniticook have that untouched feel.

These courses do not have bunkers. Is this a common theme in his work?

[Sven Nilsen]

Jim:

Perhaps a mistake in that well-referenced work that we all know is not perfect.  Hopefully Joe will chime in to confirm.

Michael:

The (r) means that Findlay worked on an existing course, not that it has been updated since his time (although many of them have).  Quite a few of these may actually be early courses laid out by complete amateurs who later brought in Findlay to give the course a professional's upgrade.

One thing that amazes me about Findlay's work is how many of his courses survived.

Sven

[Jim Sherma]

Jim:

Perhaps a mistake in that well-referenced work that we all know is not perfect.  Hopefully Joe will chime in to confirm.

I'm sure he will confirm as we played out there together back in July. Here is a link to his photo tour from an earlier trip of his.

http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/Lebanon/index.html

Jim

[Joe Bausch]

Jim:

Perhaps a mistake in that well-referenced work that we all know is not perfect.  Hopefully Joe will chime in to confirm.

I'm sure he will confirm as we played out there together back in July. Here is a link to his photo tour from an earlier trip of his.

http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/Lebanon/index.html

Jim

Yep, Lebanon CC is alive and quite well, btw.

[Chris Clouser]

The Findlay layout of Omaha was at the original location of the club.  It is no longer in existence.

[Sven Nilsen]

Joe:

Is the current location of Lebanon the same location where Findlay laid out his course? 

Sven

[Joe Bausch]

Joe:

Is the current location of Lebanon the same location where Findlay laid out his course? 

Sven

Yes. 

IIRC, the course was first nine holes, then maybe 10 years later an additional nine added.

[Michael Moore]

So is bunkerlessness a defining quality of these courses?

[Mark McKeever]

Phoenixville?   

Mark

[Ed Oden]

1900 - Charlotte (NC)

Sven, I'm not sure about this reference.  Do you know the source?  As far as I am aware, Charlotte Country Club was the first golf course in town and it wasn't formed until 1910.  There was at least one published report of an earlier informal course, but it sounds more like a field where a few locals beat balls around than anything else.  The original Charlotte CC course was only 9 holes and, to my knowledge, no one knows for sure who designed it.  I suppose it could have been Findlay, although I have never heard that mentioned as a possibility.  Rather, I believe the presumption is that the original 9 holes were designed by one or more of the founding members of the club.  Regardless, it is clear that Ross redesigned the original 9 and added a second 9 in 1913-1915.

[JeffTodd]

According the the fairly thorough history (especially for one posted on a muni course website) Findlay was responsible for nine holes at Pitman. Current day 1, 16, 17, 11, 5, 6, 8, and 9 are Findlay. #7 was also Findlay and was a par 5 back when I was playing there in the early 90's, but has since been changed to a par 4 that plays away from Rt 55, which bordered the old hole to the left.

http://www.co.gloucester.nj.us/depts/g/golf/coursehist.asp

[Sven Nilsen]

1900 - Charlotte (NC)

Sven, I'm not sure about this reference.  Do you know the source?  As far as I am aware, Charlotte Country Club was the first golf course in town and it wasn't formed until 1910.  There was at least one published report of an earlier informal course, but it sounds more like a field where a few locals beat balls around than anything else.  The original Charlotte CC course was only 9 holes and, to my knowledge, no one knows for sure who designed it.  I suppose it could have been Findlay, although I have never heard that mentioned as a possibility.  Rather, I believe the presumption is that the original 9 holes were designed by one or more of the founding members of the club.  Regardless, it is clear that Ross redesigned the original 9 and added a second 9 in 1913-1915.

Ed:

Here's the reference for the Charlotte attribution:

http://alexanderfindlay.com/courses

This is exactly the type of confusion I'm hoping to identify and possibly clear up with these lists.  Appreciate the feedback.

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

So is bunkerlessness a defining quality of these courses?

Michael:

I don't think I have an answer to that question for you, perhaps someone who has seen more than the handful of his courses that I have can chime in.

My guess is that there are very few courses left where you can see Findlay's presentation.  Many of since been renovated, many are NLE and quite a few have probably suffered from maintenance problems, including possibly grassing in the bunkers.

I also wonder if Findlay's work evolved over the stretch of time that he was working.  It would be interesting to see a comparison of his early style v. his style in the 20's after possibly being exposed to the works of his contemporaries.

Sven

[Joe Bausch]

According the the fairly thorough history (especially for one posted on a muni course website) Findlay was responsible for nine holes at Pitman. Current day 1, 16, 17, 11, 5, 6, 8, and 9 are Findlay. #7 was also Findlay and was a par 5 back when I was playing there in the early 90's, but has since been changed to a par 4 that plays away from Rt 55, which bordered the old hole to the left.

http://www.co.gloucester.nj.us/depts/g/golf/coursehist.asp

Yes, Findlay did Pitman as well, and I think the two nines were built at different times.  I have info on this course too but don't have it readily at my fingertips currently.

[Chris_Blakely]

Found this topic after playing several Findlay courses recently. 

Clinton CC in Mill Hall PA is still in existence and has eight original Findlay greens.

Chris

[Bret Lawrence]

Sven,


Here is an article describing work being carried out at the Country Club of Farmington, as recommended by Findlay.  This work was done prior to Devereux Emmet arriving:



There was another article in the Hartford Courant mentioning A.H. Findlay assisiting R.B. Wilson in 1909-1910, to redesign the Hartford Golf Club golf course.  The article went into great detail noting the changes to be made, including the addition of "chocolate drops" and "croquettes" throughout the course.  The layout can be found on the Compilations of Routings thread under Reply 715. 


Findlay was reported as being in Hartford on several occasions in the early 1900's, to give presentations on how the game of golf should be played.  In this case, he also gave recommendations to improve the golf course.


Is the 1897 listing of Highland referring to Highland Links in Truro?  I have never seen any architect attributed to this course.  I would love to see more information if anyone has it? 


Bret

[MCirba]

Sven,

Recently  learned that the first nine holes at Cape Arundel in Kennebunkport, ME were designed by Findlay, circa 1900.

I think this thread started when I was taking GCA Sabbatical.   I'll cross reference my list to yours.

[MCirba]

Sven,

Some additional info;

Langhorne and Middletown are the same, the former Bucks County Country Club (today known as Middletown).   The first nine was by Findlay in 1913 and the second nine by Findlay was 1927.

Phoenixville, PA (r) - 1921
Plymouth, PA (9) - 1912
Rock Manor, DE (r) - 1937
Valley Forge, PA (NLE) - 1928
Yardley, PA - (with Fred Findlay) - 1929

I also have a really strong suspicion that Findlay (working for Spalding) designed the 9 holes of West Chester Golf & CC (PA) in 1906-07 but haven't been able to get confirmation...yet.

Also, do you have any information on the first nine built at Otzinachson CC outside Milton, PA, circa 1926?   The course added an Alec Ternyei nine in the 50s, had the name changed to Turbot Hills in the 70s, I believe, and is known as Wynding Brook GC today.   Thanks!

[Michael Whitaker]

Sven,

As far as I can tell there is no such place as Plymouth, SC.

Mike

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven,

As far as I can tell there is no such place as Plymouth, SC.

Mike

Mike:


That attribution is also from the Findlay website (http://alexanderfindlay.com/courses).  A while back I tried to locate the town, and came to the same conclusion as you.


Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven,

Recently  learned that the first nine holes at Cape Arundel in Kennebunkport, ME were designed by Findlay, circa 1900.

Mike:


Do you have anything that substantiates this work?  My list has this as a possibility, but haven't found anything to confirm.


Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Langhorne and Middletown are the same, the former Bucks County Country Club (today known as Middletown).   The first nine was by Findlay in 1913 and the second nine by Findlay was 1927.

Was the 1913 Findlay 9 holes a new course?  The club dated back to 1901.


Also, do you have any articles or other sources for Phoenixville, Plymouth and Valley Forge?


Sven

[MCirba]

Sven,

Recently  learned that the first nine holes at Cape Arundel in Kennebunkport, ME were designed by Findlay, circa 1900.

Mike:


Do you have anything that substantiates this work?  My list has this as a possibility, but haven't found anything to confirm.


Sven

Hi Sven,

Sure, no problem.   This is from the New York Herald, July 15, 1900.   I find his name was often misspelled "Finley", or "Finlay" as I'm sure you've come across, as well.