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Michael J. Moss

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National Golf Links of America, first opened for play in which year?
« on: July 30, 2013, 12:58:53 PM »
Several sources use 1909. Others, 1911.

Which is it?

...and two years apart!
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Niall C

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Re: National Golf Links of America, first opened for play in which year?
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2013, 02:03:26 PM »
Michael

Can't give you a definitive answer but from what I recall from ploughing through old copies of UK golf mags, the official opening was put back by perhaps a couple of years but I'm quite certain they would have been playing before then.

Niall
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DMoriarty

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Re: National Golf Links of America, first opened for play in which year?
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2013, 02:34:53 PM »
They were playing the course in 1909, at the latest.  There was a well-publicized invitational tournament in the summer of 1910.  The clubhouse wasn't finished and didn't officially open until 1911.  (The original plan was to use a hotel as the clubhouse, but the hotel burned down.)
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Golf history can be quite interesting if you just let your favorite legends go and allow the truth to take you where it will.
--Tom MacWood (1958-2012)

Mark McKeever

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Re: National Golf Links of America, first opened for play in which year?
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2013, 03:53:29 PM »
Quote from: DMoriarty on July 30, 2013, 02:34:53 PM
They were playing the course in 1909, at the latest.  There was a well-publicized invitational tournament in the summer of 1910.  The clubhouse wasn't finished and didn't officially open until 1911.  (The original plan was to use a hotel as the clubhouse, but the hotel burned down.)

David,
I heard that was a BEAUTIFUL building.  Do we have any pictures of it?

Mark
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DMoriarty

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Re: National Golf Links of America, first opened for play in which year?
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2013, 04:46:08 PM »
The hotel or the clubhouse?

Here is the clubhouse in 1911.  Cost $53,000.

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Golf history can be quite interesting if you just let your favorite legends go and allow the truth to take you where it will.
--Tom MacWood (1958-2012)

George_Bahto

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Re: National Golf Links of America, first opened for play in which year?
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2013, 04:59:20 PM »
The course was officially opened in 1911

It had been "test-playable"  at least a year earlier.

Charlie Macdonald had some of his closest friends and founders there for a highly publisized event in 1910. Some of the greens (holes) were shorter than they ended up to be, namely the 9th and thr 18th which were one entire green shorter than where the ended up. Perhaps these were what we consider temporary greens today, or perhaps they were just not "ready" for play.

I think some of the other holes had more forward tees.

I have the yardages someplace here.

An interesting article was written about the early course (or its concept) that had hole.#2 at 295 or so, calling it a par three and a half. The measurement places the middle of the green at the high area short of the present green, a possibility that had come to my mind long before this article surfaced and one Karl Olson and I had discussed.
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If a player insists on playing his maximum power on his tee-shot, it is not the architect's intention to allow him an overly wide target to hit to but rather should be allowed this privilege of maximum power except under conditions of exceptional skill.
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Jeff Taylor

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Re: National Golf Links of America, first opened for play in which year?
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2013, 10:27:55 PM »
The clubhouse still makes it's presence known (even in the distance).

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