No Donalds - Just an Unknown Seth Raynor

[Jim_Kennedy]

A young friend of mine, Bret Lawrence, was researching the history of Taft School's golf course and passed along this info.

The time frame of the two articles, Jan. 17th 1923 and Oct. 3 1923, jibe with Raynor's other "school" courses, and so does the Olmstead connection. The second article seems to confirm that the course was built. Too bad there isn't a more descriptive account of the holes.  

I've never seen any mention of Seth Raynor at Taft before, correct spelling or not.

Charlie Bell - this info, if true, adds a new wrinkle to the 'rivalry' between Hotchkiss and Taft.  

Jan.


Oct.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Bret made me aware of a couple more Taft articles that cited Raynor as doing the golf course, this time from 1922. I dug them up and here they are.

[Ronald Montesano]

Is that a reference to some holes on the current Watertown golf course? I have images of all 18 holes, should you need evidence.

I can absolutely see the delineation (now that I look at the overhead map on Google) of holes 1-3 and 13-18 as the original 9 holes. They do abut the athletic fields of Taft School. However, I suspect that some of the Raynor holes were located where the track, soccer/lacrosse pitch, tennis courts and athletic center are now. The holes as described in the article don't match up with the nine I suggest above.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Watertown+Golf+Club/@41.6133959,-73.1333383,774m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x89e7ead531ecdc01:0x91601c9ec69a0e0f

http://www.watertowngolfclub.org/

[Jim_Kennedy]

Thanks Ron. Here are the Raynor holes, none of which exist today. They were lost to buildings and playing fields.




This link should take you to the page where the photo came from. You'll be able to see the 1915 course, much of which is still in use today, just to the north of the Raynor layout.    
http://cslib.cdmhost.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/p4005coll10/id/6366

This one lets you compare across years:
 http://magic.lib.uconn.edu/mash_up/1934.html
The address to search is: 246 Guersneytown Rd. Watertown, CT

[Ronald Montesano]

Taft is a cool campus. Makes me want to see Hotchkiss. Since Nichols (where I teach) is an urban, day prep school, I have an affinity (bordering on jealousy) for the New England dorming schools. I suspect I'd have less of an affinity if I dealt with dorming issues on a daily (and nightly) basis. That pond in the middle has a fountain and the baseball diamond's right field wall is hard against a school building. For those with the wherewithal to attend, it is a special place.

[Charlie_Bell]

Leave it to Taft to obliterate the Raynor holes and spare the rest.   

 

[Jim_Kennedy]

Leave it to Taft to obliterate the Raynor holes and spare the rest.   

 

[Sven Nilsen]

Makes one wonder if the big guy had any connection with the building of this course.  Both William and his brother Howard (who founded The Taft School) were members at Watertown GC.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Both William and his brother Howard (who founded The Taft School).

Was "Howard" a typo for Horace, or were you making a satirical comment about the doubly-large size of the Prez? 

[Sven Nilsen]

Both William and his brother Howard (who founded The Taft School).

Was "Howard" a typo for Horace, or were you making a satirical comment about the doubly-large size of the Prez? 

No nefarious intent.  Just a typo.

[Tim Gavrich]

I went to Westminster and nothing--NOTHING--gave me greater pleasure than beating Taft in golf. That they ruined a Raynor course surprises me not at all. 

[Jim_Kennedy]

I went to Westminster and nothing--NOTHING--gave me greater pleasure than beating Taft in golf. That they ruined a Raynor course surprises me not at all. 

Your next round is on me. 

[Bret Lawrence]

Jim,

From reading the old Taft Papyrus newspapers, it looks like the older 9, that still exists today, was added in 1931.  I still can not tie a name to that nine holes.  According to the Taft Papyrus, there were only a few alterations made to the course in 1915, and that was to the original course that was laid out in 1898 by the President of the golf club, Harley Fish Roberts.  In 1900, they brought in an expert, employed by New Haven Golf Club to redesign Harley's layout. (Was this Robert D. Pryde)?

It looks like Horace Taft was part of the golf committee that got the ball rolling along with headmaster Harley Roberts, but the papers rarely mentioned William H. Taft.  Horace Taft won the first golf tournament ever hosted by Watertown with a score of 99!

In an issue between 1900 and 1902, they mentioned that the faculty of Hotchkiss challenged the faculty of Taft to a golf match.  There never was a follow-up story.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Jim,

In an issue between 1900 and 1902, they mentioned that the faculty of Hotchkiss challenged the faculty of Taft to a golf match.  There never was a follow-up story.

Bret,

No-brainer.  

In 1900 Pryde was the 'expert' and the golf professional at NHCC, so good chance it was him.

p.s. welcome to GCA!

[Dan_Callahan]

\Since Nichols (where I teach) is an urban, day prep school, I have an affinity (bordering on jealousy) for the New England dorming schools. I suspect I'd have less of an affinity if I dealt with dorming issues on a daily (and nightly) basis. \

I've lived in boys dorms at boarding schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts for most of the last 17 years. It is a fantastic but exhausting experience. I'm finally moving to a non-dorm on-campus house this summer, and I'm sure there will be times I'll miss the craziness. Nothing better than watching Bruins playoff hockey with 36 screaming teenagers. And as the dad of three young boys, it would be hard to find a better environment for them to grow up in.

One of the cool things about Taft's course is that when they bulldozed parts of the old course to make room for more athletic fields when they went co-ed, they retained a few of them. Those "extra holes" are somewhat maintained, so you can go out there with a shag bag and hit balls from real fairways to real greens all day long. The 18-hole course is decent, but those extra holes are my favorite feature of the campus.