Breaking Down the Bendelow List

[Bret Lawrence]

Sven, Great work on this thread, lots of interesting information.  I discovered an article crediting Bendelow to Golden Valley Golf Club.  This article is from The Hartford Courant-November 12, 1917.  It correlates with the information Rick mentioned earlier.

Sven -- Bendelow returned to Golden Valley that fall and designed a new 18-hole course. That course opened in 1918. It was later tweaked by several people, including William Watson, but Golden Valley got a complete redesign by A.W. Tillinghast in 1927.

[Bret Lawrence]

Sven,

I also found this article in the Hartford Courant dated September 18, 1900:  The article gives a hole-by-hole account of Bendelow and Vardon playing as partners for a practice match at the Hartford Golf Club.

[Sven Nilsen]

Bret:

Hartford GC remains on the list of courses that I've seen Bendelow associated with but have yet to see actual documentation of him doing any work.

If you come across anything that notes him doing any design work there, please let me know.

Thanks,

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

The Bendelow list notes his involvement at Ravisloe CC in 1909.  Around this time Watson was working on the course, and his work was covered in a great bit of detail by the press.  The citation for Bendelow's involvement, an article in the June 1909 edition of Golf Magazine, discusses his involvement at Idlewild, which was an offshoot of the crowded conditions at Ravisloe, but does not mention him doing any work at Ravisloe.

There are a couple of 1901 articles that discuss Bendelow's involvement with the search for a site for Rav.  But I have yet to see anything noting his involvement in the design, which is attributed to Robert Foulis.

Sven

[Jim_Kennedy]

Sven,
Have you seen this?

http://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50342225/

[Sven Nilsen]

Jim:

Had not, its actually one of the articles Stuart cites that was on my list to track down.

There are a couple of surprises on that list.

Sven

[Bret Lawrence]

Sven,

I haven't found any articles crediting Bendelow to the Hartford Golf Club, but it is still a possibility. Hartford had two or three golf clubs in the city after the Vardon Tour, so maybe these are possibilities as well.  I will keep searching!

I was reading the Mahopac Golf Club website.  On their history page, they state Tom Bendelow designed a 6 hole golf course for the club in 1893.  5 years later they moved to a new site and built nine new holes.

Have you seen Bendelow associated with Mahopac this early?

[Sven Nilsen]

Bret:

The earliest I've seen for Bendelow at Mahopac is 1900.

1893 would be early for Bendelow, and probably early for Mahopac as well (from a July 6, 1919 New York Times article).

[Sven Nilsen]

Another one to add to the list.

A Dec. 22, 1910 Brooklyn Daily Eagle article notes Bendelow being engaged by the Glen View Club to work on the bunkers and traps.

[Sven Nilsen]

1 small thing, 1 bigger thing. Both St. Louis

Algonquin Golf Club, not Country Club- definitely first 9 Bendelow

Normandie has always been credited to Robert Foulis not Bendelow. FWIW their website credits Foulis. I think I've read he lived near the course.

Tom:

I just updated the 1903 listing to address Normandie.  Bendelow visited in 1903 to remodel the course.

Sven

[Jim_Kennedy]

Sven,
Found the Marsatawa posts.

Here's where I think it was - matches the drawing and comprises 83 acres.

http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/parks/i&m/east/illini/park.htm#History

"The prestigious Marsatawa Country Club once graced the east end of the park. Organized by Ottawa resident W.D. Boyce, who also founded the Boy Scouts of America, the club boasted one of the premier golf courses of its day.

In the 1930s, two companies of the Civilian Conservation Corps converted the golf course to a park and constructed buildings still in use today. The former country club building was moved into Marseilles and serves as the American Legion Hall.

The CCC camp at the west end of the park was converted into a semi-correctional boys' camp that provided maintenance in the park until it was closed in the late 1960s.

Illini entered the state park system in 1934 and was dedicated in 1935."

[Anthony Gholz]

Port Huron Golf Club Bendelow 1912-1922.  This is my very poor sketch in red of Tom Bendelow's original 9-hole course at Port Huron Golf Club (Michigan) laid over todays routing in green.  Today's routing is Charles Alison 1921 (constructed in 1922) as revised by C&A in 1928 with three new greens replacing three Bendelow greens previously untouched.  Bendelow's 8th green, today's first, lasted until 1982 when Bill Newcomb bulldozed it and two other Alison greens. Newcomb's work has been mostly eliminated in renovation/restorations of the last 15 years.  Sketch was done by using the Bendelow scorecard found in club files and comparing with a 1968 letter written by a member of his recollection of the course in 1915.  Note Bendelow's 2nd hole was 550 yards with a blind third (for the crack) over a sand dune.

[Sven Nilsen]

One of the many mysteries that cropped up during my review of TB's courses was a record of work being done on a new course for the West Baden Springs Hotel in 1924.

Indianapolis News Aug. 2, 1924 -



Right around 1924 the West Baden Springs Hotel changed hands.  As discussed earlier in the thread, this was a separate hotel from French Lick Springs, which already had at least two courses of its own (the 1928 Annual Guide notes two 18 hole courses and a 9 hole course).  It doesn't surprise me that West Baden would turn to Bendelow, given his longstanding relationship with the resort.

What I don't know is if the course was ever built.  Additional articles note construction underway, and describe a course starting basically on the front steps of the hotel and following the Lick Creek Valley north before turning east with the Lost River.  Another reports describes the plan for an additional 18 hole course to be built beyond this one, with a clubhouse to be constructed between the two.  The early aerials I can find of the area note what looks like cleared land extending north of the hotel.

June 28, 1924 Indianapolis News -



Jan. 3, 1925 Indianapolis News -

[MCirba]

I apologize if I missed it, but I've yet to see any contemporaneous evidence of Mr. Bendelow's involvement at Dyker Beach GC, the NYC Municipal. 

I've come across a number of articles from 1895 thru 1897 that indicate the original two courses on that property, Dyker Meadow and Marine and Field Club were both laid out during those years by George Strath of St. Andrews, brother of David, who was pro at Dyker Meadow.

Over the years each of those courses went through various iterations and changes, and even some well-publicized planned enhancements that never happened, but today's course is an amalgam of the two but a wholly new course largely planned and carried out by John Van Kleek in 1935.

Has anyone found evidence otherwise?   Thanks!

[Sven Nilsen]

Mike:


Dyker Meadow and Marine and Field remain on my list of "to be verified" Bendelow courses.


Both courses had work done to them subsequent to their openings and prior to Bendelow leaving for Chicago.


Marine and Field had two holes added in 1900 replacing two shorter ones, increasing the course to 3,000 yards.  I haven't seen anything that notes who did that work.


Dyker Meadow had three new holes added on new ground in April of 1897, coincidentally extending that course to 3,000 yards as well.  This would have been shortly after Strath resigned from the club.


Not sure if I understand your second to last sentence.  Are you saying Dyker Beach was "an amalgam" of the two or that it was "an entirely new course."  The two statements don't seem to go hand in hand. 


Sven

[MCirba]

Mike:


Dyker Meadow and Marine and Field remain on my list of "to be verified" Bendelow courses.


Both courses had work done to them subsequent to their openings and prior to Bendelow leaving for Chicago.


Marine and Field had two holes added in 1900 replacing two shorter ones, increasing the course to 3,000 yards.  I haven't seen anything that notes who did that work.


Dyker Meadow had three new holes added on new ground in April of 1897, coincidentally extending that course to 3,000 yards as well.  This would have been shortly after Strath resigned from the club.


Not sure if I understand your second to last sentence.  Are you saying Dyker Beach was "an amalgam" of the two or that it was "an entirely new course."  The two statements don't seem to go hand in hand. 


Sven

Hi Sven,

All of that is consistent with what I'm seeing, as well. 

I should have said "Dyker is on an amalgam of the land previously occupied by both former courses" but mostly a new Van Kleek course from the mid-30s.  Hope that helps clarify, thanks!

[Phil Young]

Sven,

Terrific thread. A few corrections for you:

You stated: 1909: Bloomfield Hills CC (Birmingham, MI) - Was this work done later?  Jan. 8, 1918 Brooklyn Daily Eagle notes opening of new course laid out by Bendelow aided by Conellan.
 
These are the details of Bendelow's work at Bloomfield Hills CC. It is taken from both the Club's Board minutes and cited newspaper articles. Connellan is not mentioned anywhere and was not involved in the work:
August 4, 1909: The Board minutes record that the newly formed “Grounds Committee” of the Club would now “have authority to prepare the grounds according to the plans and suggestions as submitted by Mr. Bendelow…” 
September 12, 1909: The Detroit Free Press records that construction of the golf course as designed by Bendelow was now underway, that work on it is progressing nicely,” that it has been “inspected by several professional and amateur golfists” and that it should be ready for play by the spring.
January 21, 1910: Once again, the Detroit Free Press reports that the new course of the BHCC will be ready “in the spring.” It also mentions that the course will be “about 6,300 yards long” which would make it among the longest golf courses in America at the time. This also proves that the original Bendelow course was designed to have 18 holes from the very beginning.
December 4, 1911: The Board minutes report that “so far twelve holes, east of the woods, are in condition for use and the remaining six holes, lying to the west, have been rolled and seeded and will be ready for play sometime during the coming summer.” May 1912: The American Golfer reports that the Detroit City Golf Association will be holding a 3-day tournament on the new BHCC course August 22-24.

"1912 - Ingleside (San Francisco, CA)" Bendelow did not do any work here and no changes were made to the course at this time. In January of 1915 the course was lengthened and strengthened in preparation to hosting that summer’s Panama-Pacific Exposition tournament. That design work was done by the members themselves.

"1915 Brakenredge Municipal GC (San Antonio, TX) - Should be Brackenridge Park"
This is incorrect. Tillinghast designed, laid out and oversaw the laying out of the course in October 1915.

"1916 Birmingham GC (Birmingham, MI) - The List should also have 1920 for subsequent work."
Both dates for Bendelow's work at BCC are incorrect. The original 1916 9-hole Birmingham GC course was not designed by Bendelow. He was brought in by Club President A.V. Lee to design a new 18-hole course in April 1921. The Detroit Free Press reported on April 2nd that “”Three new clubs are in the process of formation. They are the Birmingham Golf Club…”
      Later that month it also reported, under a headline reading “Tom Bendelow Enthusiastic About Birmingham Layout” that he had spent “Friday going over the entire property in the rain. He devoted Saturday staking out a nine-hole course that will be available for play within a comparatively short time. Then he will proceed with the more serious business of draining one corner of the property and laying out the 18-hole course.”
     The first nine holes which he had staked out were part of that 18-hole course and not a separate nine.

[Sven Nilsen]

Mike and Phil:


Thanks for the updates.



Just to clear up any confusion, the "List" as referred to in this thread is Stuart's listing from the turfweb site.


The entire purpose of the thread was to try to verify as much of that list as possible, note any errors or duplications and to supplement the listing with courses that should have been included.  As you can see, there was a tremendous amount of misinformation flying around.


I have quite a few updates I haven't added in since I did this exercise back in 2014 (including most of what Phil posted, although I'd lean towards giving Bendelow consultation credit for Brackenridge, as he was pushing for a municipal course in San Antonio well prior to Tillie's involvement).  Not sure if I'm going to do it here, or just pass the info on to Stuart for an update to his listing.  I also have a forty plus page timeline in the works on Bendelow including not just design work, but all of his golf related activities. 


Unfortunately, he remains the most unheralded figure in the development of the game in this country. 


Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

One more for the Bendelow list.

Red Cedar Municipal GC in Lansing, MI.  The course has been in disuse for a while, but there were talks a few years ago of bringing it back to life.




Here's a shot of the current state of the site:

[Bret Lawrence]

Sven,


In reply 164, you mentioned that you did not have a date for Magnolia Springs, Alabama.  This clip makes it sound like construction began in September 1920:





Bret

[Sven Nilsen]

Another addition to the list, although I can find no evidence that the course was actually built.

Vista del Lago CC (Akron, OH)

Akron Beacon Journal - Aug. 19, 1927



Akron Beacon Journal - Sept. 10, 1927

[Sven Nilsen]

Bendelow on the origins and demise of the Brassie.

The Munster Times - May 23, 1913

[Sven Nilsen]

Another one for the list.

Chicago Tribune, March 22, 1922 -



Auburn CC is first noted in the 1923 Annual Guide as a 9 hole course with a date of formation of 1922.

[Sven Nilsen]

And another, this time Clarksburg CC in Clarksburg, WV (March 22, 1913 The Daily Telegram):

[Sven Nilsen]

Again, this time Berrien County in Michigan. 

My records indicate that Berrien County CC became Berrien Hills CC, which is still in existence.  The course is first noted in the 1920 Annual Guide, but no information is given.  The 1921 Guide notes a 9 hole course, which increases to 18 in the 1925 Guide.  The various guides indicate dates of organization of either 1908 or 1910, but I can find no record of a course being in existence before the notation in the 1920 AG.

It is possible that Bendelow started work on a new 18 hole course in 1921, possibly replacing an early course, with the second 9 holes not being finished until a few years later.