Breaking Down the Bendelow List

[Ken Fry]

Michicago CC (Benton Harbor, MI) - Michicago became Twin City Golf Club, which the List has a separate entry for with a date of 1929.  Bendelow's involvement noted in Aug. 15 and Aug. 18, 1923 Benton Harbor News Palladium articles (see below).  Oct. 20, 1923 Benton Harbor News Palladium notes Bendelow overseeing construction.  June 13, 1930 Southtown Economist article notes course as Twin City having been laid out by Bendelow.


Michicago -

Does anyone know where this golf course existed??

Ken

[Chris_Blakely]

Here are the various courses for which the ASGCA List has date Unknown and I have not yet been able to verify when Bendelow was involved:

Ridgefield CC (Ridgefield, CT) - Course was NLE by 1932.  Club organized in 1895.  Yardages - 1901/2,270 yds., 1916/2,400 yds., 1917/2,700 yds., 1922/2,733 yds., 1923/2635 yds.
City Parks (Bloomington, IL) - No course by this name in the Annual Guides.  The only public (park) course I have a listing for in Bloomington is Highland Park Municipal GC, which has a date of organization of 1922 and for which no architect is listed.
Blue Island GC (Blue Island, IL) - No course by this name in the Annual Guides.
Saddle and Cycle Club (Chicago, IL)
Libertyville CC (Libertyville, IL) - The List has two entries for this course.  Course is attributed to Larry Macomber with a date of 1928.  There is a listing for a Toppington GC in Libertyville in the 1922 Annual Guide.
Oakville CC (Mount Carroll, IL) - Is this the same as Mt. Carroll GC?
Sportsman G&CC (Northbrook, IL) - Is this the same as University GC?
Automobile Club of Peoria (Peoria, IL)
Polo GC (Polo, IL) - Is this the same as Edgewood GC?
Boonville GC (Boonville, IN)
Tolliston GC (Gary, IN) - Is this the same as Gary CC?
Clear Creek GC (Huntington, IN) - Is this the same as Huntington CC?
Kentland GC (Kentland, IN)
City Park Club (Cedar Rapids, IA) - Is this the same as Ellis Park Municipal?
Aurora CC (New Orleans, LA)
Mosanic CC (Grand Rapids, MI)
Park System (Grand Rapids, MI) - Is this the same as Highland Park?
Ishpeming GC (Ishpeming, MI) - Is this the same as Wawowonin GC?
Blees Military Academy (Macon, MO)
Spring Lake CC (Omaha, NE)
Mahwah GC (Mahwah, NY)
Saint Marys CC (Saint Marys, OH)
Montour Heights CC (Coraopolis, PA)
The Country Club (Meadville, PA)
City Park GC (Nashville, TN)
Beaver Lake GC (Beaver Lake, WI)
Burlington GC (Burlington, WI)
Meadow Links GC (Manitowoc, WI) - Is this the same as Manitowac GC?
Northernaire CC (Three Lakes, WI) - Is this the same as Three Lakes GC?
Cheyenne CC (Cheyenne, WY) - The course dates from around 1915 (Jan. 1916, The American Golfer).  It is possible that Bendelow did this work in 1930 at the same time he was working at Casper.

Tolliston GC (Gary, IN)

Could this be South Gleason Park GC?

[Sven Nilsen]

Over the year's, the list included in Stuart's book has been revised to what appears today on the ASGCA site.  There are a few courses that were once noted as Bendelow's that have been removed.  If anyone has any more information on these courses, or why it was determined that they should be taken off the list, please let me know.

Yountakah GC (Delawanna, NJ)
La Porte CC (La Porte, IN)
Madison GC (Madison, IL)
Flint CC (Flint, MI)
Gary CC (Gary, IN)
Bryn Mawr GC (Chicago, IL) - Langford connection discussed above.
Longwood GC (Crete, IL) - Discussed above as a H. Collis course.
Blackhawk CC (Madison, WI)
Sunnyside CC (Waterloo, IA)
South Bluff CC (Peru, IL)
Golden Acres CC (Denver, CO)
Northmoor CC (Highland Park, IL)
The Country Club (Kendalville, IL)
Royal Oak GC (Royal Oak, MI)
Stag Island GC (Port Huron, MI)

[Chris_Blakely]

Over the year's, the list included in Stuart's book has been revised to what appears today on the ASGCA site.  There are a few courses that were once noted as Bendelow's that have been removed.  If anyone has any more information on these courses, or why it was determined that they should be taken off the list, please let me know.

Yountakah GC (Delawanna, NJ)
La Porte CC (La Porte, IN)
Madison GC (Madison, IL)
Flint CC (Flint, MI)
Gary CC (Gary, IN)
Bryn Mawr GC (Chicago, IL) - Langford connection discussed above.
Longwood GC (Crete, IL) - Discussed above as a H. Collis course.
Blackhawk CC (Madison, WI)
Sunnyside CC (Waterloo, IA)
South Bluff CC (Peru, IL)
Golden Acres CC (Denver, CO)
Northmoor CC (Highland Park, IL)
The Country Club (Kendalville, IL)
Royal Oak GC (Royal Oak, MI)
Stag Island GC (Port Huron, MI)

Gary CC, La Porte CC (original 9) are 100% W.B. Langford (I have played both).  I have played South Bluff looking for a long lost Langford and did not come away 100% that it was Langford and if it was, it was quite early in his career.

Bendelow does have quite a distinctive green pad / site style as well as his bunkering if they have not been altered / touched much.  I have seen it on the numerous courses of his that have not been tampered with much.  Best examples I can think of are South Gleasson Park, Bass Lake (original 9), Culbertson Hills, Coldwater CC (original 9 - course has changed names and is now known as the golf club at coldwater).

[Sven Nilsen]

Gary CC, La Porte CC (original 9) are 100% W.B. Langford (I have played both).  I have played South Bluff looking for a long lost Langford and did not come away 100% that it was Langford and if it was, it was quite early in his career.

Bendelow does have quite a distinctive green pad / site style as well as his bunkering if they have not been altered / touched much.  I have seen it on the numerous courses of his that have not been tampered with much.  Best examples I can think of are South Gleasson Park, Bass Lake (original 9), Culbertson Hills, Coldwater CC (original 9 - course has changed names and is now known as the golf club at coldwater).

Chris:

La Porte CC dates back to 1904.  Langford came in around 1923 to rework the course.  It is possible Bendelow did the original layout, or worked on it between 1904 and 1923.

Gary CC was Langford from 1921.  The date attributed to Bendelow was 1917, and I'm curious as to where that information came from.  It was listed as an American Park Builders course, but Langford's 1921 date would put it after his separation from the company (it is possible he started the project at the tail end of his engagement).

South Bluff was indeed a very early Langford (1919).  This is one where I believe the American Park Builders listing generated the confusion over whether it was Bendelow or Langford, although the 1930 date thrown out for TB makes one wonder if he actually succeeded WM here.

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

One of the recent additions to the ASGCA List is Ravisloe CC (with a date given of 1909).

This is the first mention I have seen of Bendelow's involvement at this club.  I'm wondering if this is somehow a mistaken interpretation of the Jan. 1909 Golf Magazine article discussing his work at Idlewild.  Around this time, Willie Watson is documented as doing work at Ravisloe, so it would seem to be highly unlikely that Bendelow was as well.

[Sven Nilsen]

I just added a course to the 1896 listing, as described in this May 2, 1896 The Evening Post article:



There is a town called Blue Ridge Summit in PA, with an old course called the Monterey CC (http://montereycountryclub.net/Monterey_Golf.html).  This is the first I've heard of Monterey, and I wonder if the two are one and the same.

[SBendelow]

Please me aware that I am attempting to work my way through all of the pieces of documentation, suggestions and other information you all have submitted to this discussion.  You all have raised many legitimate questions about my listing of Bendelow courses and I want to address each.  Where duplications or errors are present, I certainly want to correct them and make the MSU/ASGCA listing as accurate as possible.
My computer skills are a bit slow so please bear with me.
Stuart Bendelow

[Sven Nilsen]

A March 30, 1913 The Sunday Oregonian article gives some insight into Bendelow's early career as a typesetter.  An interest that he appears to have kept up in his later years.

[Matthew Mollica]

Tom Bendelow stamped, hickory shafted mid iron for sale on eBay currently for those interested.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tom-Bendelow-Antique-Golf-Club-Hickory-Wood-Shaft-Rare-Vintage-/261661307653?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cec3ab305

[Sven Nilsen]

A few articles on Bendelow's career in general.

1.  From the March 17, 1912 edition of the Anaconda Standard:



2.  An article written by Chick Evans from the Nov. 21, 1921 Iola Register discussing Bendelow's thoughts on the popularity of golf:



3.  A June 7, 1930 Kokomo Tribune article, with the first reference I've seen to the use of the "Johnny Appleseed" nickname:

[Sven Nilsen]

A couple of random photos of Bendelow.

1.  From the Dec. 1903 edition of Golf Magazine, Bendelow and James Foulis:



2.  Bendelow is the guy removing his jacket in this Jan. 1901 Golf Magazine shot:

[Joe Bausch]

Sven, this from my friend Mike Cirba:

"The course Bendelow designed near Wilkes Barre in 1896 is Wyoming Valley".

[RJ_Daley]

Would it be premature to encourage that this amazing thread could be used as the model for an exhibit at Far Hills, or as documentation to induct Bende in the PGA HOF? 

I had asked early on what more we might learn about Bendelow that wasn't covered in Stuart's book.  Maybe we as GCA afficianados haven't learned new revelations about the nature of Bendelow's work and his Johnny Appleseed persona as it relates to his tireless and prolific spreading of the game throughout the US on all levels, because we are more uniquely interested in such things.  But, the assembly of all these clippings and supporting documents, along with the effort to get the attributions correct, is perhaps among the very best work ever done by one of the GCA.com elite researchers.  This work has put meat on the bones of Bendelow's seminal historical impact.

Sven, despite my early question of what more is there to know; your efforts and willingness to share and foster great interest is a stellar project of great value to the entire golf historical community. 

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven, this from my friend Mike Cirba:

"The course Bendelow designed near Wilkes Barre in 1896 is Wyoming Valley".

Joe (and Mike):

My read of that little blurb is that it is discussing two separate courses.  The one in Blue Ridge and a separate course in Wilkes Barre.

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Would it be premature to encourage that this amazing thread could be used as the model for an exhibit at Far Hills, or as documentation to induct Bende in the PGA HOF? 

I had asked early on what more we might learn about Bendelow that wasn't covered in Stuart's book.  Maybe we as GCA afficianados haven't learned new revelations about the nature of Bendelow's work and his Johnny Appleseed persona as it relates to his tireless and prolific spreading of the game throughout the US on all levels, because we are more uniquely interested in such things.  But, the assembly of all these clippings and supporting documents, along with the effort to get the attributions correct, is perhaps among the very best work ever done by one of the GCA.com elite researchers.  This work has put meat on the bones of Bendelow's seminal historical impact.

Sven, despite my early question of what more is there to know; your efforts and willingness to share and foster great interest is a stellar project of great value to the entire golf historical community. 

RJ -

Appreciate it.  Hoping Stuart can chime in to fill in some of the holes in the record and answer some of my questions.

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

There are two courses left to add to the listing, but with a bit of a disclaimer.  The ASGCA list contains entries for the following:

1912 - Ingleside (San Francisco, CA)
1913 - Hotel Del Monte (Monterrey, CA)

There are newspaper articles that note that Bendelow visited both of these courses during his California tours.  However, the only notation I've seen that Bendelow did any work on either course comes from this March 15, 1914 The Sunday Oregonian article.  Seeing as the article also notes that Bendelow laid out several courses in Scotland, I would lean towards questioning its veracity.  Looking at the timing of what we already know about these two courses, his involvement seems unlikely.

[Joe Bausch]

Sven, this from my friend Mike Cirba:

"The course Bendelow designed near Wilkes Barre in 1896 is Wyoming Valley".

Joe (and Mike):

My read of that little blurb is that it is discussing two separate courses.  The one in Blue Ridge and a separate course in Wilkes Barre.

Sven

From Mike Cirba:

Hi Sven,
 
Thanks for your terrific work on Bendelow exhibited on this thread.   It is really a superb effort.
 
Yes, I agree that your interpretation of the 1896 blurb indicated two courses for Bendelow, one at "Blue Ridge" and the other near Wilkes-Barre, which was Wyoming Valley CC.
 
Your speculation that the other course may be Monterey Country Club in south-central PA is a possibility, although I did come across the following blurb from a July 1899 Washington, DC newspaper.
 

 
The course website claims that golf was played there from before 1885 although I've yet to see any evidence to substantiate that claim.   It seems more likely that the first (and only) course at the resort was the one Dr. Jenkins laid out, although I guess it's still possible, but quite unlikely that he did it to Bendelow's plans from a few years prior.
 
One other avenue to pursue is the noting in your 1896 article that "Blue Ridge" is in the Allegheny Mountains, which are somewhat west of the Monterey site, and on the property of one Miss H. Phelps, which is also a name I've not seen associated in any way with the Monterey resort.   I suspect the course in question was more in western Pennsylvania and will try to dig a bit more.
 
Cheers!

[Dan Moore]

Sven,

With respect to Longwood, yesterday I came across a reference to the course in the 1930's that indicated Longwood was originally named Casa Del Mar CC in Dyer, Indiana and had 2 18 hole courses.  During the 30's one course went public and one stayed private as Longwood CC.  Perhaps one was Bendelow and one was Collis.  One of these days I will dig through my files to find the Collis documentation for Longwood which I'm pretty sure I have somewhere.  In any event the bunkers there today definitely look similar to the old bunkers at Flossmoor and Glenwoodie. 

[Tim_Cronin]

Dan's post got me to check the Chicago Tribune archive. Longwood became Longwood in August 1933, and the Indiana course was put up for sale. Farmers eventually bought it. Longwood was closed from 1942-1949 and reopened in 1950 as a public course. A 1950 story says the 11th hole was modeled after Gleneagles in Scotland. Doesn't say which hole, and no architect is credited.

[Sven Nilsen]

One of the courses on the list that gives me a bit of pause is Portage Lake (I have it listed in 1901, but I believe this date comes from an earlier iteration of the ASGCA List).  I'm pretty sure this is the same course that has been attributed to Langford (aka Portage Park) in Houghton, MI.

A March 1922 Golfers Magazine article notes the construction of the Mich-o-ne-ka-ma Golf Camp by the American Park Builders.  The time period of the project would put in under Bendelow's reign with the firm, yet it is possible that Langford did the design prior to his departure from the company.

[Tim_Cronin]

Do we know what tract of land the Michicago Club occupied?  Is it near or part of the Lost Dunes current location?

Michicago was located just outside of Benton Harbor.  My best guess is that it was in the area of where the airport sits today.

Michicago indeed was replaced by the Benton Harbor airport. The 1/1/1938 News-Palladium notes that some of the sod from the golf course was used to landscape the lawn of the new Benton Harbor city hall. The airport opened around 1935, and the city bought the land to expand and improve the airport on May 13, 1936.

[Sven Nilsen]

Another question mark to add to the list.  A Golfers Magazine article from 1908 discusses the construction of the Hyperion Club, and notes the course was laid out by Warren Dickenson.

The List has a date of 1907 for Bendelow's course, which runs counter to the information in this article. 

[RJ_Daley]

Whilst we might think of the poem as extreme whimsy in our times, the emotions of the prose in the poem seems to capture the sentiments of most of the avid walker/golfers I know. 

[Richard_Mandell]

Sven,

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading through this thread. For me as an Architect, what I enjoyed was reading all of the newspaper clippings because they really give one some insight into how things were done back then without the filter of history.  It also gives credence to Bendelow being much more than "18 Stakes".

That said, I have an addition for your list:  In 1929, Tom Bendelow designed Lake Forest Country Club in Hudson, Ohio.  The course opened in 1929.  For no one knows how long (or why), the course was attributed to Herbert Strong but after researching the matter the past few months, I ran across three newspaper articles from the Hudson Times and Cleveland Plain Dealer as well as two issues of the Cleveland District Golfer Magazine that all attribute the course to Bendelow.

I started a separate thread on my discovery which I will post momentarily.

Again, great job on this Sven.