The link to the 2013 thread makes me sad, because we reheated that in December 2013. Unfortunately, we lost the second wave of discussion during the big GCA crash. Like Westwood / Willowdale, those discussions are NLE.
As for some old historic nuggets:
- The Buffalo News Article indicated Westwood operated since 1945, which ignored the prior iterations dating back to 1921 (initial Willie Park design). The course was initially named Willowdale, and operated through 1935/36. In that timeframe, they built a Tudor style Clubhouse (approved in 1926 / completed in 1928). There was also the proposed Tillinghast routing from June 1926 (only in paper, never saw a drawing).
The old minutes dropped a tantalizing hint about the potential Tillinghast routing. They noted that a member had unearthed an early architectural drawing, restored it and that the restored picture was hung outside the living room of the clubhouse. Perhaps it was the missing Tillinghast routing or the original Willie Park drawing.
- When Willowdale disbanded as a private club, the course was opened to public play as Blossom Heath CC in 1936/1937. It was taken private again in 1937 as Wilmont CC (a joint effort by two Jewish Clubs - the prior Willowdale Club and Montefiore Men's Club). It's unclear what happened next, but the Wilmont name appears in articles through 1942, at which time it seems the private club faltered again. Ads appear in Sept 1942 for public play at Blossom Heath Country Club (formerly Wilmont), which may have tied into the sudden death of the Wilmont club pro in May 1942.
- I couldn't find any references to Blossom Heath in 1943 or 1944, which hints that the club may have closed. In the Westwood minutes, an early President from Westwood noted that they walked the grounds in 1945 and that "no greens were left and it looked pretty bad." Interestingly, the same President explained why the club was named Westwood as follows:
" When we named the club we decided it had to begin with a "W" because all the silverware was marked with a "W." Someone told us about Westwood Country Club in St. Louis so that sounded good and we became Westwood."
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I wish I'd had the chance to play there (or walk the grounds) subsequent to the research I did last year. I would have liked to look at the grounds with the additional perspective of the old aerials and items I saw reviewing the club's archives. I also wish I had some contacts so I could head over there to find any possible missing pieces to its history (before the golf becomes a distant memory). If I could find the proposed Tillinghast drawings, I would be thrilled.