History's Mysteries

[Bret Lawrence]

(Continued from previous post)
As far as Topeka Golf Club evolving into Topeka Country Club I really can not say for sure. 


The Country Club was founded in 1905. There are a couple of pictures showing the progress of the club house, but there was never a mention of an architect that I could find in 1905-1906. However in 1917, there is a very good write-up on Robert Fullerton.  In the last paragraph the author mentions he staked out the country club:




Is there any evidence that Bendelow designed the nine holes at TCC?  If so, could it be possible that Bob Fullerton simply built Bendelow's design?  I ask because in the next article, he appears to be in charge of construction for Langfords design:

[Bret Lawrence]

Topeka Country Club-1920, prior to Langford's redesign:



Hole number 9 may have survived?

[Jim_Kennedy]

Mystery #42 - What saved Newport?

The Oct. 1903 edition of The Golfer discussed the waning interest in golf at Newport.  From the sounds of it, the links were on the verge of being replaced by a racetrack for the newfangled automobile.

So what resurrected the interest in golf, and kept alive a club we know consider one of the historic sites of golf in the United States?

pg.147
https://issuu.com/lhasak/docs/ncc_issu

[Sven Nilsen]

Mystery #44 - Bendelow near Louisville

A Feb. 1907 Golf Magazine article notes plans for a new course in the Glenview neighborhood near Louisville, KY.  Bendelow was brought in to examine the land and develop the layout of an 18 hole course. 

I can find no record of a course in this area, and have no idea what happened to this project.

[John Emerson]

Mystery #44 - Bendelow near Louisville

A Feb. 1907 Golf Magazine article notes plans for a new course in the Glenview neighborhood near Louisville, KY.  Bendelow was brought in to examine the land and develop the layout of an 18 hole course. 

I can find no record of a course in this area, and have no idea what happened to this project.

Sven, I think this almost has to be modern day Louisville Country Club?  Travis coming later to redesign?  Sound right?

[Nigel Islam]

Mystery #44 - Bendelow near Louisville

A Feb. 1907 Golf Magazine article notes plans for a new course in the Glenview neighborhood near Louisville, KY.  Bendelow was brought in to examine the land and develop the layout of an 18 hole course. 

I can find no record of a course in this area, and have no idea what happened to this project.

Sven, I think this almost has to be modern day Louisville Country Club?  Travis coming later to redesign?  Sound right?

John,
   I think that sounds right. Fits the timeline for the CCL & LGC merger and the relocation from their Zorn Avenue location to their current location under the reorganized name of Louisville CC. Not sure when Travis came in and added the second nine. The timeline fits Audabon CC as well, but the location doesn’t seem right. Standard Country Club took over the Zorn Avenue site until they relocated in the 1950s. River Run Country Club was formed there and went out of business a few years ago. The course now is a dog walking park. Louisville CC is still going strong at the site they built on in the early 1900s.


Nigel

[Sven Nilsen]

Sven,

The last article you posted describes Chesapeake Country Club as situated on three hundred forty-one acres flanked on one side by the Chespeake Bay and on another by Ogleton Lake.

This sounds exactly like Annapolis Roads: 341 acres flanked by the Chesapeake Bay on one side and Lake Ogleton on the other.

The Annapolis Roads history never mentions a course prior to the Charles Banks course.

Bret

Bret:

It does sound like the Chesapeake CC morphed into Annapolis Roads.  I'm not convinced the course that Wilkinson planned was on the exact same land used by Banks, but it could have been (the Wilkinson description makes it sound like there was more coastal frontage).

It is of interest to note the timing of Wilkinson's involvement (1923) and the later Banks' project (1928).  One wonders if after the initial plan was scrapped, they were thinking of bringing in Raynor, and Banks ended up with the job after his death, especially considering CBM and SR had just finished their work at Gibson Island.

A fairly concise write up of the history of Annapolis Roads was linked to by Jim Kennedy on another thread: 

http://thelifeofanangloamerican.blogspot.com/2014/01/annapolis-roads-on-chesapeake-bay.html

Sven

Sven,

Thanks for the link.  According to Annapolis Roads An Olmsted Designed Community by James G. Gibb, Charles Banks was recommended by Percival Gallagher in April 1926.  The source cited is a letter from Percival Gallagher (Olmsted Brothers) to Rella Armstrong (owner of the property) in April 1926. 

The author makes it sound like Rella Armstrong was aware of Gibson Island and a few other locally planned communities.  Her goal from the beginning was to have a community of small cottages, a golf course and a hotel.  Her correspondence with the Olmsted Brothers doesn't appear to begin until February 1926.

Here is a link, if you want to take a look:
http://www.annapolisroads.net/editor_upload/File/Annapolis%20Roads%20History/AR%20History%2011_30_12%20Review.pdf

Bret

Bret:


A little follow up on Annapolis Roads.  I've copied below an early Olmsted plan for the course (I'm guessing you've already seen this).  Pretty sure this is the early plan Banks was discussing in the passage below from the first link you posted:

On June 12th 1926, Gallagher and Armstrong met with Banks in his New York City office.  Banks desired a "position for [the] 18th hole that would command a view of the Bay and be a "knockout" as to situation and thus terminate the course with a real effect."  He also "pointed out that too much of the course, as [Gallagher and Armstrong] had suggested...on their preliminary plan, ran east to west and was therefore difficult for play on account of the sun."  Banks desired "to run more of the greens in the other direction although the land [was] limited to do this in every case."  Banks then visited the site with Carr's survey team on June 28th to get a better feel for the ground on which he was to layout the course.

[Bret Lawrence]

Sven,


I have never seen that map before. Thanks for posting this. After rereading your remarks from the thread, I think you were right.  The map above shows some holes along the water and a completely different routing than what Banks planned or built for Annapolis Roads.  Nice find!


Bret

[Jim_Kennedy]

Here's a chicken/egg question: George once sent me a drawing/article about the Banks green at AR that had a bunker in the middle of it like Riviera's 6th. The construction of the two courses share a similar time frame, so who was the chicken, and who was the egg, and what are the origins of this type of green?

[Sven Nilsen]

Jim:


That was the 5th hole.  Not many answers on the inspiration, although it is suggested a scaled down version of the hole was done at Fox Chapel.


Sven


July 23, 1929 Brooklyn Daily Eagle -





April 27, 1930 Baltimore Sun -

[Bret Lawrence]

Jim,


I think the 5th green at Annapolis Roads may have been an adaptation of the Lions Mouth.  I think the bunker cut into the green significantly, but it's hard to tell if there was actually any putting surface in front of the bunker. The bunker was more in the center of the approach than it was plumb in the center of the green, but it did stretch into the center of the green. At least from what I can see in older aerials.


EDIT:Adding in an aerial from 1959.  After looking again maybe there was putting surface in front of the green at one time? I thought this aerial was earlier. Here is the 1959 aerial shot from the USGS site:



Bret

[Dean DiBerardino]

Agreed. The 9th hole at Fox Chapel once featured a Lions Mouth as well.....

Jim,


I think the 5th green at Annapolis Roads may have been an adaptation of the Lions Mouth.  I think the bunker cut into the green significantly, but it's hard to tell if there was actually any putting surface in front of the bunker. The bunker was more in the center of the approach than it was plumb in the center of the green, but it did stretch into the center of the green. At least from what I can see in older aerials.


EDIT:Adding in an aerial from 1959.  After looking again maybe there was putting surface in front of the green at one time? I thought this aerial was earlier. Here is the 1959 aerial shot from the USGS site:



Bret

[Sven Nilsen]

Mystery #45 -


Cragsmer Country Club, a John Van Kleek design on Lookout Mountain.  Anyone ever heard of it?


May 1, 1927 Chattanooga Daily Times -

[herrstein]

As far as I know, there was never a course at Cragsmere, which is the name of a cabin built by a former slave near Mentone, Alabama. Mentone is on the southern tip of Lookout Mountain, the opposite end from the Lookout Mountain Golf Club near Chattanooga.
The Cragsmere house is now an event venue, having been sold at auction a few years ago.
My guess is that this project never got off the ground, and had taken its name from the already existing home.
Where did you find this news article?

[Sven Nilsen]

Doug:

Thanks for the Alabama reference.  Realized I already had a listing for it in my files, so I must have seen a reference to it somewhere before.

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Mystery #46


George Thomas and Jack Malley in Death Valley


In 1930 it was reported that Jack Malley would be building a course in Death Valley, with Thomas offering assistance on construction issues.


The only course I know of from that era in that area is Furnace Creek, which is given various dates of origination ranging from 1927 to 1939 (the only concrete information I have is that it appeared in a 1938 Golf Guide).


Anyone know more about the origins of Furnace Creek, or if Malley and Thomas ever got their project off the ground?


Feb. 15, 1930 Los Angeles Evening Express -

[MCirba]

So I've long been curious about something I noticed once in an old Phoenix aerial image ...


Encanto (sometimes called Encanto Park) is a city of Phoenix (AZ) muni originally designed by William P Bell in the 30s. The first few holes of the course sit next to a man made lake that's part of a city park--it's not in play much. A big slice on #1 could get wet--that's about it. But the tee of #5 (a par 3 and the last hole along that edge of the property) sits on a little island. It's an odd feature so I went looking into old aerials at one point and fund that island tee only goes back to sometime in the 1980s. But what really surprised me was that what was there previously appears to me to be an actual island green (not so much Sawgrass style, think more like Cherry Hills). It's possible this was the green for the 5th hole, but could also have been the 7th. The earliest aerials I can find of the area only date back to the 50s. I'm curious is this island green was an original part of Bell's design or if it was something that was for some reason added later. Also curious why the city eventually did away with it.

It was a par three originally built with an island green, Matthew.   This is from right around opening day.

[Matthew Petersen]

Thanks Mike! This is fantastic!