Sven, I found the same thing, but I am not sure whether that is an actual truck or a artistic rendering of a model, and I am not sure the model is correctly dated.
I see Bryan helped clarify. They made a 5 ton dump truck beginning in 1908, a photo is in my link below. Other companies also made dumptrucks dating back to 1907 at least.
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David,
Why is it news that some members and friends hit balls around various holes that may have been ready sooner than others?
Members and friends hit balls around various holes? Do you ever tire of shamelessly twisting and spinning the facts? Doesn't it get even a little embarrassing for you?
According to CBM (and various accounts) they "first played tentatively over the course" in 1909, from the regular tees at 6100 yards. The NY Tribune has photos of them golfing a number of other holes in addition to those mentioned above, including the Sahara (September 5, 1909) and the Road Hole (September 19, 1909).
CBM also mentioned in SG that they played an informal match play tournament over the course in 1909. W.T. Tuckerman beat Herreshoff in the finals of the first flight of eight, and CBM beat Robert Watson "one up" in the finals of the second flight of eight.
[This was not the same tournament as the well-publicized Invitational in July of 1910. In 1910 CBM played in the first flight, which was won by Herreshoff, and S.K. DeForrest of Shinnecock beat Frank Thomas in the finals of the second flight. Neither Tuckerman nor Watson played in the the second tournament. (I mention this because in Scottland's Gift, CBM mistakenly said that John Ward, who played in both tournaments, had shot a 74(!) in the 1909 tournament, when in reality he shot a 74 (with a 32(!!) on the current front nine) in the 1910 tournament.)]
So they weren't only golfing at NGLA in 1909, they even had a tournament.
Will you try to spin it as they were just hitting a balls around more various holes, or will you take CBM's word for it that they were golfing the course? You are shameless.
I have a few pics that show the state of conditions in late 1909 that I'll post tomorrow if you think it's newsworthy. That still has nothing to do with the overall course construction project from inception to opening in July 1910 that by definition includes the grow - in phase.
By
your definition construction may include grow-in, but a more reasonable understanding is that sitting around waiting for grass to grow isn't the same thing as constructing the golf course, especially when the issue at hand involves actually working on the golf course with trucks and such.
You can make up your own definitions about what constitutes "construction" or "a soft opening," but if they are golfing on the course and even holding tournaments on a course, then it is misleading for you to repeatedly suggest that they were still in the throws of heavy construction.
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As for JC's original question, According to CBM (and various accounts) they began to develop the property in the Spring of 1907. So they needed access roads onto the property at that point. (Contrary to Mike's suggestions there were already roads to the property.) If roads on the property did not yet exist, then they would have have to create them. All this nonsense about a 3.5 year construction period is just a distraction.
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Same goes for the rest of this stuff about how there were no roads, dump trucks didn't exist, and not even dirt hauling trucks existed. They existed. Here again is a link to the January 1, 1909 journal article listing Manhattan's (Mack's) current offerings. Notice the Five Ton Dump Truck.
https://books.google.com/books?id=xq0yAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA168&dq=dumptruck&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VtJUVc78G4K9ggSbrIKoCw&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=dump%20truck&f=falseHere is a link to a 1908 article about dump trucks (called "dumping wagons") which noted that "motor vehicles with dumping bodies are frequently built in this country and abroad, especially where bulk loads are to be handled." The article also mentions such vehicles are often custom built to specification for the type of the job.
https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFIgAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA293&dq=chase+dumping+wagons&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b2hVVcGNBa7isAS74IGQCQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=falseHere is yet another article on a dump truck, this one from January 1908 spotlighting a dump truck (made in 1907) which had been customized to haul ash. (The same company also sold dump trucks for other purposes.)
https://books.google.com/books?id=A3dHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA130&dq=%22dumping+mechanism%22+springfield&hl=en&sa=X&ei=g2pVVfWLI4HHsQS3gYGYCw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=falseThere were also a bunch of different types of regular old trucks which were used for hauling dirt, manure, or anything else. [See Bryan's list, for example.]
I don't know whether at NGLA CBM used a wagon, a truck, a dump truck, or even a RR. But roads existed or could readily by built. Trucks existed. RR's existed. The arguments to the contrary are ridiculous.
[Edited on May 17 to correct name of runner-up in 1909 tourney from Travis to Herreshoff.]