Richford and Thompson's "Prohibition Era" Courses

[Adam_F_Collins]

When I was a kid, my Grandfather used to play at the Richford Golf Course in Richford, Vermont. According to what I've heard. It was the project of Francis Ouimet and Stanley Thompson. The idea was to have the course on American soil and the clubhouse on Canadian soil, so that the members could drink at the 19th hole.

Richford is a 9 hole in sad shape from what I hear now, but does anyone have any more information on it; what it was like way back when or about any other such developments? I heard that Thompson did a number of them.

[Tyler Kearns]

Adam,

I cannot remember which issue exactly, but a recent Golf Canada featured a story on the many prohibition era courses that strattled the Canadian-American border.

TK

[Steve_ Shaffer]

I found this:

MOST SOUTHERLY COURSE - The honour goes to the Gateway Cities Country Club in North Portal, Saskatchewan and Gateway Cities Country Club in Portal, U.S. The course straddles the border - nine holes in Canada and nine holes in the U.S., reports Golf Canada magazine in a December 1999 article on Legal Ease: How Stanley Thompson's border courses provided relief to American golfers. These anti-Prohibition courses were set up to get around restrictions between 1919 and 1935. Once Prohibition  was introduced, the 19th hole at US clubs all but disappeared so you can guess where Americans had their after-game beer, reports Golf Canada.

[Tom Scupholm III]

In the Detroit - Windsor Area there is a small club by the name of Beach Grove that is a Thompson.  It opened in 1921.  It is right on lake St Clair and still has a Marina, that guests from the "States" can still use.  
http://www.beachgrove.net/

[Matt Frey, PGA]

I just read about the prohibition-inspired 19th hole and the two international holes at Richford Country Club in A Difficult Par. The course is still in operation today.

Looking on Google Maps, the border is well north of all of the holes...does anyone have any insight on when the border may have changed? I know there was a "border dispute / mistake" at nearby Rouses Point, New York, but I believe that was in the late 1800s, and Richford C.C. was built in 1928.

Was the story an "urban legend?" Surely the locals didn't mess up the border by that much...of course, border crossing was clearly different back then.

[Wayne_Kozun]

I doubt that the border has moved, at least not since the War of 1812 ended 200 years ago. Maybe that was a legend or the course has been re routed. Looking at Google Maps you can see that one of the holes comes within about 400 yards of the border.

[Jim_Kennedy]

I've read a few newspaper accounts of Richford and none say the clubhouse is going to be adjacent to the course, only that it's going to be over the border, and as Wayne pointed out it's only a driver & mashie away.


The first article tees up an issue for them - the govt. didn't seem too thrilled with their idea, and I'll bet the General took some heat. The snippet from the second article mentions a hole on an island in the river.   



The upper portion of the aerial shows the golf course today, the lower portion inside the yellow appears to be the area where they would have built the second nine.





As noted, the course still exists. Here are a couple of old and newer photos from their website:
















and their website:
http://richfordcountryclub.weebly.com/


When formed, it was going to be 18 holes and named the "Richford Frontier Club". I'd say their big plans fell victim to the stock market crash and/or the govt., so they were done at 9. 
 

[Ian Andrew]

I'm fairly certain there's a full booklet/prospectus for the course somewhere.
Plans and images


I thought I had it, but seem not to.
I remember it being very similar to the booklet for Manoir Richelieu (which I do have).

[Jim_Kennedy]

Looks like their plans got them a lot more scrutiny than they'd like.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MhgOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=X30DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6111%2C5524044




Ian,
This was a Stanley Thompson/ Francis Ouimet plan?

[Matt Frey, PGA]

Great research, Jim!

[Ian Andrew]

Evening Independent in St. Petersberg Florida identifies project as being spearheaded by Francis Ouimet

Mentioned in April 1928 of Canadian Golfer as Richford Frontier Club "laid out by Mr. Stanley Thompson."

[Jim_Kennedy]

Mentioned in April 1928 of Canadian Golfer as Richford Frontier Club "laid out by Mr. Stanley Thompson."

That's interesting. The ST site lists Richford as:

Extent of 'Thompson' Work
No known evidence
Evidence
No known evidence