GolfClubAtlas.com > Golf Course Architecture Discussion Group
Reunderstanding Ross
Sven Nilsen:
1909
Jekyll Island Golf Club (Jekyll Island, GA) - 18 Holes, New in 1909, NLE in 1960
Not noted in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
While Jekyll Island is more known in these parts for its Travis course, Ross did do work here in 1909 on a new course. While I can find no contemporaneous accounts of Ross' involvement, there are reports of the opening of the course.
Feb. 14, 1910 New York Tribune -
Ed Homsey provided a very concise history of the activities, which I've copied below from another thread:
"There has been some mention Jekyll Island, and an aerial posted that purports to show the location of the Travis and Ross courses. Because one of our members resides year-round at Jekyll, and has spent many hours researching the history of Jekyll Island golf, the Travis Society's Jekyll Island file is significantly larger than any other Travis course. Here's what I have gleaned from our materials: In 1909-1910, Ross created an 18 hole design approximately in the area of the current Oleander Course. Though records are not conclusive, it is believed that 9 holes of the Ross plan were built and that the Jekyll Island golf pro, Karl Keffer designed some seaside holes that joined part of the Ross course. Though Travis had been to Jekyll earlier, it wasn't until 1926 (not 1898 as stated in a previous post) that Walter Travis was commissioned to design the 18 hole Great Dunes course. There are early aerials and photos that show the entire Travis Great Dunes course, with the oceanside 9 holes as well as the current Great Dunes 9-hole course. Records indicate that the oceanside 9 was not re-opened after the Jekyll Island Club was closed in 1942. From all appearances, it would have been one of the great oceanside 9 holes around."
The Given Memorial Library has a map of the course (copied below) that was prepared from the notes of Ross which outlines an 18 and a 9 hole course. With only 9 holes being built, the DRS listing is a bit misleading when it notes there were 18 new holes.
Essex County Club (Manchester-By-The-Sea, MA) - 18 Holes, New in 1909, Still in Existence
2018 DRS Update - 18 Holes Remodel in 1910-1917
The 1930 Ross Booklet notes 18 Holes.
Essex County dates back to 1893 as one of the earliest golf courses in the country. Ross became the pro here around 1910, moving over from Oakley and for a while lived on the course. Like Oakley, the story goes that he reworked the course over a number of years. Although I can find little documentation of his work during his tenure, today Essex County is considered to be all Ross.
Nov. 1908 American Golfer -
Aug. 19, 1910 Boston Globe -
The Nov. 10, 1910 Boston Post noted that Ross was to reconstruct the links.
Dec. 13, 1910 Boston Globe -
July 16, 1911 Boston Globe -
Aug. 18, 1911 Boston Globe -
Essex County represents a number of courses on the DRS List where he is given credit for creating a new course when the work essentially entailed reworking an existing layout. Without a more in depth critical analysis of exactly what was done, it is hard for me to dismiss the work of those that came before him. The Ross name carries a lot of weight in the golf world today, but without explicit evidence that what he left on the ground was so far removed from what was there originally to bear no resemblance, I have a hard time describing this type of work as "New."
Lu Lu Country Club (o/k/a Lu Lu Temple CC) (North Hills, PA) - 9 Holes, New in 1909, 9 Holes, New in 1918, Still in Existence
The 1930 Ross Booklet notes 18 Holes.
Credit for dissecting the complex history of Lu Lu belongs to Joe Bausch and the plethora of other Philadelphia area golf history enthusiasts. Ross is largely responsible for the course, but he did not work there in 1909. The first 9 holes of the course opened in 1912, designed by J. Franklin Meehan and W. Webb. Ross was hired in 1918 to design a new course on existing and newly acquired land, as reported in the Jan. 1919 edition of American Golfer. However, to add a bit of mystery to the story, a subsequent article noted that 9 new holes were created by Francis James.
Dec. 3, 1919 Philadelphia Inquirer -
Edit: Adding in this Aug. 16, 1918 Evening Public Ledger article discussing the origins of the club and the plans to have Ross extend the course to 18 holes.
Addition to the List:
Columbia Country Club (Chevy Chase, MD)
Not included in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
The initial design of Columbia CC has always been credited to H. H. Barker, but there is evidence that Ross played a role in the first layout. The combination of Barker and Ross makes sense, if you consider they were both guys Travis would recommend for a project.
Oct. 26, 1909 Washington Times -
MCirba:
Sven,
I'm really enjoying this thread, thanks.
In the case of Lulu, we are very confident that Frank James constructed the course to Ross' plans.
We also know that Ross retained the routing of 7 of the 9 Meehan/Webb holes in his 18 hole plan.
Sven Nilsen:
1910
Dedham Country and Polo Club (Dedham, MA) - 9 Holes, New in 1910?, NLE?
2018 DRS Update - Date changed to 1915
Not noted in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
The DRS might want to update this to 1915.
Feb. 1, 1914 Boston Globe -
May 28, 1915 Boston Daily Globe -
May 30, 1915 Boston Daily Globe -
A 1923 "Confidential" letter from Ross to Leonard Tufts describing why he turned down doing any subsequent work at Dedham.
Wellesley Country Club (Wellesley, MA) - 9 Holes, New in 1910, Still in Existence
Not noted in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
I have no contemporaneous reports of Ross at Wellesley, and would love to see some. The timing and location make sense, but it would be nice to see something concrete to lock this one down.
Chevy Chase Club (Chevy Chase, MD) - 18 Holes, Remodel in 1910, Still in Existence
Not included in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
I'm not sure if describing this as an 18 hole remodel is entirely accurate, as it would seem that Ross added a number of new holes. The date here should probably be 1909, although Ross did return in 1910 to add bunkers.
May 10, 1909 Evening Star -
Sept. 12, 1909 Evening Star -
May 1910 Golf Magazine -
Hillandale Country Club (o/k/a Durham CC) (Durham, NC) - 9 Holes, New in 1910, NLE in 1961
Not included in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
I can find no information on Ross working here in 1910, and that date is probably off as a Jan. 1912 American Golfer article notes the planned opening of the first 9 holes of the course. The 1928 article below notes plans for a new course by Ross (although the Annual Guides from 1916 - 1921 noted an 18 hole course under construction). Hillandale, like quite a few other early Ross courses with little to no source materials, does not have an entry on the Given Memorial Library website.
Feb. 2, 1928 The Daily Tarheel -
Overhills Golf Club (Overhills, NC) - 9 Holes, New in 1910, 9 Holes, New in 1918, NLE
Not included in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
Other than some possible discrepancies over the date (the course having most likely been laid out after 1910, an important date in the Ross timeline which we'll discuss later), this listing is fairly accurate. Overhills was covered in detail by Chris Buie in an earlier thread, one that should stand out as a benchmark for historical analysis -
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,46197.0.html
Feb. 1917 Golf Illustrated -
Course Plan (the notes indicate that this was prepared after 1910) -
Bethlehem Country Club (Bethlehem, NH) - 13 or 14 Holes, New in 1910, 4 or 5 Holes, Remodel in 1910, Still in Existence
Not included in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
Date should be 1909. In addition to the articles below, please see the May 1910 Golf Magazine article posted above under Chevy Chase and the June 17, 1916 The Evening Post article in post #47 below.
July 4, 1909 New York Tribune -
June 1910 Golf Magazine -
June 25, 1911 Washington Herald -
Cherokee Country Club (Knoxville, TN) - 18 Holes, New in 1910, 18 Holes, New in 1925, Still in Existence
2018 DRS Update - Now just an 18 Hole Remodel in 1919-22
Not included in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
Another mystery, especially with regards to the 1910 date. The April 1908 edition of Golf Magazine noted that a 9 hole course had been laid out by Bernard Nicholls, with plans to add 9 more holes later. There are reports of those plans in 1910, and later in 1914 the Spalding Official Golf Guide noted they had been carried out. What adds a wrinkle to any Ross involvement at that time is the H. H. Barker activity covered in the article below. As for any subsequent work on an entirely new 18 hole course in 1925, I have yet to find any confirmation. Like Hillandale above, the Given Memorial Library has no information on any activity at Cherokee.
June 29, 1916 Daily Arkansas Gazette -
Update: Ross showed up in 1919 to remodel the existing course.
Dec. 22, 1919 Journal and Tribune -
Addition:
Essex Fells CC (Essex Fells, NJ)
Not included in the 1930 Ross Booklet.
Essex Fells is one of those cases where Ross' involvement has been reported so much that it seems like it must be fact. But again, I can find no reports of him doing work at any time. I wanted to include this in the listing as a possibility, one that merits more research. The 1910 date is included as that is the date several sources give for when he added 9 holes to the existing course. Seeing as the extension to 18 was covered in the papers in 1916, that time frame would be a more likely candidate.
Tim Martin:
Sven-I know Raynor gets the credit now for Essex Fells and remember reading that some felt Banks might have actually been the lead. Was it originally a Ross?
Sven Nilsen:
By the end of 1910, Ross had gained a toe hold in the realm of American golf course architecture. Unlike Bendelow, Findlay and the other big names, Ross was not linked with a larger concern like Spalding. Rather, his work seemed to be derived by referral.
In the May 1910 Golf Magazine article copied above we learned of his plans to travel to England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to study those countries' courses and their construction. The timing of this trip, right at the start of his career and shortly after the publicized pilgrimages of other big names in the industry, makes a lot of sense. Ross intended to pursue a career in the business, and he had the wherewithal to know that he needed to expand his base of knowledge. A rather astute observation for someone who probably could have lauded his roots in Dornoch and St. Andrews as education enough.
It would make sense that Ross' benefactors encouraged not only the trip, but also his longterm plans. Taking three months off of work from the busy Boston golf season only made sense if it was a precursor to larger moves to come. It isn't spelled out explicitly, but you have to imagine that Ross already envisioned what his design business would become. Part of the vision entailed a faith that there would be plenty of work. It is no stretch to link the imminent opening of MacDonald's National Golf Links into this train of thought. Those in tune knew that a new era of golf course construction was about to begin in America. And they were right.
Upon his return, Ross made sure the whole country knew what he had learned.
Nov. 10, 1910 Brooklyn Daily Eagle -
Dec. 17, 1910 Pinehurst Outlook -
June 25, 1910 Christian Science Monitor -
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