Walter Travis "Dropped" from NGLA? NEW evidence found

[MCirba]

From "Brooklyn Life", 1899, regarding Ekwanok



This 1908 "Pinehurst Outlook" article provides a lot of descriptive information, including the sizing of the greens.

[Jim_Kennedy]

In fact, Dunn felt that Ekwanok was really the first "natural" course in the United States, reliant primarily on existing features rather than contrived artificial features.

He must have been speaking about the terrain as a quick look back at a photo essay of Equinox you posted in the past shows contrived features on the early 1900's course, especially bunkers that looked like this:








p.s. re GCGC: WJT left 13 of the Emmet greens alone in '06, I'm guessing they were rather good.  All that seems to be mentioned about the work he had done on on the other 5 is adding undulation, with the only specific being an 'undulating mound' of not more than 2' high on #2.
 

[MCirba]

Jim,

That doesn't look natural to you?   I would blame Travis. 

I don't recall doing a photo gallery of Ekwanok, but I'm getting older these days so who knows.   Do you know what year that pic was from?

As regards Garden City, Travis did another round of changes in 1908 as I'm sure you know.   More to come in that regards in Part 3.     

[Jim_Kennedy]

Mike,

1903 - and it doesn't look like it was built 'yesterday'. 

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,61375.msg1457978.html#msg1457978

[MCirba]

Thanks, Jim...that was a great thread Sven started with some marvelous photos. 

[Ed Homsey]

Another comment relative to Jim Kennedy's question about Travis's greens.


In the June 1906 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, describing the "Sweeping Changes at Garden City Links", and following a detailed description of changes to individual holes, the article notes, "In General-- Remodel four greens, not including second green already provided for by denuding the greens of their surfaces of turf and arranging undulations---".  Travis was responsible for these changes.  Perhaps that was one of his early efforts to create movement in green surfaces.  However, the greens that elicited the comments quoted above exist at Hollywood GC (1917), Cape Arundel (1919), Westchester CC (1919), Cherry Hill Club (1922), Pennhills Club (1922), Yahnundasis GC (1922), CC of Scranton (1925), and CC of Troy (1926).  The are other courses which have a few untouched, original Travis greens.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Thanks, Jim...that was a great thread Sven started with some marvelous photos.

Oops - should have read "you posted on in the past"...and yes, it has some great old photos.

[MCirba]

Still working on Part Three, which should be a doozy.   

[Andrew Bertram]

I want to ask a question that may seem simplistic in the direction of this wonderful post that I am enjoying, however it will be extremely helpful in discussions I am currently having


Travis, born in Maldon, country Victoria, a member of the world hall of fame


Did not touch a club until mid life living in New York


Would you consider him Victorian / Australian or American?
 

[MCirba]

I want to ask a question that may seem simplistic in the direction of this wonderful post that I am enjoying, however it will be extremely helpful in discussions I am currently having


Travis, born in Maldon, country Victoria, a member of the world hall of fame


Did not touch a club until mid life living in New York


Would you consider him Victorian / Australian or American?

Andrew,


It seemed he very much considered himself an Australian by birth and American by choice, if that makes sense.


Glad you are enjoying the articles.

[MCirba]

Just an update to all interested parties...

I'm expecting to have Part Three completed and sent to Ran within the next week to ten days.   It is literally the size of Parts One & Two combined and I'm about 80% completed.   

It'll be worth the wait.   Thanks for your interest.

[MCirba]

Just an update...

Part Three was finished being written this past weekend and has since been sent to a Quality Control team of experts who are in the process of quarantining the work, then fumigating, sand-blasting, and disinfecting each word, after which it will be sanitized in a criticism-proof booth, and hermetically sealed prior to being sent to Ran for publication.   Your thoughts and prayers for the team are welcomed and appreciated as each of those very brave men undertake this hazardous set of tasks.

I'd ask your forbearance while this precarious process unfolds and thank you for your patience and emotional restraint at this critical juncture. 

[Ed Homsey]

Re the question of Travis' nationality.  Obviously, he was an Australian by birth.  But, after arriving in America, he fully identified as an American.  It should be noted that he briefly returned to Australia just once, and that was on a business trip.  Despite frequent requests, from his family, to return, he didn't.  He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1890, and thereafter, often referred to himself as "essentially American".  I think the record clearly shows Travis' preferences regarding his nationality.

[MCirba]

To touch a bit more on Ed's response as relates to golf, over his career Travis seems to have become more and more American "nationalistic", particularly as related to matters with the R&A.

While he generally believed in a single set of rules, and overall obedience to a central decision-making body, over time he felt the R&A was missing the understanding and open-mindedness needed to be that global authority.   Their perceived lack of willingness to actively work with American golfers on rules matters to was at first annoying to Travis, but later I think it's fair to say he felt America needed to go its own way.

More on that in Part Three...

Coming soon to a website near you.

[MCirba]

I am pleased to report that Part 3 has been shipped under heavy security in an airtight, fire and bomb-proof container to Ran in sunny Spain.   


I've been informed that Ran's stellar team of GCA informants and international security police are presently sworn to secrecy while contents go through their final whitewash scrubbing before publication within a few days.

[Peter Pallotta]

Very well written, Mike, and a very informative and enjoyable read - thanks.
One day, if we ever get to meet, play a round together, and then eat and drink and chat, I'm going to start a long (and from my part, mostly uninformed) discussion into all this with three little words:
Herbert Leeds - Myopia.
 
Thanks, best
Peter

[MCirba]

Peter,

We need to make that meeting happen.   I'm sure we'll have a good time then.

How Leeds went from an excellent overall athlete to excellent golfer in such a short period of time, and then to superb course architect along the same flight path is a story that needs to be further researched and one I still don't fully understand, even after reading Kevin Mendik's excellent IMO piece a few years back.  Where did he get his architectural knowledge so quickly?   I still don't know!   

http://golfclubatlas.com/in-my-opinion/mendik-kevin-h-c-leeds-the-papa-of-american-golf-architecture/

One fundamental way Travis differed from Leeds is that Leeds was generally an introvert, and kept to his close (if wide) circle of friends and sporting associates at Myopia, Essex County, Bar Harbor, and Aiken, SC.   He seemed content to drive golf endeavors at those locations but did not involve himself in the larger, national issues of the burgeoning game by and large as Travis and Macdonald did.

Where Leeds was content to "do", Travis seemed just as inclined to persuade, evangelize, agitate, provoke, and teach strategic and "scientific" golf course architecture and related matters.

BTW, I've been informed that the total size of my Part 3 has been slowing down the Internet globally.   I'm hopeful that Ran and Chris will soon have that situation under control and we can unveil it to an unwitting world. 

[Ed Homsey]

Just one other comment about Travis's nationality.  Though she recognizes that her grandfather was born in Australia, his granddaughter has always thought of him as American.  She never knew her grandfather, personally, but spent many happy occasions with her grandmother, and heard a lot about her famous grandfather.  She was not too pleased that his Golf Hall of Fame plaque lists him as Australian, but recognizes and accepts the Hall's policy.

[MCirba]

The concluding "Part Three" of this three-part series is now available and can be found at the following link.   

I hope you enjoyed this series.
http://golfclubatlas.com/in-my-opinion/cirba-mike-walter-j-travis-dropped-at-national-golf-links-of-america-truth-or-travesty-part-three/

[mark chalfant]

Mike,


Your piece on the "Mature Man" is fantastic !   The info in the articles is fascinating.  Your thoughtful comments about some of the forceful personalities were concise and illuminating.  Thanks for your exceptional contribution. Thanks also to Doctor Homsey and Dr. Joe Bausch


Mark

[MCirba]

Mark,
Thanks for taking the time to read the essays and for your very kind comments.

I sometimes felt on dangerous ground when I speculated on how each of the men might "feel" at any given time in the course of events, or even more perilously, what they may have been thinking, or perhaps visa versa.   

On the other hand, I wanted to bring the men and the events they went through together (and sadly, eventually apart) into something more human and real than just a cold recitation of facts.

I also probably should have re-thought the title from something that provocative, but I was hoping to generate interest.   In truth, neither man was to blame for their ultimate falling-out yet as in most divorce cases, both contributed highly to that eventuality.

I think in the end, Macdonald played his historical role by avoiding fragmentation of the R&A rules by competing factions as the game grew and Travis who helped to move the needle forward on some necessary progression and Americanization/Globalization-driven amendments and changes.

Ironically, it was Macdonald who suggested golf's form of the "Virginia Compromise" and Travis who insisted on a strict constructionist interpretation of the R&A's ruling. 

I'm heartened that you found the piece enjoyable and illuminating.   Thanks, again.

[Niall C]

Well done Mike. An enjoyable read. It does seem to me that Travis was a bit of a loose cannon and that his magazine gave him the ability to give free rein to his opinions and express them widely. Is that fair comment ?

That must have been hugely frustrating to his friends. Strong words said in private don't have nearly the same resonance as those same words published. I have to say though that I'm not convinced that the banning of the putter was an attempt by the great and the good in Britain to get back at Travis for winning the championship in 1904. After all, it was 6 or 7 years later. It seems to me more likely that Travis used it as a pretext to stoke the flames of his grudge (not sure that's the right phrase but hopefully you know what I mean) of not getting the credit he thought he deserved for winning in 1904.

In Part 1 or 2 you referred to Travis being the best amateur in the world at that time but I very much doubt they saw it that way over here which is why he got grudging respect only for having won. I imagine that must have rankled.

Niall

[MCirba]

Niall,
Thanks, I think those are all fair comments.   Thankfully they didn't have Twitter in those days!
I'm not sure I would venture to guess what was in the minds of the R&A when they passed the ban on the Schenectady.   Certainly the Travis article he wrote that spring in American golfer about the 1904 British Amateur did not sit well with many folks and it wasn't until the 1950s that the ban was eventually lifted.   

In any case, Travis' growing defiance and eventual calls for rebellion put Macdonald in a very difficult place given the latter's dream of a unified golf world under R&A rule.   

To your point about "in print" versus private conversations, I can't help but believe that alcohol sometimes fueled some of the writings of those men back then, much as it does now, even here on GCA.   There's the old saying that "the truth comes out", and certainly the lessening of inhibitions may have have played a part.

[Ed Homsey]

May be some truth to that.  Travis was never too far away from his Old Crow.

[Ed Homsey]

I tend to agree with Niall regarding the banning of the Schenectady.  It was not a banning of the Schenectady, per see.  But, it fell within the category of "mallet-headed" clubs.


I do not agree with characterizing Travis as a "loose cannon".  In my opinion, a full reading of his journalism would show him to be one who contributed significant insights into many areas of golf, including the design of golf courses, the care of golf courses, the grassing of golf courses, the rules of golf, the formats of golf competitions, design of golf equipment, etc.  It is true that he did not hesitate to speak his opinion.