[Ran Morrissett]

Merion’s return as a stellar US Open site helped make it a banner year for the club, course and its primary architect, Hugh Wilson. The tournament re-validated Merion’s design and exposed those who didn’t comprehend it. Non-thinking players were humbled and unknowing commentators appeared feckless. Mike Cirba’s “Who was Hugh Wilson? Part I” set the stage nicely in early June and revealed much about the man. We came to understand the high esteem in which this amateur architect (and first class gentleman) was held. The alarming excellence of Mike's piece caused me to presume that was that. What more could you ask for?! Wrong again! Tom MacWood once told me that research begets research. You head innocently down a path which branches in two and each of those in turn branch off, etc. That very thing happened with Mike, whose interest in Hugh Wilson specifically and the Philadelphia School of Design in general knows no bounds. Mike wrote to me in an August email:

As these things tend to do, just as I was finishing my first piece some new materials were unearthed that help complete a picture by providing additional information that serves to either supplement or negate a previous theory. In this case, it was a 1934 article by Robert Lesley in the US Open program that Philadelphia historian Pete Trenham added to his wonderful site, as well as Joe Bausch locating and posting a "Golfer's Magazine" article from 1916 by Philadelphia golf writer William Evans. Combined with previous articles, as well as some additional research which validated some timelines, the first section of this article tries to answer the proverbial question, "Why Hugh Wilson?", and I believe what I've come up with is not only accurate but never quite understood before, in or out of the club, over the past half century or more. Previous histories have speculated that Wilson was given the role out of some stroke of good fortune, or an inspired, beneficent appointment by elders who saw his incredible potential, or because he had the time on his hands, being an insurance-man and all, or that he had been in ill health and they hoped this would help him convalesce, odd as that may seem. All of that may or may not be true in whole or part, but I believe the evidence indicates that Wilson was given the job simply because he was the Chairman of the Merion Green Committee, and already had been for a number of years at that point.

So today we post a sequel by Mike Cirba under ‘In My Opinion’. While the first page/first section, titled “Why Hugh Wilson?” is completely new, the second section, "Hugh Wilson's Architectural Legacy" is greatly expanded upon from Part I. At Sean Arble’s suggestion, Mike zoomed in on Hugh Wilson’s designs and several of his tenets came to light. For instance, none of Wilson's courses have returning nines. He had a penchant for drop shot par 3s. Within each of his designs are a vast range of requirements for each course’s set of par 3s, 4s and 5s. Mike uses more than 25 photos to maximum effect to substantiate his assertions. Some are his own photos and others were borrowed liberally from the "Bausch Collection" with Joe's permission. I could look at the photo from behind the 5th green at Merion   all day! Along with the 13th at Prestwick, I reckon the 5th green complex at Merion ranks in the top handful on earth.

In a somewhat bizarre twist, Mike’s extensive research and writing begs the question: Just how good was Hugh Wilson’s work? Indeed, does he and his work merit such scrutiny? We are each free to decide. Since I have the advantage of having already read Part II, I say the answer is - happily – a resounding yes. Mike found this pearl in Geoff Shackelford's The Captain from master architect George Thomas:  “I always considered Hugh Wilson of Merion, Pennsylvania as one of the best of our golf architects, professional or amateur.  He taught me many things at Merion and the Philadelphia Municipal (Cobb’s Creek) and when I was building my first California courses, he kindly advised me by letter when I wrote him concerning them.” There is no higher endorsement  possible than that! After Hugh Wilson’s death at the age of 45, his brother Alan wrote that Merion East “....is not bunkered to catch weak shots but to encourage fine ones, yet if a man indulges in bad play he is quite sure to find himself paying the penalty.” Is that not the epitome of great bunkering/design? Yet so few modern architects get it!

Mike sums things up in his own relaxed voice, “Perhaps Wilson’s most lasting architectural legacy and one most worthy of study and emulation today was his pioneering work in combining naturalness, the blending of artificial construction seamlessly into the surrounding landscape, with the creation of golf holes that are fun for everyday play, where recovery is always a possibility, and that are adaptable to stringently challenge top players in competition.  Indeed, Hugh Wilson’s courses today give the impression of very little moved in the way of dirt, where good golf holes are found through careful study of what nature offered instead of being jack-hammered, exploded, and plowed into existence.”

Mike could have updated his previous piece but I am glad he chose this route instead. Read together, Part I and Part II surely provide the most comprehensive take ever on Hugh Wilson. Through Mike’s unending research, a figure once shrouded in mystery emerges front and center, fleshed out as the right guy at the right time. Congrats too to Mike, Joe, Wayne, et al as the Philadelphia School of Design has inspired the creation of the Philadelphia School of Research and Writing!

Best,

[Tom_Doak]

I found Mike's description of Wilson's routing tendencies particularly interesting.  Some of what he says is pretty generic [ie, not so much a personal style as a response to the site that other architects would also be prone to follow], but some is very observant.

I was surprised to see that he used a couple of holes at Phoenixville as part of his analysis of Wilson's work ... I thought that a year or two ago Wilson's involvement there had been questioned.  Does Mike have the goods that Wilson was involved?  Was that in Part I and I missed it during my summer travels?

[Dan Herrmann]

Tom,.
This is purely speculative on my part, but there are holes at Phoenixville that certainly remind me of Merion West  The par 3 6th at Merion West is a clone of a hole at Phoenixville, for example.

[Joe Bausch]

I found Mike's description of Wilson's routing tendencies particularly interesting.  Some of what he says is pretty generic [ie, not so much a personal style as a response to the site that other architects would also be prone to follow], but some is very observant.

I was surprised to see that he used a couple of holes at Phoenixville as part of his analysis of Wilson's work ... I thought that a year or two ago Wilson's involvement there had been questioned.  Does Mike have the goods that Wilson was involved?  Was that in Part I and I missed it during my summer travels?

I have been working closely with Phoenixville to make the Wilson attribution.  We are not there yet, but I'm confident enough to state it is a Wilson design.

I hope to have definitive evidence at some point.

[Tom_Doak]

I have been working closely with Phoenixville to make the Wilson attribution.  We are not there yet, but I'm confident enough to state it is a Wilson design.

I hope to have definitive evidence at some point.

Thanks, Joe.

Bill Kittleman is the one who told me it was a Wilson course.  No idea what basis he had for making that attribution.

[John Burnes]

Enjoyed your piece Mike.  I was curious about the North Hills piece..did he design it as well?
 
Also, what about his pilgrimage overseas?  Did that impact his further work on Merion and Cobbs (or any other designs)?

[Joe Bausch]

Enjoyed your piece Mike.  I was curious about the North Hills piece..did he design it as well?
 
Also, what about his pilgrimage overseas?  Did that impact his further work on Merion and Cobbs (or any other designs)?

I'll let Mike answer this one:


Hi John,
 
Glad you enjoyed the piece.   Yes, Hugh Wilson designed North Hills with others, another great find by Dr. Bausch!   From Part I;
 
North Hills 1914-1917
 
Much like Seaview and Philmont, it seems the connections Wilson cemented at Cobb’s Creek led to an increasing amount of golf course related work, this time at North Hills Country Club.   Franklin Meehan started this venerable club on family property in 1908, and in 1914 once additional land was acquired, a new eighteen hole course was designed by Hugh Wilson, Alan Corson (Assistant Engineer of Fairmount Park and Chairman of the North Hills Green Committee), Meehan, and Ab Smith, all four men at the time involved as well with the Cobb’s Creek initiative.  Course construction commenced that year under the leadership of Corson, but it was evidently slow-going.
 
In January of 1915, Tillinghast wrote; “North Hills has great possibilities, for the natural features are many. In a number of places the ancient mine workings offer exceptional opportunities to the course builder, but unfortunately the club has not been in a position to finance the work which would give them a remarkable course.  Lay out North Hills on a big scale and it will be a great golf course.”
 
The new course opened in 1917, and it’s likely that both Wilson and Merion Greenkeeper William Flynn helped over the next period of years as design drawings coinciding with some revisions and enhancements of the course were found in the “Flynn Collection” drawing years later.
 
 
In answer to your other question, I think his pilgrimage abroad led to Wilson creating specific features that modelled things he saw there, and we know that Richard Francis mentioned that Wilson modelled the 3rd hole at Merion after the redan at North Berwick.   We also know that some reported the 6th was to be a road hole concept, and the 15th green modelled after the Eden.  However, I tried to be careful to only post what I could substantiate, and I think sometimes people make too much of that trip, straining to find influences and direct copies that they can trace to something familiar.   For instance, is the "Valley of Sin" in front of the 17th green at Merion really something created by Wilson to model The Old Course?   Or, was it simply a low point on the quarry floor that Wilson utilized to build his green behind?   Certainly we haven't found anything contemporaneous where anyone called it a "Valley of Sin", much less a "biarritz" and the first reference I found calling it a Valley of Sin was from Jim Finegan 90 years later.   Without contemporaneous documentation, we're left to guess, and given the history and tenor of some of the Merion discussions on GCA, I wanted to keep to areas where I felt adequate substantiation existed.
 
Best Regards,
Mike

[Joe Bausch]

When there was darkness and bad golf was king and ruled the elements
When there was silence and the hush was almost deafening

Out of the emptiness, Salvation! (Salvation!)
Rhythm and light and sound
It 'twas the Merion creation
It 'twas an awesome big bang
It 'twas the ultimate mutation

Hugh was searching for his yang
And he looked and he saw that it was good

 

[Joe Bausch]

From Mike Cirba:

This past week Joe and I visited the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and reviewed some materials donated by former MCC members. 
 
As relates to the theories advanced previously regarding Hugh Wilson and Committee makeup, we learned that;
 
1) Rodman Griscom was Chairman of the Merion Green Committee from 1896 through at least 1906.
2) HG Lloyd was on the Green Committee since at least 1901.
3) Dr. Toulmin was on the Green Committee since 1903.
4) Hugh Wilson was not yet on either the Green Committee or the Golf Committee by 1906, nor was Richard Francis.
 
Unfortunately, 1906 was the last year committee listings in this former member's material were available.  We know that the MCC Minutes indicate that Winthrop Sargent was Green Chairman (with Wilson on the Golf Committee) in 1912 (and possibly 1911), so I think our window is narrowing as follows;
 
1896 - 1906 - Rodman Griscom
1907 - 1911 - ?
1912 - Winthrop Sargent
1913 - ?
1914 - Hugh Wilson (resigned November)
1915 - 1923 Winthrop Sargent
 
With Robert Lesley's later commentary about continuity of the Chair of the Green Committee from 1909 until present (1934) being responsible for the success of Merion's courses, as well as news accounts when he resigned in November 1914 saying he had served as Green Chairman for "many years", and another stating that he served for "seven years" prior to his resignation, I'm hoping to soon validate my theory that Wilson served as Chairman of the Green Committee prior to being named to head the Construction Committee.  
 
Thanks!

Mike

[MCirba]

Sorry for digging this out from the past (but anyone interested in a good read should digest these two IMO pieces...they are really, really top notch!    ) but I came across this little tidbit today from October 9th, 1913 of the Philadelphia Inquirer.   It's probably the earliest mention of the word "designer" I've come across in this regard.

[Sven Nilsen]

It's probably the earliest mention of the word "designer" I've come across in this regard.

FWIW, Bendelow had been referred to as a designer in the papers well prior to 1913.

[BCrosby]

Nice find, Mike.


Further FWIW, in the UK there were many references to Colt, Park, Fowler, etc. as golf course "designers" before 1913.


I need to check my notes, but I would guess that the term "golf architects" was also in use by that date, at least in the UK.


Bob 

[MCirba]

Sven/Bob,

Thanks, and I should have written, "It's probably the earliest mention of the word "designer" I've come across in this particular regard. 

I was trying to keep it on the down low. 

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()