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mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Strange question
« on: December 13, 2020, 11:32:56 PM »
Perhaps the oddest question I have asked: In 1973 flying from Dallas to LAX with my parents and sister ( I was 13) we meet a golf course architect on plane who lived in Orange County and offered to drop us off near Disney where my dad had a meeting. (It was a different world). He drove a sporty convertible faster than I had ever known and had a hogan type hat. Who was this? I regretted not remembering his name especially when I got interested in golf courses a short time later. He lived somewhere near Disneyland. Any ideas?

Peter Flory

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2020, 01:04:25 AM »
Maybe Ted Robinson, Sr?

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2020, 08:33:27 AM »
I will see if that rings a bell with my sister or parents.

Jeff_Brauer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2020, 11:18:41 AM »
Tommy N would know, but did Desmond Muirhead live in So Cal?


The other possibility would be Cary Bickler (who would have been in his 20's then) or his father, as his family had developed a few So Cal golf courses over the years.


Both Cary (and presumably his dad?) and Ted Robinson, Sr. were pretty snappy dressers, so the Hogan cap might fit the description.


But, I think we can all agree, it wasn't Curtis Strange......
Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2020, 12:03:30 AM »
That was back when the DC10 had a bar in the back. Not sure why my then 12 year old sister was back there and struck up a long conversation with him then told my dad the guy was driving us.I wanted to ask questions since we had written and received scorecards from most famous places. Augusta, Champions and Olympic went above and beyond. Then I hung on for life during the ride. Maybe something will ring a bell.What a nice guy.

Peter Pallotta

Re: Strange question
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2020, 12:44:33 AM »
I guess that's the 70s for you, compared with today -- the architects were nicer, but the courses were worse.
 :)
« Last Edit: December 15, 2020, 12:46:11 AM by Peter Pallotta »

Jeff_Brauer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #6 on: December 15, 2020, 12:46:15 PM »
Peter, I hope that's not true!  Or maybe just reflective of a general decrease in etiquette and politeness in society.


I recall 12 year old me writing RTJ a letter, and getting a nice letter in return encouraging me to follow my dreams.  (I found out later it was probably Roger Rulewich, but still.....)  And, my local gca, Killian and Nugent inviting me into the office to see what it was like.


In the last few months alone, I have spent a few hours in person or on the phone trying to return that favor and business SOP of returning every call, answering every email.  I am just presuming, most gca's do that as well, but of course, I have no way of knowing.
Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +3/-1
Re: Strange question
« Reply #7 on: December 15, 2020, 01:14:07 PM »
That was back when the DC10 had a bar in the back. Not sure why my then 12 year old sister was back there and struck up a long conversation with him then told my dad the guy was driving us.I wanted to ask questions since we had written and received scorecards from most famous places. Augusta, Champions and Olympic went above and beyond. Then I hung on for life during the ride. Maybe something will ring a bell.What a nice guy.


Yes, it was indeed a different era.  Today some of those details would raise alarm bells!

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #8 on: December 15, 2020, 11:05:26 PM »
My sister is thinking about the possibilities you guys raised and is trying to remember. She wants me to emphasize that hanging around the bar was not her usual activity as a 12 year old.

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2020, 09:59:29 AM »
That sounds a lot like Desmond Muirhead — He was in Orange County from the early 1970s. He was British, so it should be easy to jog your sister's memory. Probably light beard at that time...quite handsome and boisterous.
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

Joel_Stewart

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #10 on: December 17, 2020, 02:00:07 PM »
Bob Baldock was an architect who I think lived in Irvine.


There's a picture of him at:


https://www.golfcourseranking.com/architect-profile/list-of-courses-designed/bob-e.-baldock/112/www.golfcourseranking.com

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #11 on: December 17, 2020, 11:05:09 PM »
So tonight my dad remembered something: the guys daughter worked for American Airlines at LAX or was based there. It was the daughters sporty convertible he drove in to Anaheim. None of us can agree on his age. I guess 40 with daughter at American. Hard for a 13 year old to pinpoint age.(My sisters 2 grade class has her age narrowed to something between 25 and 100.) Does a daughter at AA/LAX ring any bells?

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2020, 12:51:49 PM »
I asked Romy Muirhead (Desmond's daughter), and she says none of her siblings ever worked at LAX, or for American. Sorry :(

— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

Lou_Duran

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2020, 12:57:40 PM »
Wow, how far has this site progressed!  Having completed the attribution of architects to 30k+ courses worldwide, we are now investigating who could possibly have ferried the Beene family to Disneyland 40+ years ago.  Impressive.

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2020, 12:59:06 PM »
Lou - LOL !
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #15 on: December 20, 2020, 11:52:08 PM »
Thanks for the help. This will remain a mystery. Lou, you know you are as curious as I am.

Pete_Pittock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #16 on: December 21, 2020, 01:22:50 AM »
Mike,
Have you considered telephone yellow page directories from that time period? Or newspaper archives searching CGAs?
I'll check Whitten's book for possible culprits active in Southern Cal if you could provide a wild-assed guess of his birthyear.

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #17 on: December 21, 2020, 09:28:14 AM »
Pete:
I had forgotten about this over the years and was visiting with my parents when we were reminiscing, etc. on old trips. I was hoping someone on here would say that was “me” . This was 1973 and my guess is he was in his 40s. He was old enough to have a daughter at American Airlines. Just one of those mysteries where I wish I knew who it was. One of my favorite things about life is the way people show back up in unexpected ways. It was worth a shot!

Mark Kiely

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #18 on: December 21, 2020, 11:54:27 AM »
I still suspect the very first response was probably correct: Ted Robinson lived in Orange County, would've been 49/50 in 1973 and wikipedia says he has two daughters. Who knows Ted Jr. to ask if either of his sisters worked at LAX?
My golf course photo albums on Flickr: https://goo.gl/dWPF9z

Pete_Pittock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #19 on: December 21, 2020, 02:18:19 PM »
Pete:
I had forgotten about this over the years and was visiting with my parents when we were reminiscing, etc. on old trips. I was hoping someone on here would say that was “me” . This was 1973 and my guess is he was in his 40s. He was old enough to have a daughter at American Airlines. Just one of those mysteries where I wish I knew who it was. One of my favorite things about life is the way people show back up in unexpected ways. It was worth a shot!
Billy Bell?  One end of the trip was LAX, where was the other?

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #20 on: December 21, 2020, 11:42:14 PM »
Dallas but even then it could have been a connection from the eastern US. Probably not Europe at that point.

Garland Bayley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #21 on: December 21, 2020, 11:54:54 PM »
Forrest Richardson would be the expert on Billy Bell Jr. It would appear that he lived in Pasadena, at least that is where both he and his father died according to Forrest's article.
"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #22 on: December 22, 2020, 12:18:50 AM »
Mark might be on to something. Bell sounds like to far out of way if Pasadena. The daughters car was a small convertible. This guy lived in Orange County. Going to find a picture and see if it rings a bell. Thanks for everyone’s input and especially Ran letting me use the space.

Pete_Pittock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #23 on: December 22, 2020, 05:53:14 PM »
Mike,
I am going through the Cornish/Whitten book looking for architects building courses in SoCal in the 70s and born somewhere around 1935. By the way Billy Bell is too old
Richard l Bigler
Ron Fream -unlikely
Robert Muir Graves
Robert von Hagge -unlikely
Jeff Hardin -unlikely
Robert Trent Jones Jr
Desmond Muirhead
David Rainville
Ted G Robinson
Ed Seay -unlikely

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Strange question
« Reply #24 on: December 22, 2020, 07:57:32 PM »
OK, I reached out to Cal Olson, ASGCA — Cal's been in Laguna Beach forever.

He says, very likely it was Ted Robinson, Sr.
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com