NLE, Relocation, or Renaming Mysteries (a challenge)

[Brad Tufts]

As a tangent to my interest in GCA, I'm an avid collector of vintage golf scorecards.  I have a list of those that I have collected, and over the last few years, have tried to follow if some of the more obscure ones still exist, or what they are known as now.  I have solved quite a few of the mysteries through Google Earth, the Windows Live Local program, golfcourse.com, and Google search.  Despite these efforts, there are still quite a few that I am uncertain about.  So now I turn to the powers of golfclubatlas, a research group that has shown to be more powerful than the tools listed above!  Most of the cards I have are from 1920-1950.  Here are those that I'm confused about, any info would be appreciated:

1.  El Molino Municipal Golf Course, Phoenix, AZ.  Located near downtown, 18 holes, address says Van Buren St.
2.  Chase Country Club, Wolcott, CT.  9 Holes
3.  Downs Golf Club, England.  18 holes, purchased with Chigwell GC and Bramshot GC.
4.  Fort Lauderdale Golf & Country Club, FL.  Card dated March 1929.  Might be under a different name today?
5.  Ormond Beach Golf Links, FL.  I believe today's Oceanside GC is built on the site of this course.
6.  Augusta CC, Augusta, GA.  I have two cards from the club, and I know only one course exists today.  The Hill course measures 6632 (par 72) and is dated 3/22/1935, and the Lake course is 6074 and par 71.  Which one survived, or is the current course a combination?
7.  Dixmoor Golf Club, Homewood, IL.  The card gives directions to the course by train, and they lead very close Fountain Hills GC and the Meadows GC of Blue Island, or possibly Joe Louis?
8.  Euclid Hills CC, Orland Park, IL.  Dated 4/22/1938.  The only lead I had here was Palos CC being in the area, maybe it was the old EHCC?
9.  Indian Head Golf Club, La Grange, IL.  Dated 5/8/1936.  Located at the junction of Wolf and Joliet Rds, near both Flag Creek GC and Edgewood Valley CC of today.
10.  Marseilles Golf Club, Marseilles, IL.   9 holes.  No current courses close to the center of town.
11.  Casa del Mar CC, Dyer, IN.  Card says course is "Illinois Course #1" as Dyer is on the border with IL.
12.  Old Mission Golf Club, Kansas City, KS.  The course is located at 48th and Mission Rd. in what I think is KC, near the current KCCC and Mission Hills CC.  Did it become one of these?
13.  Oxford CC, Chicopee Falls, MA (Hampden, MA today).  This course was 9 holes.
14.  Plymouth Links, Plymouth, MA.  This was a 2700-yd 9-holer, and the front of the card says "enjoy our Donald Ross-designed putting course."
15.  Worcester Municipal Golf Links, Worcester, MA.  The course was 9 holes, and today's Green Hill Muni course in Worcester was built in the 50s, so this one is probably NLE.
16.  Indian Hills Estates & Golf Club.  The card was purchased in a large group of Michigan cards, but I don't know what town this one was in, and the card is dated 1942.  The course was a 9-holer.
17.  The Country Club, Minneapolis, MN (18 holes).  Any connection to the Town & Country Club in St. Paul?  On the website of the T & CC, it seems to have always been referred to as Town & Country, so probably not?
18.  The Superior Golf Club in Minneapolis, MN (18 holes).  I don't know where in town this course was located.
19.  Elmbrook Golf Course, Upper Montclair, NJ.  Is this part of today's Upper Montclair CC?
20.  Fairmount Golf Club, Dayton, OH.  The card is dated 1938.  I think this course is today's Madden Golf Club, just SW of the city center.
21.  Hi-Top Country Club, Drexel Hill, PA.  The course is a short par 70 of about 5700 yds.  On the front of the card, it reads "(Old Aronimink)"  Does this have any connection with the famous club (original course?).
22.  Tully-Secane CC, Secane, PA.  No course of this name exists today in the area.  Related to Springfield CC?
23.  Wildwood Crest GC, Harrisburg, PA.  This was a 5200-yd 18-holer located on Crooked Hill Rd. just North of town.  No course of that name exists there today, so probably NLE?
24.  Greenbrier Course #3, WV.  Which of today's courses used to be #3?

I know there are more in-depth ways to find answers to these mysteries, but its more fun to discuss them on here.  Thanks in advance!!
 

[wsmorrison]

Brad,

I never heard the name Hi-Top CC, but Aronimink's second course was in Drexel Hill prior to the relocation to Newtown Square and the present Ross Course.  If I am not mistaken the Drexel Hill course was by Tillinghast or significantly remodeled by Tillinghast.  I think Craig Disher has a photograph of the course.

Did you know there was an Oakmont CC near Havertown.  The clubhouse even looked like a smaller version of the far more famous clubhouse in western Pennsylvania.

Have you ever researched the Ralph Kennedy scorecard collection at the USGA?  Kennedy played over 3000 courses over 42 years and kept records of each round.  There was a nice article about him in the July 1952 National Geographic.  

[jeffwarne]

The Augusta CC Hill course was the surviving course.
Several holes have been rerouted.#1,#18 several times.
The course has had several renovations/restorations but most of the routing remains intact.

[Craig_Rokke]

Brad--

Tully Secane was turned into a housing development in the mid 1950's

I think Wayne is accurate with regard to Aronimink.
Can't find any reference to "Hi-Top" in any of my materials here.

Sounds like you have an extensive collection going. (I had suspected that after you snagged one from my grasp on ebay! )
Craig

[Brad Tufts]

How did I know the Philly contingent would be the first to strike?    

Sorry bout that Craig, didn't know it was you.  I do have a few cards that I can trade, if interested.

Only 21 left to figure out!

[Robert Kimball]

Wayne, here's the link............

http://turf.lib.msu.edu/1950s/1957/570406.pdf

[wsmorrison]

Thanks, Rob.  I never saw this article before.  Much appreciated.

[Craig_Rokke]

That's ok, Brad. I'm not actually a collector. If you don't mind me asking, though, do you care to comment on what scorecard(s) you are most happy about having in the collection or what ones are most sought after as collectibles?

thanks

[Brad Tufts]

Collecting has been great fun, as I like to see what was the "normal" course in the era the card is from.  I see a much higher number of courses under 6000 yards, and when I research the later incarnation of these course, some have been closed and many have been lengthened.  Also, some of the cards have great little sayings like, "Treat the caddy as you would your son."  Back then, it may not have been great advice!

My favorites are:

A card from Port Huron Golf Club in 1908.
A card from Machrihanish in 1896 (only 9 holes).  This card also has the name Richard P. Symes on the back, one letter off Richard P. Symmes, my grandfather's name.
A pre-Ross card from Hyannisport Golf Club on Cape Cod. (pre-1936 according to the DRS).
A series of cards from Francis "Ancy" Doyle, the longtime pro at Woodland GC in Boston.  He played for several years as an elite amateur and some of the cards follow his tournaments.
Several cards with scores from exhibition matches between Goodman, Armour, Lafoon, Cooper, Little, Shute, Smith, and others.
And my favorite:  A card from my home course, Tedesco CC, that shows the yardages of our extra 9 holes, which was plowed under in 1953.  It is the only card in existence that shows the sequence and distances.

[Brad Tufts]

Hopefully not totally killing the thread here, but its worth one bump I guess....

[Paul Payne]

Brad,

My guess is that the Mineapolis CC is probably the Minneapolis Golf Club. It is still in existance on Flag st. in St. Louis Park, It was built some time in the early 1920's and hosted the PGA in 1959. I am not sure who designed the course, it may have been a member effort, but it is one of the better courses in the Twin Cities area today. I would not however rank it above Minikahda or Interlachen.

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