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Sven Nilsen

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David's Island Golf Club - Fort Slocum (New Rochelle, NY)
« on: October 25, 2013, 01:52:24 PM »
I stumbled across a listing for a golf club named the David's Island GC.  David's Island is a small 78 acre piece of land located just off of Westchester County in the Long Island Sound.  The island was home to a Civil War hospital and became know as Fort Slocum some time after the war ended.

The military history of the island is a good read, including its time as a staging depot during WWI and its later use as a Nike Ajax base.

Some time around the turn of the century (c. 1900), there was a golf club on the island.  I have no idea what the state of the playing field was for this club, and whether or not they actually played any golf on the island.  But the history of officer's clubs establishing rudimentary courses on the parade grounds or other suitable land of a military base suggests that golf became a pastime for those stationed "offshore."  It is also entirely possibile that the club was just that, and engaged in its golf activities at some of the courses on the mainland (there were several courses taking root mere miles away).

If anyone has any information on this club, I'd be interested in hearing the updates.

Sven
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

Jim_Kennedy

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Re: David's Island Golf Club - Fort Slocum (New Rochelle, NY)
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2013, 03:36:48 PM »
Sven,



Everything you (or at least I  ;D ) would want to know about David's Island:

http://davidsisland.westchesterarchives.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82&Itemid=115

Aerials of Westchester from 1947 through today

http://giswww.westchestergov.com/gismap/
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Sven Nilsen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: David's Island Golf Club - Fort Slocum (New Rochelle, NY)
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2013, 12:51:07 PM »
Jim:

Thanks for the links.  The 1926 information is interesting, and makes me wonder if the course was a reincarnation of an earlier effort from around 1900.  The notes on the site you linked to indicate that just about every piece of property on the island had "one full cycle of building construction, demolition and renewed development."  I would imagine this activity was heightened during the periods of war and then adaptation afterwards for new uses.

Anyway, just another mystery to add to the file.

Sven
"As much as we have learned about the history of golf architecture in the last ten plus years, I'm convinced we have only scratched the surface."  A GCA Poster

"There's the golf hole; play it any way you please." Donald Ross

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