To All:
I've finally finished my three year effort regarding the history of the golf course(s) of my home club in Port Huron, Michigan. Some of you may have read my IMO piece on Bendelow and Alison in PH. This is the ultimate extension of that synopsis with all the Alison and C&A drawings, prints, letters, etc reproduced. The book is a print on demand effort that's available now. For Bendelow and C&A aficionados I suggest its a must, if only for the original items discovered in our clubhouse basement and published here for the first time.
For those that find it "pricey" at least take a look at the pages available gratis by hitting the preview button. I will "bump" this thread during the week with a couple pages not shown on the preview that may be of more interest to gca'ers.
Many on this site have been helpful in this lengthy process. I hope you are not disappointed in the final result.
Enjoy!
Anthony "Tony" Gholz, retired architect, 11.4 index, amateur golf course architecture historian, expert on two golf courses in Port Huron
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Website for book purchase: www.blurb.com type in book title or Anthony C. Gholz Jr.
[/size]One Hundred Fifteen Years of Golf in Port Huron [size=78%]The History of the Port Huron Golf Club: Its Architects and Playing Fields[/b]
Begun in 1899 with 9-holes on the south side of town, the Port Huron (Michigan) Golf Club moved to the Lake Huron shore in 1912. Tom Bendelow, America’s most prolific architect, designed the first 9-holes, at 3,290 yards the longest in Michigan. Captain Charles Hugh Alison, of the famed English firm of Colt & Alison, came to Detroit in 1920 to oversee their new American headquarters. Within weeks of his arrival he was in Port Huron to route a new 18-hole course over the ancient sand ridges. He returned in 1921 to design the course’s architectural features. The C&A firm was also on site during the mid and late twenties to design new greens and other course features, the last coming in 1928. After WWII the county built a road through Alison’s first and eighteenth holes, the first of several blows to the course. However, in 2001 the club retained David Pandel Savic to renovate the greens, returning them to their Golden Age roots. Recent tree removal and a new master plan by Savic in 2014 point to a brighter future for this sterling example of Alison’s use of the site’s natural sand ridges to form a timeless necklace of fairways and greens “along the shores of Lake Huron.”
This history of a classic Golden Age course, designed by one of the international giants of the architectural world, is told using original Alison drawings, C&A drawings and letters, aerial photos, scorecards and club files dating back to 1908, period news articles, and publications from the turn of the last century. The book starts with a discussion of the founders of the club and the original two courses on Griswold Street, and ends with a discussion of the course today and the recently completed master plan. In between, photos and drawings of the course and surrounding lakeshore make this early twentieth century Lake Huron beach resort area come alive.
This 192-page book comes hardcover in a large format (12”x12”) with high quality paper and dust jacket. Issued at cost, the author receives no mark-up or profit. The publisher of this print-on-demand book was selected for the high quality of their product and first rate shipping process. All of the historical Alison sketches, Colt & Alison drawings, and other historical items are well reproduced.
Anthony “Tony” Gholz agholz@aol.com
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