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Jim_Kennedy

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Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« on: November 29, 2011, 12:48:51 AM »
As I was rummaging around on one of the online newspaper archives I found this article about LPGC:



This place isn't listed on the Ross Society website, but the article does state that they had a set of Ross plans. Here's a shot of one hole, with what looks like a topped shot bunker and another placed well short of the green, plus a couple of other greens.
The location seems idyllic, sited on a narrow corridor of land between Lakes Sacandaga and Pleasant in the Adirondack Mtns.   :)  
 
 

On another note, Some of the NE guys are familiar with Tupper Lake CC. The club has always listed themselves as a 1932 Ross course, as does the DRS, but I've found a couple of articles that seem to suggest that Willard G. Wilkinson was the architect. When I read them I did have to go to C&W to see who he was. WGW flew in the RFC in WW1, came to the states, attended Rutgers, then worked as AWT's assisstant, eventually becoming the vice president of Tillie's company. He supervised construction at WF, Fresh Meadows, and other 'renowned' coures. He went out on his own in '21 and designed 87 courses of his own, did 16 remodels, and did some work in Hawaii, The Caribbean, Japan, the Philippines and Tahiti.

Not a bad trade for Tupper, if that's the case.

The articles are a bit hard to read, so here are the complete pages:
 
http://tinyurl.com/85geu34

http://tinyurl.com/d6s3re5
 
« Last Edit: November 29, 2011, 12:55:50 AM by Jim_Kennedy »
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

ANTHONYPIOPPI

Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2011, 05:23:22 PM »
Jim:

Nice find.

Anthony

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2011, 02:44:15 PM »
Anthony,
Thanks, it was a surprise to find this article as so much attention has been paid to DR in the past.

I have found a couple more articles that identify Willard Wilkinson, not Ross, as the architect for Tupper Lake, but a friend of mine who plays in the Tupper Lake open every year says the two nines are somewhat different in appearance. Perhaps Ross built nine holes up there much earlier and the club just uses the '32 date as the time when the course was fully developed, although one of the articles seems to say that they were clearing slash and stumps to build the course.


Back in '71 I was fixing VW's in N. Canaan, Ct., and my boss used to go on rants about businesses that gave themselves cutesy names instead of plainly stating what it is they did, or produced. He would have loved the Oval Wood Dish Co., the concern behind the Tupper Lake GC.    
« Last Edit: November 30, 2011, 02:45:53 PM by Jim_Kennedy »
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Joe Bausch

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2011, 03:30:44 PM »
Nice find Jim.

P.S.  Are left-handed polo players really that hard to find?!

@jwbausch (for new photo albums)
The site for the Cobb's Creek project:  https://cobbscreek.org/
Nearly all Delaware Valley golf courses in photo albums: Bausch Collection

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2011, 03:43:19 PM »
Yes  ;D

"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Lester George

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2011, 05:16:59 PM »
I play Polo left-handed.

Lester

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2011, 06:08:57 PM »
I play Polo left-handed.

Lester

Lester,
You were either registered with the USPA as a left-handed player prior to January 1, 1974 or you're playing water polo.  :)

"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Lester George

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2011, 06:47:26 PM »
Jim,

You caught me, water polo, intramural in college.  But it would stand to reason I would play the horse kind as a left hander as well.

Lester

Mark McKeever

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #8 on: November 30, 2011, 08:18:25 PM »
Pretty cool find.  The par 3 looks sort of like the typical volcano.

Mark
Best MGA showers - Bayonne

"Dude, he's a total d***"

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #9 on: November 30, 2011, 09:50:38 PM »
Ninth green & fairway:

"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2011, 01:00:20 PM »
Here's a snippet from a longer article dated April, 1921 (earlier article was from July, 1923) about LPGC, and it also identifies Ross as the man who 'laid out' the course, although they got his middle initial wrong.  ::)

 

The main thrust of the article explains that the newly-formed Hamilton County Club is taking over the property of the Morley Hotel Co. and how the club was going to proceed in the future. The membership of the HCC consisted of a sheriff, a judge, local assemblymen, businessmen, and manufacturers (my favorite, the aptly named Charles H. Skinner of the Surplus Leather Co.  ;D ).

Here are two more modern photos, another view of the ninth green (first hole is on the left) and one giving the length of the holes.

 



« Last Edit: December 01, 2011, 01:02:28 PM by Jim_Kennedy »
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #11 on: December 02, 2011, 07:14:53 AM »
This course first appeared in the 1923 golf guide (but not in the earlier guides), which makes sense based on the articles and when the course was actually ready, and the entry has the club being founded in 1920, which also matches the articles. Why did it takes so long to build nine holes? Was it a difficult site?

Ross did not list Hamilton County on his pamphlet from the late 20s. A couple of potential reasons: his organization did not construct the course and therefore he wasn't confident in the final product or one of his associates (Hatch or McGovern) actually designed the course. I have found several nine hole courses attributed to Ross were actually designed by one of his associates and he never listed them. Two good examples are Lancaster (McGovern) and Whitinsville (Hatch).

« Last Edit: December 02, 2011, 07:18:10 AM by Tom MacWood »

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #12 on: December 02, 2011, 09:26:23 AM »
Tom,
It could be that the Morley Hotel Co. under estimated what it would cost, and it was only upon the sale to the HCC that the project was completed.

What do the guides say about Tupper Lake?
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #13 on: December 02, 2011, 12:44:48 PM »
Jim
The latest guide I have found is 1931 so its not in there.

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #14 on: December 02, 2011, 09:48:35 PM »
This course first appeared in the 1923 golf guide (but not in the earlier guides), which makes sense based on the articles and when the course was actually ready, and the entry has the club being founded in 1920, which also matches the articles. Why did it takes so long to build nine holes? Was it a difficult site?

Ross did not list Hamilton County on his pamphlet from the late 20s. A couple of potential reasons: his organization did not construct the course and therefore he wasn't confident in the final product or one of his associates (Hatch or McGovern) actually designed the course. I have found several nine hole courses attributed to Ross were actually designed by one of his associates and he never listed them. Two good examples are Lancaster (McGovern) and Whitinsville (Hatch).

Tom,
Perhaps the pace of construction was partly due to the change of ownership and possibly due to concerns over spending money.
Although it appears that Ross planned the course I haven't found anything placing him or one of his people at the site for the construction.

Some things I have found are:

   In April of 1915 Mr. W. Barlow Dunlap and others purchased the Morley Hotel (AKA Hamilton County Club & Lake Pleasant GC) out of foreclosure. Shortly thereafter, on May 10, 1916, it was reported that the hotel burnt down and that it was to be rebuilt immediately if the insurance case was settled by June of the same year and a new building could be "put in readiness" by July. If not they would wait until later in the season to proceed with the work as they still had an inn, seven cottages, and tents that could accommodate 75 to 80 guests. They waited, yet by May of 1917 construction on the new hotel had progressed far enough that plasterers were being brought in for the interior work, and by July 1st the hotel was re-opened for business. The new Morley Hotel Co. was chartered "with a capital stock of $50,000". By 1918 the hotel had built a new dock on their lakefront, a "clock" golf course, and a 50'x100'concrete garage.
   The first mention of Donald Ross appeared in the Morning Herald of Thursday, August 7, 1919, but the article was chiefly about the Banker's Association and their pursuit of the hotel and its property for use as a country club. This group asked W. Barlow Dunlap (of The Morley Hotel Co.) for a statement of all the property owned by MHC and also for a purchase option. The paragraph about Ross in the article reads: "A nine hole golf course has been surveyed and laid out by Donald J.Ross, a noted golf architect, who states it was one of the best-natural courses he had ever laid out, and one that can easily be built. There is ample land for an eighteen hole course if desired." This is the earliest mention of Ross and the golf course that I have found.
   The sale transpired and The Hamilton County Club was chartered by the Sec'y. of NY State in 1920, for the purpose of "taking over the holdings of The Morley Hotel Co.", and the HCC named W. Barlow Dunlap (he of the Morley Hotel Co.) the V.P. of the new organization. . Clearing of the land and construction of the golf course began in the fall of 1920. Two of the greens were built and seeded by the end of the season and additional construction was scheduled to begin the next year.  
   As 1921 rolled in one of the first policies of the new owners was to reduce the rates at the hotel, bringing them in line with the economic state of the country at that time. The club also hired their first Pro in May, 1921. His name was Channing Floyd and one of his tasks was to finish construction of the course. By July of 1923 the club had seven holes in play. I haven't found any info about the other two.
   Floyd was quite a guy. He grew up in Chicago, caddied at the Washington Park course, and had a very respectable amateur record before he became a club pro. His career took him to  places like Yountakah, Lake Placid GC, Lake Champlain Club, Nick Stoner GC, Caroga GC, Cobleskill GC in 1947, and then returning to the Hamilton County Club in the early '50s for a short stint before ending up at Kingsboro GC. He was also an author, a designer of courses, an inventor, and a champion billiard player. This guy had skills!
   Channing Floyd passed away in 1961 at the age of 78. His nickname was "Mr.Golf" and he was considered to be the dean of golf professionals in the Eastern NY section.
 
p.s While digging for the above info I came across this humorous little nugget:  
      

  
« Last Edit: December 02, 2011, 09:56:05 PM by Jim_Kennedy »
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Lake Pleasant GC, NY- possibly an unknown Ross
« Reply #15 on: December 04, 2011, 11:07:46 PM »
I found an article on Tupper Lake in the Washington Post from the mid-30s that said they had two 9-hole courses. I'd be surprised if Ross built a course there in 1932. He was more or less retired at the time and there was very little design activity going on due to the Depression. I would not surprised if he, or one of his associates, was responsible for one of the nines earlier than '32, possibly much earlier.
« Last Edit: December 04, 2011, 11:11:54 PM by Tom MacWood »

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