AV Macan and California

[Dale Jackson]

The thread dealing with Mackenzie and the Cal Club raised the work of AV Macan in California and, rather than hijack that thread, I am posting this as a new topic.

According the Mike Riste's Macan biography, the architect did the following work in California

1924 - complete redesign, including greens, bunkers and some rerouting of the course started by William Locke at the Golf Club of California

1924 - design of 'Contra Costra GC in San Francisco - NLE?

1925 - report on Devonshire Country Club in SF - NLE or never built?

1959 - 1964 - design of San Geronimo GC in San Mateo

[David_Tepper]

Dale -

Contra Costa CC is indeed alive & well in Pleasanton, CA, roughly 30 miles east of San Francisco.

There is a page devoted to Mr. Macan on the club's website, so he is both recognized and celebrated as the GCA of the course.

http://contracostacc.org/viewCustomPage.aspx?id=51

Despite some dubious alterations to a couple of holes, San Geronimo is one of the best public golf options in Marin/Sonoma Counties. I really like the routing there.

http://www.golfsangeronimo.com/

DT

[John Keenan]

David


A slight geographical correction

Contra Costa Country Club is in Pleasant Hill not Pleasanton.

Question on the reference noted that San Geronimo as being located in San Mateo it is in Marin County.

Curious about the reference to  Devonshire Country  Club built in SF. Anyone have any background on this. Location, was it built, if not why?

John

[Sven Nilsen]

An old thread, but it is the only reference to Devonshire CC in San Carlos, CA that I have found on this site.

Around 1924, a number of "live and play" communities were started on the peninsula.  Devonshire Estates was one of these, as was the Monroe, Lyon and Miller development which housed the Belle Monti CC (which started as Belmont CC).  Of interest is that these two projects were the only work of Willie Dunn in the state of California.

A. V. Macan was engaged in 1925 to report on Devonshire, with Sam Whiting also paying the site a visit that year.

Also in 1925 it was reported that Willie Locke was laying out a new 18 hole course for Belle Monti with later reports indicating the work was completed by Tom Nicoll.

Dunn had moved to California in 1920 to open a golf school in San Diego.  He seems to have disappeared from the scene at Devonshire and Belle Monti soon after the initial work started.  We know a lot about Dunn's early career as one of the pioneering architects in the United States, but we don't know much about the rest of his career.

Neither course would survive very long. 

Devonshire

Oct. 23, 1924 San Francisco Examiner -



Oct. 24, 1924 San Francisco Examiner -



Nov. 8, 1924 San Francisco Examiner -



Belle Monti

April 12, 1924 Los Angeles Evening Express -



April 19, 1924 San Francisco Examiner -



April 26, 1924 San Francisco Examiner -

[CJames]

Sadly, San Geronimo (which is in West Marin, not San Mateo) is NLE.  There is a slight (slight) chance that it could be resurrected, but the Marin Board of Supervisors and the Trust for Public Land have essentially condemned the property.