Donald Ross at Stockbridge Golf Club

[Bill Healy]

GCA Gurus,
Please help me with this question regarding potential Donald Ross work at Stockbridge Golf Club in Stockbridge, MA.
Recently, I was given a newspaper article from the Berkshire Eagle July 6, 1931 which states that Donald Ross added three golf holes on new land at Stockbridge Golf Club in Stockbridge, MA in 1931.
In fact, during 1931, five holes were added to SGC, and the remaining golf course was reconstructed and improved.
Do you have information to support this claim?
This is new information to the Club.
I am writing the History of Stockbridge Golf Club, and this information would be very important.
Thank you,  Bill Healy

[Jonathan Cummings]

Best bet is to engage the Ross Society and/or Audrey at The Tufts Archive.  Brad Klein may also have info.

[Sven Nilsen]

GCA Gurus,
Please help me with this question regarding potential Donald Ross work at Stockbridge Golf Club in Stockbridge, MA.
Recently, I was given a newspaper article from the Berkshire Eagle July 6, 1931 which states that Donald Ross added three golf holes on new land at Stockbridge Golf Club in Stockbridge, MA in 1931.
In fact, during 1931, five holes were added to SGC, and the remaining golf course was reconstructed and improved.
Do you have information to support this claim?
This is new information to the Club.
I am writing the History of Stockbridge Golf Club, and this information would be very important.
Thank you,  Bill Healy

Bill:


This is definitely new information and a wonderful historical find.  I doubt the DRS, the Tufts Archive, Brad or anyone else has much information that could add to the story, otherwise it would already be out there.


Do you have more information on the new holes added on the Karrick property?  I note that the club website states there were 6 new holes and they opened in 1934.  I'm pretty sure there was a ton of flooding that took place between 1931 and 1934, necessitating a lot of work on the course and perhaps delaying construction.


Ross working at Stockbridge certainly makes sense.  He did work in the area, and it wasn't too far from his northern base of operations.  This one sounds like a project where he left plans for the club to construct themselves, as opposed to having his guys do the work.


Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

Thought it made sense to post the article Bill is discussing.

July 6, 1931 Berkshire Eagle -





There is little discussion of the opening of the course after the addition of the new holes.  Here is the only mention of it I could find.

June 29, 1933 Berkshire Eagle -



The only other evidence of changes to the course I have is a comparison of the 1929 Annual Guide listing noting a 6,000 yard course and the 1938 Guide which notes a 6,400 yard course.

[Sven Nilsen]

The club lost the lease on a portion of the property used for the course around 1930, which prompted the acquisition of the new land discussed in the Ross article.


Sept. 17, 1930 Yonkers Herald -

[Bret Lawrence]

This is very interesting.  I have no information on the course changing, but I have played Stockbridge a few times.  The last time I played here I questioned whether Orrin Smith had done some work on the course, because the greens had a very Golden Age feel (not so much an 1895 feel) Some of the greens at Stockbridge reminded me of Smith’s greens at Torrington, and Woodbridge, just smaller.


The best holes on the course are the 5 holes on the very north of the property.  I wouldn’t be surprised if these were the holes Ross designed.  These holes are No. 5-9 on the scorecard and two of the holes are the longest Par 5’s on the course (which would have added significant length) The course has a somewhat disjointed routing around the 11th hole.  Today the 11th hole seems to be on property separated from the rest of the course and the walks to and from the 11th are longer than anywhere else on the course.  I would guess the three holes they lost were closer to todays 10th and 11th and perhaps on the west side of the river. Many of the greens have a uniform feel, like they were all built or rebuilt by the same architect.  The setting is beautiful and quininessential New England. There are also attractive bridges all over the course as you criss-cross the Housatonic on several occasions. 

[Bill Healy]

Thank you all very much.
I appreciate your help.
In 1930, Stockbridge GC lost access to land occupied by 7, 8, and 9, which were strong holes on the western border of the property.
In 1931, the Club bought 44 acres on the north side of the property from James Karrick.
At that point, SGC apparently hired DJR to design three new holes---new information to all of us.
It is exciting to think Stockbridge may be a Donald Ross golf course re-design, but I only have one sentence in a 1931 Berkshire Eagle article to make this assertion---looking for confirmation and validation.
That being said, as you have pointed out, Ross at Stockbridge makes sense based on location and other Ross projects nearby.
Furthermore, Ross did much more than design three new golf holes.
The specific 1934 (Ross?) reconstruction included:
•   Six new 1934 golf holes were built on Karrick land.  (Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten).  The six new holes on the Karrick land included two par 5s, three par 4s, and one par 3.  The six Karrick holes played at 2285 yards, and they averaged 380 yards.
•   Two new 1934 golf holes were built by combining four 1924 golf holes.  The 1924 third and fifth holes were combined to create Three.  The 1924 eleventh and twelfth holes were combined to create Twelve.
•   One 1924 golf hole was reconfigured and lengthened.  (One)
•   Four 1924 golf holes were eliminated (seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth).
•   Length increased from 5842 yards to 6465 yards, and the average length of the golf holes increased to 360 yards.
•   New tees were built at nine holes.  Length was added at eight holes (One, Two, Three, Four, Fourteen, Fifteen, Seventeen, Eighteen).  Length was reduced at one hole (Eleven).
•   One new green was built (One).
•   Two greens were repurposed for combined/reconstructed holes (Three, Twelve).
•   Design variety of the golf holes on the 1934 golf course was enhanced by twelve dogleg configurations.  Six dogleg right golf holes (Four, Seven, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen).  Six dogleg left golf holes (One, Six, Eight, Ten, Twelve, Thirteen).
•   Crowding at Dwight Meadow North was reduced by decreasing from four holes to three holes on this land. 
•   Safety was improved.  There were no crossover holes on the reconstructed links.
•   It is likely that the bunkers changed in 1934, but we could not find specific information. 

I will keep looking for confirmation.
Thanks,  Bill

[Jonathan Cummings]

I couldn't find any reference to Stockbridge in any of the Ross books I have.  Curious, in Ross's own book "Golf has never failed me" in the appendix where he lists the courses he had done there is no mention of Stockbridge in his extensive listings for MA.  He listed a number of other partial efforts (9 holes mostly).  Curious why he made no mention of Stockbridge..

[Sven Nilsen]

I don't have my copy in front of me, but I'm pretty sure the list in Golf Has Never Failed Me is taken from the 1930 Sales Brochure Ross prepared.  If that is the case, it would make sense that anything that happened in 1931 doesn't appear on it.


Sven

[john_stiles]

Interesting and maybe more information can be found about Stockbridge. I did not find any information about Stockbridge in the online digital records at Tufts Archives. However, you might contact Audrey Moriarty at Tufts Archives as JC mentioned.

As to some of the other notes, the list in  'Golf Has Never Failed Me' is probably based on Pete Jones' list circa 1992 with maybe a few minor changes and which ultimately became the basis for the list in Brad Klein's book. Some of the dates in this book are just a bit off and agree with Mr. Jones' list. The Ross' 1930 pamphlet was titled  “A Partial List of Prominent Golf Courses Designed by Donald J. Ross Golf Course Architect.”  It was just a partial list as titled and was limited.  For example, Ross' 9 hole gem at Whitinsville circa 1923 is not listed in Ross' 1930 list though Ross had the ninth hole diagram printed in GC Thomas' 1927 book  'Golf Architecture in America'.

[Bret Lawrence]

Bill,


I found a few articles discussing the changes at Stockbridge, unfortunately they do not list a golf architect. Here are two articles:


The New York Sun., June 20, 1931:







The New York Sun., October 3, 1931: this article makes it sound like the work was under way:



The New York Times also had an article from July 06, 1931 noting the new land purchase at Stockbridge and 6 new holes were being planned.


Bret

[Bill Healy]

Another log on the fire!
A new article was found in the Berkshire Eagle August 5, 1931, which states, "He (Ross) rebuilt the Pittsfield Country Club course some years ago and probably will supervise changes in Stockbridge".
Not incontrovertible validation or confirmation, and I will keep looking.
We may have a new Donald Ross remodel from 1931-1934.
Bill