Elie golf history

[John_McMillan]

My grandfather, David Sharp, was born in Elie, Scotland in the 1870's, where he lived and golfed there until around 1900.  He moved to London and then in 1920 to Detroit, and passed away in the 1950's.

I guess that he golfed at what is now the Golf House Club in Elie, though perhaps as a member of the Earlsferry Thistle.  At some point, I will travel to Elie and to Fife to golf at the Golf Club House and probably Leven and St. Andrews.  Are there any historical resources from the Golf House Club which might indicate whether or not David Sharp was a member in the 19th century? Does anyone have suggestions of people to contact in this research?

[Tony_Muldoon]

John this years BUDA Cup is playing Elie.  IF nothing else comes up IM me nearer the time and I'll enquire then.

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forums2/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=32031


YOur grandfather's life has odd echoes of the great Braid and its not much of a stretch to think they might have known each other.

Born in the same area, golfers, move to London and live to a ripe old age.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Braid_%28golfer%29

Good luck with the search.

[James Bennett]

Tony

I asked a similar question at the Golf Club of the Tuesday (all-day) game we all enjoyed earlier in March 2007 in East Lothian, Scotland.  I didn't get a helpful answer from that Office there.  This was concerning a close family friend who would have been a member of that honorable club during the 1960's.

Good luck at Elie.

James B

[Melvyn Morrow]

John

Before you travel to Fife, check out Robert Kroeger's book
The Golf Courses of Old Tom Morris, published in 1995. It has about 2/3 of Old Tom's courses listed and includes Elie, Leven, Anstruther to name but a few.

Gives you a brief idea of the courses circa 1890's and 1990's. You will find more details on www.niblickgolf.com/books.html
worth a read if travelling to Scotland and interested in early golf history (mainly on Old Tom).

[Rich Goodale]

John

Unless your grandfather was posh, it is more likely that he was a member of Earlsferry Thistle Golf Club, an artisan's club started in 1875 and of which Braid was a member.  Try giving them a call at +1333-330301.

Those were heady times for Elie, as in addition to Braid (and your Granda!), Braid's uncle, Douglas Rolland, as well as the Simpson brothers (Archie, Bob and Jack) were all playing out of there.  All were among the very top players of that age, with Jack Simpson winning the 1884 Open and Rolland and Archie Simpson finishing as Open runner up on at least two occasions each in .  Rolland also had a hand in the original design at Rye, and Archie Simpson was a highly gifted designer, with Murcar and much of Royal Aberdeen to his credit.  He worked with Old Tom Morris at Both Cruden Bay and Dornoch.

Archie should also be of interest to you in that he left Scotland in 1911 to become the first professional at the Country Club of Detroit.  He stayed there until 1920-21 and might possibly have had contact with your grandfather.  I've tried to get some information on Archie's tenure there from CCofD, but I seem to have more information than they do, and/or they don't want to share with me what they have.

Archie also died in Detroit in the 1950's (1955) at age 88.

Hope this helps.  If you have any luck with Earlsferry Thistle and need some liaison, let me know.  I live 40 minutes away from them.

Rich

[RJ_Daley]

John, it is nice to see you hanging around here again.  

[Craig Van Egmond]

John,

    Good to see you again. we sure could have used you on that economics thread the other day!