Lost links, Philly: Brookline Square, Penn RR, Hermitage, Villanova, Altwood

[Bill Hagel]

I wonder what hole I'm on?

[wsmorrison]

Joe,

I never knew of Brookline Square Club until Craig sent me an aerial about a year ago and you came across confirming and more in-depth information recently.  I have no idea if Flynn was involved or not.  That was pure speculation.  It was only two or three miles from his house in Ardmore.  Of the courses we know he designed or did redesign or other work, there are no drawings for Kilkare, CC Harrisburg, Doylestown CC, Washington GCC, some of the work at Columbia CC, Bala GC and Pine Valley.  Kilkare, Harrisburg, Doylestown and Washington were early in his career.  Some drawings exist from just about all the courses in the era of Brookline.

[Mike_Cirba]

Bill,

I think I see you. 

[Joe Bausch]

Bill, I'll have an answer for you real soon about which hole your house sits on (I've ordered the late 1926 and early 1927 Dallin photos of the Brookline Square Club from the Hagley Museum).

[Neil_Crafter]

Nice work Joe!
Wayne - don't you just love the new supersized watermark the USGA have inflicted upon everything downloaded from the lbrary website? Not!
cheers Neil

[Gerry B]

re; clubhouse:

Stanford White's firm might have had something to do with it -but not Stanford White himself as he died in 1906.

[TEPaul]

"Wayne - don't you just love the new supersized watermark the USGA have inflicted upon everything downloaded from the lbrary website? Not!
cheers Neil"

Neil:

Basically, if the USGA did not use that watermark on what they put on the Internet they probably would not be able to put much on the Internet. Many clubs when they consider permission to use material from their course are concerned about commercialization. It's a necessary thing, believe me.

[Neil_Crafter]

Tom
I have been downloading articles from the magazines on the USGA library website for a year or two now and the watermark has only appeared in the last few months. Similarly, the LA84 website (Formerly LA Athletic) has magazine articles for download but they see no need for a watermark. Just commenting why it was not needed before but is 'needed' now thats all.
Neil

[TEPaul]

Neil:

I believe it is because now with the start of a new USGA architecture archive they will be dealing with some clubs for material more directly and some of these clubs have some concerns about having their material used off the Internet for commercial purposes. The USGA watermarking apparently goes a long way to preventing that. If it is that or not having some clubs agree to allow the USGA to use historic architectural material I'll take the watermarking.

[Joe Bausch]

I have a lead on more info about one of the other NLE's discussed in this thread, the course known seemingly by a variety of similar names, the earliest being the Pennsylvania RR Golf Club, just down the road from Brookline Square in Haverford township.  A woman from the Haverford Township Historical Society seems to have inherited the notes from a former board member of the club that was also the club's historian.  She will pass along any info in due time.  But she did relay to me that the club started in 1925.  As I make my way up through the microfilm of the Philly Inquirer (I'm through Feb, 1925), I think I'm likely to find an article on it similar to the initial one that began this thread.

[Joe Bausch]

This thread looks like it might be good for other lost links in the Philadelphia area that have either been talked about little at GCA.com or perhaps not all. 

This next one probably wasn't much, but it obviously strikes close to my heart since I work at Villanova University.  While searching through the Philly Inky microfilm in Sept 1930 (gathering up all the US Am articles), I stumbled across this little beauty, indicating my university actually had a 9 hole course right on campus, that was dedicated on the Thursday of the 1930 US Am (September 25, 1930):



I'm just in the beginning stages of gathering more info on it just the heck of it.  I think there is a decent chance of having a Dallin aerial of it too.  The Inky included a picture of the ceremonial tee shot the following day of Father Herron, then President of what was known as Villanova College:



I believe the course lasted less than 10 years before campus expansion gobbled it up.

[Dan Herrmann]

Heck - there's a course lost in the last 2 years - Valley Forge.  You should see the site (right by KOP mall).  It's amazing how quickly its lost its character as a golf course.

[Joe Bausch]

This 1991 article from the Philly Inky, courtesy of the Delaware County Historical Society, nicely sums up many of the NLEs from DelCo:

[Joe Bausch]

Here's a nice article from the 1993 Philly Inquirer (courtesy of the Delaware Country Historical Society) on the Brookline Square Club.

[Joe Bausch]

Ok, time for another NLE around Philly, this one in or near Warrington in Bucks County.  I've not been able find anything else yet on this course except for this March 22, 1925 Philadelphia Inquirer "coming out" article:



If anybody has further info on this course, particularly an aerial, please post!

[Kyle Harris]

Joe,

I'm going to go out and say Hermitage is ultimately what became Warrington CC done by one of the Gordon's that went NLE in 1987. The direct route from Willow Grove to Doylestown is Rt. 611 and that bordered the old WCC along with the Neshaminy Creek at the intersection of 611 and Almshouse Road.

[Mike_Cirba]

Joe and I talked about Hermitage a few days back.

The more research we do, the more we find that the early Philly golfers/designers were certainly and incestual bunch, in that there only seemed to be at most two degrees of separation between any of them.

Edward Clarey is a prime example.

For years I've had in my files a copy of a news clipping from 1940 at the opening of the Philadelphia Municipal golf course called League Island (today known as Franklin Roosevelt GC) that shows Edward Clarey and Alan Corson teeing off with dignitaries.

In the article, Clarey is called "the man who constructed the course", working with Corson as the Parks Engineer.  I had no real idea who either man was.

Subsequent research has shown that Clarey was for many years one of the top amateurs in Philadelphia, and played many a big match (including many at Cobb's Creek) with guys like Woody Platt and other preeminent players of the time.  

He also must have gotten affiliated with the Fairmount Park guys, because when Juniata GC was built (opened in 1927) as the second Philly public course, Clarey was named the pro.   It's therefore very interesting to learn that Clarey was designing courses in 1925 (Hermitage), and it wouldn't surprise me if he had input to Juniata, and Karakung, as well as Franklin Roosevelt.

Corson, we have learned, was at Cobb's Creek at its inception in 1916, working at the time as Assistant Park Engineer, under Jesse T. Vogdes and took over as Chief Park Engineer and Superintendent of Fairmount Park at least til the 40s.

In fact, sometime tomorrow morning I am going to be reviewing an early routing map of Cobb's Creek signed by Corson, date unknown.
 

[Joe Bausch]

An update on my research for the short-lived Brookline Square Club.  The Hagley museum has three photos of the place that I will link below.  I've purchased the high-res versions of each of these but I'm waiting for permission from Hagley to post them.  But here are the links to the low-res versions that shows how quickly this place came and went.  Remember, it opened in October of 1924.

This pic shows the clubhouse and the course probably at its peak, in late 1926:

http://digital.hagley.org/u?/p268001uw,6718

Does this look like anybody's bunkering style?  Flynn?  Findlay?  Joe Blow?!

This pic shows that in early 1927 already one nine is being developed, I think housing getting ready to go in:

http://digital.hagley.org/u?/p268001uw,6719

And this photo from 1931 shows that the course is history!

http://digital.hagley.org/u?/p268001uw,6271

Soon I'll have permission to post the high-res version of the 1926 photo as I sure would like to have some educated guesses on who the architect was.

[Craig Disher]

Joe,
I think this is a view of Hermitage GC from 1938. If the location is correct - the road on the left is Easton Rd and the stream across the top is Neshaminy Creek - it's apparent that the 18-hole course never materialized. In fact, the 9 holes look pretty well gone. Thanks for posting the article; I thought this course was an attempt by an estate owner to build a private layout.

[Kyle Harris]

Joe,
I think this is a view of Hermitage GC from 1938. If the location is correct - the road on the left is Easton Rd and the stream across the top is Neshaminy Creek - it's apparent that the 18-hole course never materialized. In fact, the 9 holes look pretty well gone. Thanks for posting the article; I thought this course was an attempt by an estate owner to build a private layout.

Craig,

That's definitely it. I don't know if there's any connection, but that site ultimately became the NLE Warrington Country Club done by one of the Gordons. From the aerials I've seen of Warrington, it encompassed much of the area east of Easton Road and south of the Neshaminy Creek.

Coincidentally, Kelly Blake Moran's Heritage Creek is about 3 miles southeast of this location, and I grew up about 5 miles southeast of here. Today, the site is a development while Warrington CC still exists as a Banquet Hall and dinner club.

[Joe Bausch]

Craig, I'm confident the Hermitage GC existed as an 18 hole layout.  They were part of GAP for a couple of years there, at the same time as Brookline Square.

[Craig Disher]

Joe,
I don't think there were any other courses along Easton Rd in the late 1930s. When I went through the roll I was pretty careful in noting everything that looked like a gc.  The article said that the course crossed Neshaminy Cr and was next to the Doylestown/Willow Grove trolley line (rte 611?). The photo shows the only place where the creek crosses 611. It's possible 18 holes could have fit on the site although it would have been cramped. It's also possible that the club simply played the 9 hole loop twice from different tees. Reading articles from the 1920s in the Washington Post about Town & Country, Argyle, or Kirkside, I never would have guessed they had only 9 holes.

If you find any other info, please post it. Nothing from the Hagley, I assume...

[Kyle Harris]

Craig,

2 separate branches of the Neshaminy Creek cross Rt. 611. One near Street Road in Warrington, and the other near Almshouse Road near Doylestown. The latter is the crossing pictured and the former is about 2 miles south on 611.

[Joe Bausch]

I think there is some likelihood that Hermitage had a short lifetime, not unlike the Brookline Square Club.  Hence, by the late 30's part of the land for the course could have been converted to something else.

Note:  the Hagley Museum does have a handful of photos of unidentified golf courses.  Not all these are available online.  Yet.  I would not be surprised at all if there is one of Hermitage.  I'm working on it.  Stay tuned.

[Craig Disher]

Kyle,
I noticed that - however, the creek to the south is named "Little Neshaminy." I don't know if that's significant. Both cross 611 at almost equal distances from Warrington.