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Jim_Kennedy

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".....piss on that green at Sleepy Hollow, on Macdonald and Raynor's grave again and on that photo on the front page of GOLFCLUBATLAS.com, if possible, and I'm driving this time to make that happen".-- tom e paul

Wow, good job. You've offended the memories of Macdonald and Raynor, their families, this website, the member who brought you to NGLA, the membership of Sleepy Hollow, the membership of the club you belong to, and the membership/clubs that you say you are familiar with. How gentlemanly of you.

.....and as if that wasn't enough:

..."we true-blue ultra manly Philadelphians would never think of singing "Philadelphia Freedom"!! It was written and recorded by a 4' 11" British homosexual who dresses like a Christmas tree. Plus his definition of "Freedom" ain't the same as our definition of Freedom."- tom e paul

.....makes one wonder if an ancestor of wayne's wasn't messing around your gene pool.
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

TEPaul

Pat:

I don't know the answers to any of those questions but I do know various architects who designed courses and then took their names off them including my favorite RTJ---The London Hunt Club in London, Ontario.

As you may or may not know, Walter Travis could be a fairly irrascible man, at least in my opinion with-all I've read by him.

TEPaul

Tom MacWood:

Thanks for your material and your 'I've done quite a bit of research on Ekwanok' thing but I think I will go with the research of Bob Labbance on Travis over you and Pat any time.

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
Tom MacWood:

Thanks for your material and your 'I've done quite a bit of research on Ekwanok' thing but I think I will go with the research of Bob Labbance on Travis over you and Pat any time.

I'll take that as a complement.

TEPaul

I can't say I blame you. Or did you mean compliment?   ;)

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
Actually I was off by a couple years when I said Travis began tweaking it in 1902. He began making changes in 1905.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 01:00:18 PM by Tom MacWood »

TEPaul

Pat:

You wanted to know who the Taylor was who apparently created Ekwanok. His name was James Taylor and he was from Brooklyn and Dyker Meadow GC. I don't believe he was related to H.C. Chatfield Taylor (that you mentioned) who was a good friend of C.B. from way back in Chicago in the 1890s and was one of the first who promoted golf with C.B. in Chicago sort of inspired by the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago that was essentially a World's Fair and generated 27 million tourists-----and also sort of put the USA on the map culturally in the minds of many abroad.

On the other hand, you will notice from that membership roll in that old account above the name F.W. Taylor of Philadelphia. That happens to be Frederick Winslow Taylor who was one of the most remarkable men I've ever come across in golf and architecture research. F.W. Taylor was something of a pure inventor and among other things he created the Taylor Method of putting green construction in the early teens as well as doing some of the best early research on golf course agronomy at his own personal estate. The Taylor Method of green construction was a form of slanted strata that is considered the precursor of the USGA spec green construction method.

But F.W. Taylor became famous for another reason completely unrelated---eg he created the "Scientific Management Method" which essentially created the basic platform of modern employee/employer management practices that very much carry on today.

F.W. Taylor's best friend was the Clarence M. Clark of Philadelphia you see as the treasurer of Ekwanok. Taylor married Clark's sister and Joe Clark was the executor of Taylor's estate who Hugh Wilson went to immediately after Taylor died in 1915 to get the Taylor Estate to give the US Dept of Agriculture all Taylor's agronomic research which they essentially used to create the USGA's Green Section.

It was a small world thoroughout a alot of those early clubs up and down the Northeast coast!

BTW, Pat, just a little more background history. Clarence M. Clark's father, Edward W. Clark ran the powerful Philadelphia finance firm that financed a lot of the American railroad system among other things and one of E.W. Clark & Co's star protoges happened to be Jay Cooke out of Sandusky Ohio who would go on to become one of the greatest and most powerful financiers in American history (along with J.P. Morgan) originating the concept of the government bond that would shortly be used to essentially finance the Civil War for the US Government.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 01:17:01 PM by TEPaul »

TEPaul

Pat:

As for Walter Travis' part and participation in the design of Ekwanok, I will give KevinM (Bob Labbance's associate) a call and ask him what material they used in their research on their biography of Travis and the part in that book on Ekwanok. They were pretty specific in what they said Travis did up there that fall (1899) and knowing Bob as I did it would be sort of unimaginable that he would just completely make up what they said about Travis and Ekwanok during that September/October period of 1899 including him staying in the Equinox hotel. Bob just didn't do stuff like that and if he found a problem or difference between what some club thought of their history or architect or whatever he was the first to tell him about it and explain why they were misinterpreting it. We saw this first hand with his history book for Philmont in Philadelphia.

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
Travis' tournament schedule was pretty full in the mos. of Sept/.Oct.. It appears that he was only free sometime after Sept 19th and before Oct 7th.

He had much larger blocks of free time earlier in the season.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 02:20:45 PM by Jim_Kennedy »
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
The old club history book is fixated on Travis's involvement,and gives little or no credit to Dunn; I suspect that is the source for the current confusion. I shared my findings with the Travis Society and was informed they did not have any positive proof of Travis's involvement in the oriinal design. They told me they would be changing their records to show Dunn as the original architect. A great deal of the Societies documentation came from Bob L. Although I did not know Bob very long he was a friend and had a big impact on the way I conduct my reseach and especially sharing what I find.

Patrick_Mucci

Tom MacWood,

In 1921, Travis, in an advertisement for his Golf Course Architectural business, appearing in "The American Golfer"
lists 15 courses he designed.

He stated, "Following are some of the courses which I have designed:"

Ekwanok is absent from that list.

Why ?

If Ekwanok was the first course HE designed, why wouldn't he list it in his advertisement ?
Especially when it was such a well regarded golf course.

A reasonable explanation is: because he didn't design Ekwanok.

Travis certainly wasn't humble nor was he one not to claim what was rightfully his.

I'm comfortable with my original statement that Travis's first design took place in 1907.

Unless of course, someone has irrefutable information to the contrary.

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
In his 2000 interview Bob Labbance said:
 
"In 1899, even before Travis had won his first U.S. Amateur, he was asked by his friend James Taylor to design Ekwanok Country Club.
Travis felt he needed to legitimatize his involvement in a field where he had no experience. He asked Dunn-whose father had designed dozens of courses in Scotland-to accompany him to Vermont and help with the project. Dunn provided his input, then returned to New York, but Travis remained for a month directing the construction of the course and planning in the field without drawings or plans. Travis respected the Dunn family for their roots that went back generations in Scottish golf and maintained a friendship with John Duncan.

After the Travis win in 1900, and successful defense of the Amateur title the following year, Travis didn’t need anyone to partner with to sanction his qualifications-his services were in demand regardless of his affiliations. Travis included Dunn in another project 20 years later when he invited him to consult on the design of Cape Arundel in Kennebunkport, Maine, and the two remained cordial throughout their careers, though I don’t believe they chummed around together."
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

TEPaul

Knowing Bob Labbance I just don't see him making up what he put in his biography of Travis which is essentially the same thing as quoted in his interview or whatever in the post above. I did contact KevinM though to ask what they used as resource material to say what they did about Travis and Ekwanok in Sept/Oct 1899 in the Travis biography "The Old Man."
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 06:13:46 PM by TEPaul »

Jim_Kennedy

  • Karma: +0/-0
The 'whatever' is his interview from this site, ca. 2000.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It's a little hard to figure who did what from BL's book. He says that WT and JDD "worked the site for tees and greens, designing in the field as they went, until they had the routing set",  and that "Natural contours were to be enhanced by dozens of carefully constructed bunkers. Greens of all shapes and sizes were added" . He then says that "Dunn returned to New York shortly after the initial routing. Travis, though, spent a good portion of Sept and Oct. supervising the crew, adding hazards, seeding greens, playing test shots, (and) making adjustments to the way the holes were situated".

So it seems like a lot got done before Dunn headed back to NYC. They had it routed, teed, and they had the green pads in and contoured, plus they knew where many of the bunkers would be going, or they already had many of them in. It sounds more like an architect, Dunn, taking the fledgling player/designer, Travis, under his wing and creating a course for him to flesh out.

By the way, Travis was in Lenox, Ma. on Sept. 10/11/12. In mid Sept., around the 20th, he was playing a 4 day event at Westbrook CC. On Oct 7th he was in Morristown to play against the Canadians. On Oct. 11/12/13, and possibly for the whole week, he was at Nassau CC. On Oct. 29th or so he was at Westchester CC and on Nov 11th he was at Oakland defending his club title.

They should have called him "The Indefatigable Old Man".   
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 07:01:22 PM by Jim_Kennedy »
"I never beat a well man in my life" - Harry Vardon

TEPaul

"The old club history book is fixated on Travis's involvement,and gives little or no credit to Dunn; I suspect that is the source for the current confusion. I shared my findings with the Travis Society and was informed they did not have any positive proof of Travis's involvement in the oriinal design. They told me they would be changing their records to show Dunn as the original architect. A great deal of the Societies documentation came from Bob L. Although I did not know Bob very long he was a friend and had a big impact on the way I conduct my reseach and especially sharing what I find."



Tom MacWood:

When did the Travis Society inform you they would be changing their records to show Dunn was the original designer of Ekwanok and Travis had nothing to do with it or not enough to be mentioned with Dunn?

Did you also tell them to change the dates of Travis' architectural involvement with GCGC, and can we expect them to change that too?

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
Tom MacWood,

In 1921, Travis, in an advertisement for his Golf Course Architectural business, appearing in "The American Golfer"
lists 15 courses he designed.

He stated, "Following are some of the courses which I have designed:"

Ekwanok is absent from that list.

Why ?

If Ekwanok was the first course HE designed, why wouldn't he list it in his advertisement ?
Especially when it was such a well regarded golf course.

A reasonable explanation is: because he didn't design Ekwanok.

Travis certainly wasn't humble nor was he one not to claim what was rightfully his.

I'm comfortable with my original statement that Travis's first design took place in 1907.

Unless of course, someone has irrefutable information to the contrary.

Pat
I think the answer is pretty obvious. He didn't design the golf course. Dunn was a very accomplished golf architect in his right (at the time Travis was not accomplished at all), and apparently a friend and mentor of Travis's. There is no way Travis would take credit for a golf course his friend and mentor designed. In 1899 Travis was considered one of the better amateurs in the east, but he was not a national champion, and he had absolutely no architectural experience. Dunn was an experienced golf architect. As you can see the name on all the articles is Dunn, not Travis or the professionals and amateurs involved.

Travis loved Ekwanok and over the years was probably the course's greatest champion, i.e. promoter. He also spent the majority of his golfing years summering at Manchester. He loved the place and was eventually buried there. Its probably understandable why he became associated with the design, and why Dunn fell off the radar. Travis remodeled the course over the years, even though the basic routing remained more or less just as Dunn laid it out, and Dunn left for Europe shortly after designing it, and when he returned about a decade later, relocated in California.  

Funny you should mention Travis's advert; here is Dunn's from 1926:
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 09:01:23 PM by Tom MacWood »

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
"The old club history book is fixated on Travis's involvement,and gives little or no credit to Dunn; I suspect that is the source for the current confusion. I shared my findings with the Travis Society and was informed they did not have any positive proof of Travis's involvement in the oriinal design. They told me they would be changing their records to show Dunn as the original architect. A great deal of the Societies documentation came from Bob L. Although I did not know Bob very long he was a friend and had a big impact on the way I conduct my reseach and especially sharing what I find."



Tom MacWood:

When did the Travis Society inform you they would be changing their records to show Dunn was the original designer of Ekwanok and Travis had nothing to do with it or not enough to be mentioned with Dunn?

Did you also tell them to change the dates of Travis' architectural involvement with GCGC, and can we expect them to change that too?

TEP
They did not say when, although they did tell me updating their website was not something they did often, in fact I don't believe they've ever done it. I don't recall discussing GCGC, but we did discuss Youngstown and that is another change: HH Barker design.

Did you get the last part of my post? Bob had no use for people who concealed and hoarded information, and that is putting it lightly.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 09:02:15 PM by Tom MacWood »

DMoriarty

  • Karma: +0/-0
By the way, Travis was in Lenox, Ma. on Sept. 10/11/12. In mid Sept., around the 20th, he was playing a 4 day event at Westbrook CC. On Oct 7th he was in Morristown to play against the Canadians. On Oct. 11/12/13, and possibly for the whole week, he was at Nassau CC. On Oct. 29th or so he was at Westchester CC and on Nov 11th he was at Oakland defending his club title.

They should have called him "The Indefatigable Old Man".   

I think Lenox might have ended on September 12th, because he had the US Open in Baltimore beginning on the 14th.
Golf history can be quite interesting if you just let your favorite legends go and allow the truth to take you where it will.
--Tom MacWood (1958-2012)

Patrick_Mucci

Jim Kennedy,

Bob Labbance notwithstanding, Travis's own  advertisement in "The American Golfer" in 1921, omits Ekwanok as a golf course he designed.

If he designed it, why didn't he list it, especially since it was his first effort and reputed to be a good golf course ?

Did Labbance elevate Travis's role in order to enhance Travis's image/book ?

Tom MacWood's contemporaneous accounts seem to credit Dunn.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2009, 07:18:35 AM by Patrick_Mucci »

TEPaul

"TEP
They did not say when, although they did tell me updating their website was not something they did often, in fact I don't believe they've ever done it. I don't recall discussing GCGC, but we did discuss Youngstown and that is another change: HH Barker design.

Did you get the last part of my post? Bob had no use for people who concealed and hoarded information, and that is putting it lightly."


Tom MacWood:

Very interesting! That is very much the dual personality post---those two paragraphs!

In the first paragraph, which is otherwise reasonable, you didn't answer my question on WHEN you asked them to change their information on Travis and Ekwanok. On that same issue of Ekwanok, I can actually see where BobL and KevnM may've relied on an earlier Ekwanok history book that fixated on Travis (at least so you say) and not done all that much independent or additional research on the subject of Travis and Ekwanok----eg after-all he (they) were writing a biography of Travis and not just a history of a single golf club but writing a book on the entire career of Travis which certainly had a lot more to do with things than just golf architectural history (a particular myopia of yours, in my opinon, I might add).


In your second paragraph, I have no idea at all what the hell you're trying to suggest. Wayne and I had a great relationship with Bob Labance and KevinM on a number of courses and projects of his around here, which we researched together on, including some of the ones Flynn worked on.

Bob Labbance was a REAL historian and a total professional researcher with the expected ethics of a genuine researcher/analyst/reporter completely unlike you and some of the shennigans you've pulled off such as that phone call and con-job you did on that township manager of the township George Crump lived in who said he would sue you if you came anywhere near Merchantville NH!  :o Not to mention you never even had the taste or decency to inform Pine Valley about what you were doing BEFORE you produced it. In my world, that tactic and approach of yours will always stink! REALLY STINK!

In my book, it would have been completely unimaginable for Bob Labbance to ever touch a subject like the history of a golf club and golf course without FIRST establishing a really close personal relationship with them as he always did and you never have. So don't talk to me about information and me and Wayne and you in the same sentence for GOD's SAKES! Your inability and/or unwillingness to establish a relationship with a club or subject you are seriously interested in and researching and writing about would have been completely repugnant to Bob Labbance, as it should be to any serious historian and as it certainly is to me.

I don't know of a single competent researcher/historian who approaches a subject WITHOUT going directly to the source (among other avenues) as you do. I am never going to condone it support it or endorse it and if any of the contributors and viewers of this website considered this essential issue serioiusly, I doubt any of them ever would either.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 10:02:20 PM by TEPaul »

David Stamm

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A few other Dunn courses of note were Lake Norconian, Lake Elsinore and Western Ave. Western Ave today is known as Chester L Washington GC and has the remnants of a Biarritz.
"The object of golf architecture is to give an intelligent purpose to the striking of a golf ball."- Max Behr

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
TEP
It was in the last six months.

You know what I'm talking about. Bob had no use for people who concealed and hoarded information, and I can only imagine what he would think about those who alter documents to make their case.

TEPaul

"You know what I'm talking about. Bob had no use for people who concealed and hoarded information, and I can only imagine what he would think about those who alter documents to make their case."


Tom MacWood:

Do I?

I have never altered a document to do with GCA history in my life! Concealing and hoarding information?? That is a figment or your imagination and if you for some reason (which to me is obvious) don't enjoy access to historical GCA information that Wayne and I and others have and do that is not any problem of ours or our responsibility but one of the responsibilities of the administrations of various golf clubs who frankly don't want to deal with what they consider to be totally revisionistic assholes like you and Moriarty who don't have the commonsense or decency to come and establish contacts with them first before they can consider the things you have to offer and say and have said about them and their histories and members and friends on GOLFCLUBALTAS.com!   ;)

Tom MacWood

  • Karma: +0/-0
Whatever you say.

DMoriarty

  • Karma: +0/-0
Gotta hand it to TEPaul for being consistent in his approach.

1.   Deny whatever new information is out there.
2.   Ridicule and lecture the the researcher for not relying on whoever researched the issue before.
3.   When proven wrong (which he always is,) change the topic to ridicule the researcher for some old, tired, and wholly imagined slight that wouldn't be any of his business anyway, even if it were true (and it never is.)
4.   Circle around and start over again.  

And again, TEPaul, while it is still none of your business, I did go to "Merion" before I allowed my essay to be posted.   According to you, Wayne was one of the Merion historians.  And shortly before my essay was posted you and he were singing his praises for all of his work on the archives, weren't you?   And when I had something to give Merion's Archive, Wayne handled it on behalf of Merion.   And when I had questions about certain information that Merion might consider confidential, it was again Wayne who dealt with it.   I informed Wayne and a number of other people what I was planning to do when I returned to the website.  I even provided Wayne, you, and others with a list of items I would cover.   My Essay was no secret, and you, Wayne, and everyone else encouraged me to post it as soon as possible.  You guys even accused me of sandbagging because I wouldn't post it on your schedule!   So if there was a breach in decorum it is solely on you and Wayne.   He never asked to see it.   Never suggested I provide it to Capers.  Nothing.    So get off your high horse.  It is not my fault you guys dropped the ball once again.  

My obvious mistake was assuming that Wayne had Merion's best interest in mind.  I should should have known he'd screw both me and his own club. Poor judgment on my part.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2009, 11:39:56 PM by DMoriarty »
Golf history can be quite interesting if you just let your favorite legends go and allow the truth to take you where it will.
--Tom MacWood (1958-2012)