The Official Golf Guides seem to strive to be the definitive reference about all things golf in the U.S. They contain info on courses, golf associations, championships, etc. They are neat to peruse even if just for the old photos and ads. Josiah Newman was the first editor; here is the intro from the 1899 (first) edition:
Introduction.
OF the origin of Golf in America we have no
record, but it was probably brought over by the
earliest settlers, and was certainly played in
New York State two hundred and forty years
ago. In an ordinance passed by the authorities
of Fort Orange, now Albany, December 10, 1659, is
the following remarkable passage. It will be found printed
in Book A, Mortgage No. 1, in Albany County Clerk's office,
209; and it is also published in the " Laws and Ordinances
of the New Netherlands," page 367. The following is the
ordinance :—
" The W. Commissary and Commissaries of Fort Orange
" and Village of Beverwyck, having heard divers complaints
" from the Burghers of this place, against playing at Golf
" along the streets, which causes great damage to the win-
" dows of the Houses, and exposes people to the danger of
" being wounded, and is contrary to the freedom of the Public
" Streets ; Therefore their Worships, wishing to prevent the
" same, forbid all persons playing Golf in the streets, on pain
" of forfeiting fl. 25 for each person who shall be found
" doing so."
Thus, curiously enough, in America, as in Scotland four
hundred and twenty years ago, the earliest official reference
to the game is found in by-laws prohibiting it as having
become a public nuisance.
Yet it has remained for this volume to give some detailed
and classified account of the principal golf clubs in
America, where today over 150,000 people may reasonably
be set down as patrons of the Royal and Ancient Game.
These players, drawn principally from the most cultivated
classes in the community, keep in employment, exclusively
in the pursuit of golf, upwards of 35,000 men and boys, and
the game partially benefits at least double that number. No
sport whatever, and few single industries, finds labor for anything
like so many people ; it is far more than the whole
United States army when on a peace footing.
As these are conservative figures it seems reasonable to
answer the common query, "Has golf come to stay? " with
an emphatic "Yes!" for the simple reason that too much
capital is invested in the game, and too many people are
benefited thereby for the sport to pass out of existence. The
tens of thousands who have to thank golf for renewed health
and vigor today are, however, an entirely sufficient guarantee
that the sport will be handed down for many generations as
one of the greatest blessings ever introduced into this
country.
This first "Golf Guide," owing to the speed with which
new clubs have been formed the past year, is necessarily very
incomplete, yet it contains some reference to 2 golf clubs in
Alabama, 1 in Arkansas, 22 in California, 7 in Colorado,
31 in Connecticut, 1 in Delaware, 11 in Florida, 9 in Georgia,
31 in Illinois, 3 in Indiana, 5 in Iowa, 2 in Kentucky, 1 in
Louisiana, 15 in Maine, 14 in Maryland, 74 in Massachusetts,
9 in Michigan, 5 in Minnesota, 10 in Missouri, 2 in Nebraska,
18 in New Hampshire, 59 in New Jersey, 106 in New York,
7 in North Carolina, 1 in North Dakota, 13 in Ohio, 2 in
Oregon, 50 in Pennsylvania, 13 in Rhode Island, 3 in South
Carolina, 5 in Tennessee, 7 in Vermont, 10 in Virginia, 5 in
Washington, 12 in Wisconsin, 2 in West Virginia.
It is only the briefest mention I am able to give most of
these organizations, but such as the record is I. trust it may
prove of value to fellow golfers and be some help, however
slight, in binding together into one bond of fellowship all those
who take part in the Royal and Ancient Game. To the secretaries
of clubs and other officials, who have kindly furnished
the statistics, I wish to tender my warmest thanks, as also to
Laurence Curtis, ex-President of the U. S. Golf Association ;
Robert Bage Kerr, Secretary of the U. S. Golf Association ;
H.O. Tallmadge, ex-secretary, and other kind friends who
have rendered willing aid.
JOSIAH NEWMAN.
i have seen the editions from 1899-1901, and 1916-1930; I viewed them from the USGA digital archive.