early Bannockburn

[Joe Bausch]

Perhaps this thread will quickly drop off the first page, but the site seems to have very little about this NLE (I think!) DC course.  Here is an interesting article from 1915 announcing the new course as they move from Chevy Chase. (I'll host this article on my web server tomorrow and enlarge it some to make it easier to read).

[Dan Herrmann]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if today's newspapers covered golf with such detail today?  Nice find, Joseph!

[Craig Disher]

Although Bannockburn didn't have the quality of Ross's Indian Spring it was another close-in course that could have survived if the membership had held firm. After the club moved in 1915, its original site south of Chevy Chase Club was taken over until the late 1920s by Kirkside GC until the land was developed for housing. I live not too far from the site and know the boundaries of the course fairly well. Part of it was actually in the District until Western Avenue was paved and a couple holes had to be moved north into Maryland. I've looked hard but haven't found a photo of the course or even a scorecard.

The new Bannockburn survived until the late 1940s. The clubhouse shown in the newspaper article was added to in the late 1920s and was a real beauty. I've walked through it and without too much effort it could be a grand clubhouse again. It's now used as a nursery school and day-care center. Here's a photo - the original building is in the rear.

[Carl Nichols]

Craig-
What current streets form the boundaries of what used to be the club?

[Craig Disher]

Craig-
What current streets form the boundaries of what used to be the club?

The course was on a triangular piece of land bordered on the north by Oliver St, on the south by Belt Dr (now just an alley that ends at Morrison St but at the time continued across the ball field south of Western Ave), and on the west by Wisconsin Ave. The clubhouse was located on the north side of Oliver midway between Chevy Chase Circle and Wisconsin.

[Tom MacWood]

Did Dr. Brown lay out the course or someone else?

[Carl Nichols]

Craig-
What current streets form the boundaries of what used to be the club?

The course was on a triangular piece of land bordered on the north by Oliver St, on the south by Belt Dr (now just an alley that ends at Morrison St but at the time continued across the ball field south of Western Ave), and on the west by Wisconsin Ave. The clubhouse was located on the north side of Oliver midway between Chevy Chase Circle and Wisconsin.

Thanks.  What about after it got moved?

[Craig Disher]

Tom - A Dr. TJ Brown was the greens chairman but I never found any information that would tie him to the design of the course. When the site for the new course was chosen, the club hired Donald Ross.

Carl - The second Bannockburn was located on a rectangular site near Cabin John, MD. It was bordered on the W by Wilson Lane, the S by MacArthur Blvd and extended north almost to Selkirk Dr.

[Joe Bausch]

Here is a very nice article on the 2nd site for Bannockburn:

(click on the article to enlarge)

[John Butler]

I live in Alexandria, Virginia and first heard about Bannockburn when reading a history of Washington Golf and CC in Arlington, so glad to know more about it.  I thought Washington Golf, Chevy Chase, and Columbia were the only pre WW1 clubs in the Washington DC area.  The Washington Golf history mentions Bannockburn when describing the results of the club's Spring Invitation tournament in 1916.  Members from the Metropolitan Club in downtown Washington founded Chevy Chase (initially for hunting) and Washington Golf in the 1890s.  Do you know who founded Bannockburn (must be some Scottish link)?