[Karl Jensen]

The below Mar 1890 newspaper clipping is the earliest report of golf in Chicago that I have seen. It mentions James Tweedie, who was the father of golf architect Herbert J. Tweedie, stating that "Golf has been played here in Chicago at the Wanderers' cricket ground and at Jackson Park". My previous post, providing more info about Herbert J. Tweedie, credits Herbert with Scotch friends as laying out improvised courses at the Wanderers' Cricket Club and Jackson Park. This is a full two years before the 1892 report of Charles Blair Macdonald laying out a seven hole golf course on the Charles Farwell estate.


Does anyone know of earlier Chicago golf history?


Early Chicago Golf mention, 23 Mar 1890 Chicago, IL Tribune newspaper

[Peter Flory]

I never knew that there was any mention before the Farwell Estate layout.  It's great that one of its attributes is that it doesn't involve killing. 

[Tim_Cronin]

That's the earliest newspaper reference I've found.


The Wanderers' Cricket Ground was a ballpark-sized facility at 39th Street and Wentworth Ave. on the South Side, and also used by the White Sox before Comiskey Park was built.

[Colin Sheehan]

Karl,
Thanks for sharing. A year or so ago, I had wanted to get to the bottom of the earliest golfer in Chicagoland, specifically the details of the holes at the Belmont site of the Chicago Golf Club in 1892 and 1893. I was fortunate to get some great info from the CGC historian.

I had not known about this. Sounds like the cricket pitch was used as a range for practice/exhibition rather than the creation of holes.

The "first" golf played in that area, in all likelihood, was at Camp Douglas in August of 1875.

Scotland's Gift: Golf “During the Dark Ages I made one fruitless attempt to play golf in America. My friend and fellow student in St. Andrews, Edward R. Burgess, visited me in Chicago in August, 1875. We would take my clubs and balls which I brought from St. Andrews and repair to the vacant land where Camp Douglas was during the Civil War. We cut out three or four holes, putting in them some of the empty cans which the soldiers had left. To these holes we enjoyed driving and approaching, recalling our college days. We were not long left undisturbed. The hoodlums in the vicinity tormented us to death. Evidently they thought we were demented. Burgess soon going home, my golf-clubs were stowed away until such time I could go abroad.”

[Peter Jones]

Hi, I can't help you with early golf in Chicago, instead, I am hoping you can help me with some research I am doing for a book I am writing on Fred McLeod, the 1908 US Open champion. He was born in North Berwick where I am, and was a member of the Bass Rock Golf Club in the town, of which I am a member. He emigrated to the US in 1903 and was appointed professional at Rockford Country Club IL between 1903-05, and then Midlothian Country Club 1906-10. I intend to contact both clubs to seek further information, but I wonder if any of you guys have, or know where I can find material relating to his stay in the Chicago area, the tournaments and exhibition matches he played in while there, and any work he did on golf course design. You can post info here, or contact me direct at peter5555jones@gmail.com Many thanks and good luck with hunting down origins of golf in Chicago.

[Karl Jensen]

Peter,


You probably already know that Fred was at the St. Louis CC and Columbia CC. A good free resource to search is a free newspaper archive website called Old Fulton Postcards. Link is below. It has many newspaper pages from Chicago and Washington, DC. Be creative in your search terms such as "Fred Mcleod", "Freddie Mcleod", "Fred Mcleod" and Rockford, "Fred Mcleod" and Midlothian etc. You get the idea. Google books "full view" may be helpful also. Lots of older docs there. There is another resource of much early golf publications that I have provided a link for below. Other than that there are paid newspaper websites such as Newspapers.com or Genealogybank.com. Also another free newspaper archive is our Library of Congress, I have provided a link below for that also.


Br, Karl


https://fultonhistory.com/


https://www.digifind-it.com/njhistoricalportal/towns/USGA/USGA.php


https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

[Bret Lawrence]

Peter,


Here are three additional free sites that will likely have some information on Fred McLeod. A quick search in Chronicling America (as recommended by Karl) yielded a list of McLeod’s finishes in golf tournaments from 1904-1916.


https://digitalarchives.usga.org:8463/library/index.php/


https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/mb?a=listcs&colltype=featured


https://tic.msu.edu/tgif/limiting?interface=golfd

[Peter Jones]

Many thanks Karl and Brett, appreciate the pointers. Many happy hours of delivng ahead.

[V. Kmetz]

Many thanks Karl and Brett, appreciate the pointers. Many happy hours of delivng ahead.

It's just a tangential trivia for McLeod, but he and Jock Hutchison were the first honorary Masters starters in (I believe) 1960 and for the first dozen or so years... I think Bobby Jones doted on the established Scot pros of his youth, never forgot them, had the first two Senior PGAs at Augusta and encouraged that Honorarium at the Masters....perhaps digging into some Jones material may uncover a missed nugget or two about McLeod.

[John Emerson]

The club historian at North Shore (I think) put on webinar back in the winter that had a detailed look into early chicago golf history.  It was well done, but I cannot remember exact dates.  I think he had info pointing to golf being played in the chicago area pre-1890

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()