While reading a contemporaneous newspaper article about Fresh Meadow Country Club, designed by Tilly and host to the 1930 PGA championship and 1932 U. S. Open, I came across a surprising piece of information.
The article was published on December 18th, 1921 in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. It was a short article about the recent announcement that a new golf club was formed in Jamaica, Queens in New York City. This had the surprising heading that announced, “New Golf Links Has Name of Ouimet’s Club.” This was certain to attract the eyes of anyone at all who loved both the game of golf as well as the storied victory that Francis Ouimet accomplished.
The article stated, “The Woodland Golf Club, recently formed by members of the Unity Club of Brooklyn, has purchased a tract of 106 acres on the black Stump Road, near Union Turnpike, Jamaica, which is to be developed as an 18-hole course…
“Woodland is the name of the club in the Boston district made widely known by two of its memebrs, Francis Ouimet, and the present national amateur golf champion, Jesse Guilford. Duplication of names frequently causes confusion and perhaps a club with as promising a future as this new Jamaica organization has may deem it wise to adopt a name distinctively its own. A year ago a new club near Pinehurst chose the name Knollwood. Attention was called in The Eagle then to the fact that there is a Knollwood Club in the Metropolitan District. Thereupon the name was changed to Mid-Pines, which is peculiar to that club alone and not an echo of another name.”
I did a quick but cursory look into how the club got its name and can find no reference to it. Obviously a bit more research is needed, so I thought I’d share the above in hopes that someone may confirm what was published 103 years ago.