Historically Notable U.S. Courses by Decade - ?? to 1899

[Sven Nilsen]

I am in the process of compiling a list of historically notable courses in the States, organized by the decade in which the courses were built.  I'd appreciate any thoughts on additions to the lists, corrections to information noted or further information on other architects that may have participated in the design process (without devolving into the absurd).  

Oakhurst Golf Course (1884) – Unknown
Dorset Field Club (1886) – Unknown
Sarasota Golf Club (1886) – J. Hamilton Gillespie
Foxburg Country Club (1887) – Joseph Mickel Fox
St. Andrew’s Golf Club (1888) – John Reid; William H. Tucker (1900); Morris Poucher (1920); Jack Nicklaus (1983)
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (1891) – Willie Davis; Willie Dunn (1894); Charles Blair Macdonald, Seth Raynor (1916); Howard C. Toomey, William S. Flynn (1931)
Palmetto Club (1892) – Herbert Leeds; Alister MacKenzie (1931)
Gearhart Golf Links (1892) – Unknown; Chandler Egan (??); Bill Robinson (1999)
Chicago Golf Club (1893) – Charles Blair Macdonald; Seth Raynor (1923)
Newport Country Club (1894) – William Davis; H.H. Barker (1909); Donald Ross (1915); A.W. Tillinghast (1924)
Onwentsia Club (1895) –Charles Blair Macdonald, Henry Foulis, Robert Whigham, Herbert J. Tweedie; Tom Doak (1997)
Van Cortland Park Golf Course (1895) – Tom Bendelow
The Country Club (1895) – Willie Campbell; Howard C. Toomey, William S. Flynn (1931)
Lowell Country Club (Vesper Country Club) (1895) – Unknown; Donald Ross (1914)
Baltusrol Golf Club (1895) – Louis Keller; A.W. Tillinghast (1922)
Philadelphia Cricket Club St. Martins Course (1895) – Sanders Hartford; Willie Tucker (1898)
Myopia Hunt Club (1896) – Willie Campbell; Herbert Leeds (??)
Skokie Country Club (1897) – Herbert J. Tweedie or George Leslie; Tom Bendelow (1904); Donald Ross (1914); William Langford, Theodore Moreau (1938); Ken Killian, Dick Nugent (1973); Rees Jones (1984;  Ron Prichard (??)
Exmoor Country Club (1897) – Robert Whigham; Charles Blair Macdonald (1898); Harry Towner, R.H. McElwee, William Alexander (1901); Donald Ross (1914); Ken Killian, Dick Nugent (1969); Bob Lohmann (1987); Ron Prichard (2004)
Wentworth by the Sea (1897) – George Wright; Donald Ross (1921)
Atlantic City Country Club (1897) – John Reid; Walter Travis (??); Willie Park Jr. (1921); Tom Doak (??)
Midlothian Country Club (1898) – Herbert J. Tweedie; Ken Killian, Richard Nugent (??); Bob Lohmann (2003)
Garden City Golf Club (1899) – Devereux Emmet; Walter Travis (1909)
Maidstone Club (1899) – William H. Tucker; Willie Park Jr. (1925)
Ekwanok Country Club (1899) – Willie Dunn; Walter J. Travis (??); John Duncan Dunn (1927)
Jackson Park Golf Course (1899) – Tom Bendelow
Detroit Golf Club (1899) – Unknown; Donald Ross (1913)

[Pete Blaisdell]

I might add the following
   Dorset (VT.) Field Club -1886--unknown

   Shinnecock Hills-1891-Willie Dunn

A correction to the posted list
   St. Andrew's, not St. Andrews

[Jud_T]

1892- Chicago Golf Club (Belmont)- CBM/Tweedie?
1893- Essex County- (Unknown), Ross (1917)
1895- Onwentsia Club- CBM, Doak (1997)
1897- Skokie CC (Unknown), Bendelow (1904), Ross (1914), Langford & Moreau (1938), Prichard (1994)
1897-Glen View Club- Leslie/Tweedie, Flynn (1922), Esler (1999)
1899-Apawamis- Dunn, (Hanse 2002)
1899- Montclair Golf Club- Bendelow, Ross (1920), Banks (1928)

[Garland Bayley]

1892 Gearhart Golf Links. First true links course in the US?

[Sven Nilsen]

Updated list:


Oakhurst Golf Course (1884) – Unknown
Dorset Field Club (1886) – Unknown
Sarasota Golf Club (1886) – []
Foxburg Country Club (1887) – Joseph Mickel Fox
St. Andrew’s Golf Club (1888) – John Reid; William H. Tucker (1900); Morris Poucher (1920); Jack Nicklaus (1983)
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (1891) – Willie Dunn
Palmetto Club (1892) – Herbert Leeds; Alister MacKenzie (1931)
Gearhart Golf Links (1892) – Bill Robinson
Chicago Golf Club (1893) – Charles Blair Macdonald; Seth Raynor (1923)
Newport Country Club (1894) – William Davis; Donald Ross (1915); A.W. Tillinghast (1924)
Onwentsia Club (1894) – James Fouilis; Tom Doak (??)
Van Cortland Park Golf Course (1895) – Tom Bendelow
The Country Club (1895) – Willie Campbell; Howard C. Toomey, William S. Flynn (1931)
Lowell Country Club (Vesper Country Club) (1895) – Unknown; Donald Ross (1914)
Baltusrol Golf Club (1895) – Louis Keller; A.W. Tillinghast (1922); Robert Trent Jones (1952); Reese Jones (1992)
Myopia Hunt Club (1896) – Herbert Leeds
Skokie Country Club (1897) – Bendelow; Donald Ross (??); William Langford, Theodore Moreau (??); Ron Prichard (??)
Garden City Golf Club (1899) – Devereux Emmet; Walter Travis (1909)
Maidstone Club (1899) – William H. Tucker; Willie Park Jr. (1925)
Ekwanok Country Club (1899) – Walter J. Travis; John Duncan Dunn (1927)

[Sven Nilsen]

Shivas:

The point of listing the architects (including "unknowns") was to provide a comprehensive list of the parties involved in a course's evolution, not necessarily to differentiate what work done was notable.  There were two important criteria I was looking to capture.  First, the date a golf course was first laid out on the site in question (Chicago being an case I'll have to examine more to determine the correct date for its current site) and second who was involved in the various design iterations thereafter.

[Garland Bayley]

My best guess is that Bill Robinson is not the appropriate name to put down for Gearhart Golf Links. I have to wonder where you even got the name. My Cornish and Whitten doesn't have the course in it.

The original was build by unknown locals. The most significant remodel was probably by Chandler Egan. If someone is attributing the course to him I suspect Bill Robinson was who they hired to finally add irrigation perhaps sometime in the 1990s.

[Sven Nilsen]

Garland:

Exactly the type of feedback I was looking for, thanks for the update.  A quick google search indicates Egan did some early work and Robinson was brought in in 1999.  I read something that suggests there were a lot of other hands involved over the years, but no one is specifically identified.

Sven

[Jud_T]

Sven,

For what it's worth, Onwentsia now lists CBM as the original architect with no mention of Foulis on their website.  I'm sure this was at TDoak's instigation...

http://www.onwentsiagolf.com/clubhistory.html

[Powell Arms]

I would add the original 18 holes at Philadelphia Cricket Club, known as the St Martins course.  The original 9 was designed by Sanders Hartford and opened in 1895.  The second 9 was designed by Willie Tucker and opened in 1898.  The course hosted the 1907 & 1910 US Opens.  And was the home course to AW Tillinghast and George Thomas, who won the club championship there in 1914 & 1916.

[Pete Balzer]

Wentworth by the Sea 1897- Donald Ross

[Mark Saltzman]

I am about as far from an expert as it comes when it comes to the history of golf courses and I apologize for any mistakes, but I think the following are pre-1900:

Atlantic City CC - Travis
Aronimink - Ross

[Sean_A]

It would be of great help if the reasons these courses are considered historically notable were included.  I am a golfer of many years with a decent grasp of the history of the game and a ton of these courses mean nothing to me.

Ciao

[Tom MacWood]

I'd be interested to know the criteria too....and the purpose of the list.

Ekwanock was laid out by JD Dunn; Willie Campbell it the original architect of Myopia; HH Barker added the second nine at Newport in 1908/09.

[Jud_T]

Shiv,

No question.  Clearly a marketing ploy for the club, although I didn't think they were hurting for members..

[Sven Nilsen]

I'm going to update the original post in each thread to reflect the updates I've received so far.

To answer Sean's and Tom's questions, I was hoping to come up with a fairly complete timeline of the evolution of GCA in America.  There is no attempt to undermine other threads on this site or to discredit other sources.  Its simply a resource tool for my own edification that I thought others might find useful from time to time, and is certainly a work in progress as new information is received.

I also like the idea of adding in the reasons for inclusion on the list and will do so starting with this thread.  I'd appreciate any other thoughts as to the importance of these courses or other courses not included.

Thanks,

Sven

[Sven Nilsen]

The courses built before 1900 in the US are notable as they were the first, or at least the first in certain regions of the country.  Several of these are of particular interest for other reasons, such as:

Oakhurst - although technically NLE, deemed by many to be the birthplace of US golf
Sarasota - the first course in Florida
Foxburg - noted as the course with the longest run of continuous play in the country
Gearhart - if not the first course west of the Mississippi, it is probably the first course built on the west coast
Chicago - first 18 hole golf course
Newport - site of the first amateur and open championships
Van Cortland - the first municipal golf course?
Shinnecock, TCC, Baltusrol - for their role in championship golf


This group of courses also raises the theme of alteration in early U.S. golf course development.  As the game changed (or as interest in golf rose), the courses went through drastic revisions (i.e. Shinnecock, Chicago, Skokie) many times necessitating moving to a new site.

These courses also represent early examples of the work of some of the games greatest designers, including Macdonald, Foulis, Tweedie, Campbell, Bendelow, Emmet and Dunn

   

[Scott Stambaugh]

Tacoma Country and Golf Club (1894) Tacoma, WA.  Alexander Baillie and early members.  Oldest golf club west of the Mississippi.

I know there are several courses that claim to be the oldest _________ west of the Mississippi...

Scott

[Dale Jackson]

Tacoma Country and Golf Club (1894) Tacoma, WA.  Alexander Baillie and early members.  Oldest golf club west of the Mississippi.

I know there are several courses that claim to be the oldest _________ west of the Mississippi...

Scott

Scott, Sven et. al.

I would be remiss as a proud Canadian and resident of Victoria if I did not point out that Victoria Golf Club was established in 1893 and is the oldest club west of the Mississippi.