Gearhart

[Tony Dear]

I'm looking for history on Gearhart Golf Links in Oregon, and trying to add to what the club's web site is giving me. I'm intrigued by the place because I was fortunate to play it recently, and couldn't believe I'd read so little about it. It would justify its place on any list of hidden gems I think. Apparently a handful of Scots began playing there in 1888 and Chandler Egan redesigned the course in 1932 (although a couple of people warned me to take that with a large pinch of salt). I know Bill Robinson also made some changes in the late 1990s.
Forrest Goodling, the superintendent, removed all 400 or so trees a couple of years ago, and the results are magnificent. He told me it took a while for visitors and members to like it, but they came around. The turf is fantastic, and it really does have the look, smell, atmosphere, and run of a genuine links.
But does anyone know the club's story? Who designed the original course, and did Egan indeed make some changes?

[Sven Nilsen]

Tony:


Gearhart's history is a bit confusing.  There are reports of golf being played in the area going back to the 1880's, but its highly unlikely whatever they played on survived into the current course.  In 1922 it was reported that the first seaside course in Oregon was installed at Gearhart in 1911.  Perhaps this all occurred on the same ground, perhaps not.


In 1914, it was reported that an 18 hole course was to be laid out by George Turnbull.  A. V. Macan (not Egan) is noted as having worked on the course in 1932.


If there's more out there, I'd like to see it.  At the very least, a course that dubs itself the oldest course west of the Mississippi should be able to support the claim.


Sven

[Tony Dear]

Thank you Sven. Have you played it? I did a bit of digging and discovered that besides designing Portland GC, Turnbull was also the first pro at Fircrest and played in three US Opens. I'd love to know who actually commissioned him to design Gearhart. Who owned it at the time?

[Sven Nilsen]

Tony:

Here's the March 15, 1914 Oregon Daily Journal article I referenced above.  My best guess is that the course was instituted and used by Portlanders escaping to the coast in the summer.  I'm still looking for something that verifies that the course predates the 1911 date I noted above.  It does not appear in any of the early annual guides, and in the later guides it is given dates of formation ranging from 1912 to 1892.

Hope this helps.

Sven

[Pete_Pittock]

Sven,
You might want to look through "Oregon Coast Invitational". If I remember correctly that tournament was held at Gearhart prior to moving up to Astoria G&CC.  Astoria probably has some early history of the tournament which is not on their website. 

[Tony Dear]

Sven,
Can you tell me where it was reported in 1922 that Gearhart had first been laid out in 1911?
Tony

[Sven Nilsen]

Oregon Daily Journal, Oct. 15, 1922

[Tony Dear]

Great, much appreciated Sven. So, have you played it?

[Sean Ogle]

Interesting to see this topic come up here. I live in Portland, and still have yet to make it out to play.


Was just playing with someone recently who told me that Tim Boyle of Columbia bought it a few years back and has been putting quite a bit of money into it in order to really make it something special.


Sounds like they've gotten rid of hundreds of trees, cart paths, and added some bunkering.


Have heard that it's improved greatly in the last few years. Need to make the trip over the coast soon and see it for myself.

[Tony Dear]

Sean,
I've seen pictures of the place from about 100 years ago when there were no trees. It's hard to fathom why anyone would have wanted to put them there. It's such a lovely, fun course now - great turf, some really interesting holes, and the wind is definitely a factor. I recommend you get out there as soon as you can.

[David Davis]

I drove past Gearhart a couple years ago just to take a look on a day when I went out to play Astoria. The only thing it was lacking was the firm and fast as far as I could tell. Astoria then was playing as firm as about any links course over here (Europe/UK) which was really awesome. Maybe they've decided to crack down and firm things up, if so it would be super fun to play there and I'd even go as far as to say outside of the Bandon courses, Astoria and Gearhart would be some of Oregon's best. Especially if they get them playing like the links courses they are.

[Tony Dear]

David,
I suspect two more years of improved drainage, exposure to sunlight, and better air flow have had a marked affect on the turf which was running beautifully when I visited a few weeks back.

[Tony Dear]

Sven,
I saw today the Northwest Hickory Players list Jack Astbury as one of Gearhart's early designers (http://nwhickoryplayers.org/northwest-hickory-players/courses/). They say he worked there in 1901. I know nothing about Astbury other than he was a member at Waverley in Portland. I suspect he did little more than mow the grass and replace the tin cans in the ground.

[Sven Nilsen]

Tony:


To answer your question, I haven't played Gearhart.  I've seen it, and I hope to play it soon.  The course runs a caddie tournament every spring (the Lucky Looperchan) where a bunch of Bandon caddies participate.  Couldn't make it the last two years, hoping to next year.


I've never heard of Jack Astbury, and really don't know what to make of the early history of the course.  I had always thought it was one of the oldest west of the Mississippi, but the article I noted above discussing the dates of the first course on the Oregon coast added a wrinkle into the story.


Sven

[Tony Dear]

Sven,
Not sure you'll see this, but just wanted to thank you for your comments. I finished the article I was working on, and posted it here http://bellinghamgolfer.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=561:gearhart-golf-links-the-gem-that-wont-stay-hidden-for-long&catid=43:travel&Itemid=105
Cheers,
Tony

[Garland Bayley]

David,
I suspect two more years of improved drainage, exposure to sunlight, and better air flow have had a marked affect on the turf which was running beautifully when I visited a few weeks back.

A good chance it would still be running in September. When I played it last November, all I was getting were large pitch marks and no run. It seems the topsoil is too rich. I had one ball embed in the ground.

[Sven Nilsen]

An early article on Gearhart, noting a course was laid out by R. Livingstone of Portland.  It doesn't give any credence to the 1892 date, but it is possible golf was played on the site before a formal course was laid out in 1896.  It is also possible this course was short-lived and replaced or rebuilt at a later date, resulting in the claim above that the first seaside course in Oregon came about a bit later.

Daily Morning Astorian - July 7, 1896

[MCirba]

Terrific find, Sven. 

[Pete_Pittock]

Judge Jenkins and I played Gearhart a week ago in some wind and rain, not near as much as is forecasted for the next few days. The lodge has a book about Gearhart reminisences. It mentions a 1901 course, and said that Scottish immigrants have been on the Clatsop plains since the 1840s, and one of them, Robert McEwan settled at Gearhart in 1848. So the seed was there. The book continues that local legend asserts that his descendents established a four hole course in 1886, but does not provide any documentation. Marshall McKinney became enamored of golf during a trip to California in 1900 and had a nine hole course laid out in 1901.

Conditioning was fine, I took a divot that would make Garland proud, and could see his point, but must mention that the embedded ball marks he was complaining about could be eliminated with proper, lower ball flight. I was picking up 35 yards on a 10 knot downwind  shot.

[Garland Bayley]

...
Conditioning was fine, I took a divot that would make Garland proud, and could see his point, but must mention that the embedded ball marks he was complaining about could be eliminated with proper, lower ball flight. I was picking up 35 yards on a 10 knot downwind  shot.

As I am sure Pete knows, hitting downwind and landing on an down slope certainly aids with proper ball flight and landing, but still less than a yard of role after the pitch mark doesn't indicate a propensity for typical links course roll out.


It is getting wetter here in the northwest. However, it is far from as wet as when I played Gearhart last November. We got 2 inches of rain yesterday here in the Portland area. I checked the runoff channels on my property. They were not running with any water, because the ground has not saturated as it will as the season goes along. The ground will get considerably softer at Gearhart as the season changes more.

[Sven Nilsen]

Judge Jenkins and I played Gearhart a week ago in some wind and rain, not near as much as is forecasted for the next few days. The lodge has a book about Gearhart reminisences. It mentions a 1901 course, and said that Scottish immigrants have been on the Clatsop plains since the 1840s, and one of them, Robert McEwan settled at Gearhart in 1848. So the seed was there. The book continues that local legend asserts that his descendents established a four hole course in 1886, but does not provide any documentation. Marshall McKinney became enamored of golf during a trip to California in 1900 and had a nine hole course laid out in 1901.

Pete:


Here are a few images of the book you mentioned.

[Pete_Pittock]

Sven,
That's the one.  I didn't have a camera and they didn't have a functioning copy machines.

[Sven Nilsen]

Here's a map of the Gearhart area taken from the July 7, 1907 edition of The Sunday Oregonian.  Either the numbered street names were adjusted at some point, or the course previously covered ground south of where it currently lies.

[Tony Dear]

Wonderful finds gents, and thank you for adding to the knowledge. I'm assuming the course Kinney played during his trip to California was Del Monte.

[Sven Nilsen]

Wonderful finds gents, and thank you for adding to the knowledge. I'm assuming the course Kinney played during his trip to California was Del Monte.

Tony,


I wouldn't take too much from that Kinney statement in the book.  We already know there was a course as early as 1896, so it is more likely he discovered golf at Gearhart or in Portland than anywhere in California in 1900.


Sven