How Old is Your Course?

[kevinmarkham]

I ask the question because Golf Week has recently come up with the Top 40 Great Britain & Ireland 'Modern' courses built since 1960... and the list includes Waterville, in Co. Kerry, ranked at number 4.

 

The Waterville course that exists at the moment was 'built' in 1973, but golf has been played there since before 1889, when the club was founded officially. ...what about your golf club? When was it first played on, and is that the date that the course was born... or does the date change because it has been redeveloped completely since then?

[BigPete]

My course opened in 1905 but you wouldn't be surprised if someone told you it was 20 years old.

[teejaywhy]

[quote name='BigPete' timestamp='1327799284' post='4169667']
My course opened in 1905 but you wouldn't be surprised if someone told you it was 20 years old.
[/quote]

That bad huh?

[Medic]

Most of the courses I have played here in Florida were built within the past 30 years. However I played one near Tampa that was built in 1922. It was originally built on the campus of a college near Tampa in Temple Terrace. It is private by my Medical Director is a member and has taken me there twice. What an incredible track. Links style with lots of sand in really clever areas. They haven't changed much since it was built regarding the layout but they redid the greens and they were, in a word, pristine. Good luck holding them unless you bring it in high or manage to hit the front and roll it on!

In my measure Temple Terrace Country Club ranks right up there among the nicest here in Florida. Much of its charm lay in the fact that there is so much history in the place.

Now there is another REALLY interesting course in Brevard County, Florida. It is called Aquarina and it was built on the beachside. Part of the course is up against the river and the other part is essentially on the ocean. The riverside has a really interesting historial site right on the course. Back at the turn on the century when Brevard was first settled the beach areas were only accessible by boat. Boats brought people and cargo from the mainland. And the dock was located where one of the par 3 holes now is. In commemoration there is a sign that indicates the exact location of the dock and the role it played in the history of the area. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!

[Br1an02;]

Mine built in 1926.

[Thrillhouse]

Dude that link to your blog is sick! Super stealth like!

[TheMackDaddy]

^^agreed!

[Don W]

Nearest course to me opened in 1928, currently plays to a par of 66 originally was par 72. Shortened some of the par four/five holes to par threes/fours (didn't move tees just changed the par rating), makes for some really tough par 3s/4s, some days my scores are no better than a full length course. The city promotes it as a good course to learn the game, feel sorry for beginners that play this course as it has some forced carries on quite a few holes, only one normal par three hole, and several holes require a draw or fade or very precise distance control to keep it in the short grass.

[EdgewoodJones]

My home course opened for play in 1892, making it the oldest course (with much debate) west of the Mississippi. The back nine was added in 1999. Small greens and elevation changes make it a tough little track.

[MadGolfer76]

My course was built during Prohibition directly on the U.S./Canadian Border - so that the "gentlemen" farmers might have a drink (legal in Canada at the time) and not have to worry about touchy things like the law.

[Wakey93]

1908 it was opened, it was designed by a certain [size=2]Dr. Alister MacKenzie[/size]

[Thrillhouse]

[quote name='Goodfella' timestamp='1327824640' post='4171279']
My home course opened for play in 1892, making it the oldest course (with much debate) west of the Mississippi. The back nine was added in 1999. Small greens and elevation changes make it a tough little track.
[/quote]

mare island golf club? thats what google said, apparently there is another course that opened in 1897 that claims the same also.

Technically Royal Calcutta is west of the mississippi (with an ocean and half a continent in the way), built in 1829 its got you beat LOL!

[Jim Clark]

Ours is a young club, opened in 1994. The second course opened about 3 years later. The Donald bought it about 3 years ago and made quite a few changes. Both courses were lengthened considerably. The clubhouse was expanded and they can handle bigger events, they make good money on events which is good for the members. The grill and patio areas were also expanded considerably which was really needed. The great majority of the members are pleased with the changes, but it is more expensive now. A bunch of members didn't like the changes and the added expense and quit. But this year he offered a great deal to potential members on initiation and got a lot of new members.

You'd have a hard time finding a better facility in a major metro area at the initiation deal he was offering. The monthlies and other expenses for carts and food are high, but we're not priced out...yet. It really is currently a good deal for this quality facility in the DC area. There's also helipad near the 1st green of the original course if you'd like to helicopter in, The Donald does about once a month.

[10of14]

Oldest Country Club in Michigan...Kent Country Club opened in 1896 and counted amongst its members President Gerald and First Lady Betty Ford.

[kevinmarkham]

[quote name='Thrillhouse' timestamp='1327810717' post='4170681']
Dude that link to your blog is sick! Super stealth like!
[/quote]

Apologies Thrillhouse (and The Mack Daddy) - I was trying to be transparent by saying it was my blog. Sorry if it caused offence.

[kevinmarkham]

[quote name='Goodfella' timestamp='1327824640' post='4171279']
My home course opened for play in 1892, making it the oldest course (with much debate) west of the Mississippi. The back nine was added in 1999. Small greens and elevation changes make it a tough little track.
[/quote]

Was the front nine altered in any way when the back was added? New tee boxes, bunkers, greens? This is the point I'm trying to get at - does your course become a 'new' course (1999) because of changes to an existing layout? And would club members claim that it was built/designed in 1892 or 1999?

[Thrillhouse]

Dude that link to your blog is sick! Super stealth like!

 

Apologies Thrillhouse (and The Mack Daddy) - I was trying to be transparent by saying it was my blog. Sorry if it caused offence.

 

Its just that there are people who show up and post only to plug their blog or their product or whatever and it gets annoying. I hope that isn't your intent and that you are here to participate.

[TheMackDaddy]

Thrill house kids around alot. Theres a course not to far from here that opened in 1894. I play ther quite often, it is very nice.

Dude that link to your blog is sick! Super stealth like!

 

Apologies Thrillhouse (and The Mack Daddy) - I was trying to be transparent by saying it was my blog. Sorry if it caused offence.

 

Its just that there are people who show up and post only to plug their blog or their product or whatever and it gets annoying. I hope that isn't your intent and that you are here to participate.

[Mile High Fin]

My course was opened in '04. That's 2004, not 1904.


Was named to the 2005 Golf Digest best new courses list.

[drake47]

1922

[wys383]

my course is founded in 1897, it is the second oldest 18 hole course in illinois behind Chicago Golf Club, which is the oldest [b]18 hole[/b] course in the country.

[smilin assassin]

wys383, what course would that be? I am in IL as well and curious to know.

[quote name='wys383' timestamp='1328237410' post='4201657']
my course is founded in 1897, it is the second oldest 18 hole course in illinois behind Chicago Golf Club, which is the oldest [b]18 hole[/b] course in the country.
[/quote]

[cardoustie]

1991. Major tree pruning going on this winter. 15 of 18 holes are in a valley. Designed by Curtis Strange and Doug Carrick

[Drewmun]

1886 was original design. Expanded in 1999 to 18 holes. Pretty old.

[ssp]

[quote name='smilin assassin' timestamp='1328287650' post='4205487']
wys383, what course would that be? I am in IL as well and curious to know.

[quote name='wys383' timestamp='1328237410' post='4201657']
my course is founded in 1897, it is the second oldest 18 hole course in illinois behind Chicago Golf Club, which is the oldest [b]18 hole[/b] course in the country.
[/quote]
[/quote]
I am guessing Rock Island Arsenal.

[wys383]

[quote name='ssp' timestamp='1328288950' post='4205681']
[quote name='smilin assassin' timestamp='1328287650' post='4205487']
wys383, what course would that be? I am in IL as well and curious to know.

[quote name='wys383' timestamp='1328237410' post='4201657']
my course is founded in 1897, it is the second oldest 18 hole course in illinois behind Chicago Golf Club, which is the oldest [b]18 hole[/b] course in the country.
[/quote]
[/quote]
I am guessing Rock Island Arsenal.
[/quote]

Glen View Club, in Golf IL. I didn't even realize until i was reading the history of the club.
From the website: in case you were wondering
On March 29, 1897 the Club was incorporated under the name of Glen View Golf and Polo Club. A few years later the name was changed to Glen View Club. Additional properties were purchased and the Club now owns approximately 200 acres. Richard Leslie, the first head professional, is credited with the original layout of the golf course, probably in consultation with member, Herbert J. Tweedie. O. C. Simonds, one of the Club’s first 100 members, was responsible for planning and developing the Club grounds, along with fellow member Daniel Burnham. In 1922, the course had its first major redesign by William S. Flynn. Areas of the golf course were changed in 1999 by golf course architect David Esler. Glen View Club has proudly hosted five Western Golf championships, including the first Western Open in 1899, and the 8th U.S. Amateur tournament in 1902 (won by our member, Louis N. James) and the 10th U. S. Open in 1904.

[mat562]

My place is 120 this year.

The first nine hole set-up opened for business while Queen Victoria was on the throne, in 1892.

[golow]

1898. At some point (1960's) they swapped land that contained 3 holes for another plot and built 3 replacement holes. You would never know.

golow(tm)

[obsessed_golfer]

My club was opened in 1922

[MyBluC4]

My course was built in 1917. Here's some historical background for anyone interested:

[b][size="4"]Willow Ridge Country Club[/size][/b]

[size="2"][color="black"]Willow Ridge Country Club is located in Harrison, NY. In 1917, a group of men displeased with crowded conditions at Apawamis established Green Meadow Country Club. The new Club leased, and later purchased, a 121-acre site. [/color][/size]

[size="2"][color="black"]Willow Ridge is the sixth club to operate on the 126-acre site located on North Street between Apawamis and the Westchester Country Club. The first one, Green Meadow Country Club, was founded in 1917 but folded during the Depression. In 1941, Green Meadow was followed by the Green Valley Country Club, a public course that was forced to close during World War II. Beginning in 1946 there was a string of private country clubs: Hasty Brook in 1946, Willows in 1950 and Harrison Country Club in 1953. [/color][/size]

[size="2"][color="#222222"]In 1965, a small group of dedicated golfers, all members of the Harrison Country Club, founded Willow Ridge Country Club. Within a year, the town of Harrison attempted to condemn Club property and take it over for municipal recreation facilities, but the attempted coup was thwarted. The new Club has prospered ever since.[/color][/size]

[size="2"]The original 1917 course was designed by Maurice McCarthy, a golf professional who also worked in course design. McCarthy settled in New York City and emigrated to the United States in 1890 through Ellis Island from Charleville, County Cork, Ireland. He was born about 1875 and died May 1938. For a time, McCarthy worked as an assistant to A. W. Tillinghast who designed Medina, Baltusrol, Bethpage, Quaker Ridge, Firestone and Winged Foot to name a few, and directed the operations for the Tillinghast designed Kingsport Country Club in Tennessee (no longer in existence). McCarthy was considered one of the first homebreds in the United States, having been connected for a quarter of a century with course construction, teaching and promoting golf throughout the United States and Europe.[color="black"][/color][/size][size="2"][color="black"][/color][/size]

[size="2"][color="black"]Maurice McCarthy went on to design a number of other courses, most famous being the West Course at Hershey Country Club in 1930. The West course is considered a classic example of a traditional American-style layout. It hosted the 1940 PGA Championship, with the legendary Byron Nelson taking home the Wanamaker Trophy. The West Course was also the site of the LPGA Tour's Lady Keystone Open from 1978 to 1994. Other of McCarthy’s designs include the exclusive Forest Lake Club in Columbia, SC, The Marywood Golf Club in Battlecreek, MI, and E. Gaynor Brennan Golf Course in Bristol, CT.[/color][/size]

[size="2"]In 1947, Alfred Horace Tull was hired to redesign the original McCarthy layout when the club was Hasty Brook Country Club.[/size][size="2"] Tull, a well-known golf course architect with offices in White Plains, NY, laid out exceptional courses from Newfoundland to Arkansas. During his career, he redesigned some of the most prestigious golf courses in the United States including Westchester Country Club, Maidstone, Apawamis and Congressional. [/size]

[size="2"]English-born, Tull emigrated with his family to Canada in 1907 and to the United States in 1914. He began his career with his brother William J. Tull in a firm that supervised the construction of the golf courses designed by Walter Travis, A.W. Tillinghast, and Devereux Emmet. [/size]

[size="2"]In 1924, Tull joined Devereux Emmet (1862-1934) as a design associate. Full partnership with Emmet in 1929 established Alfred H. Tull as a respected professional golf course architect. He continued the practice on his own after the death of Emmet in 1934. [/size]

[size="2"]Alfred H. Tull became Member No. 33 of the [i]American Society of Golf Course Architects[/i] in 1963 and a Fellow of the society in 1967. Tull died on September 28, 1982 in Fort Meyers, Florida.[/size]

[size="2"] [/size]