Golf Historical Society – Page 5 – Original articles relating to the History of Golf.

Tiger Pines – the 2008 U.S. Open

by J.I.B. Jones

In mid-June 2008 I took the Pacific Surfliner train along the coast from Los Angeles to Rancho Santa Fe and thence to Torrey Pines for the 108th U.S. Open golf championship. I was a guest of the U.S.G.A. after having helped Pete Georgiady research for his article about public golf on the west coast in the official 2008 U.S. Open Program. Pete’s story opened with my story of baseball legend Babe Ruth signing his Yankee contract at Griffith Park’s original 18-hole Municipal Links in January 1920. Griffith Park later hosted the Los Angeles Open from 1937-1939 on both George C. Thomas Jr., designed courses. They were remodeled and toughened up in the 1930’s by Billy Bell and Bill Johnson with Works Progress Administration funding in anticipation.

Los Angeles’s other municipal gem is the Rancho golf course where the Open was also held from 1955-1972, and in 1983 when the Riviera Country Club held the P.G.A. championship. Rancho’s most memorable moment, as chosen by the editors, was Arnold Palmer’s 12 during the first round of the 1961 L.A. Open. Nevertheless, I’m more than pleased to have my name in print as the Rancho Park Golf Club historian. Thanks to everybody in the club for being a part of it, and to L.A.’s Recreation & Parks Golf Division for recommending me to Pete!

As I was lucky enough to be staying in Rancho Santa Fe with a great friend, I was able to take the volunteer shuttle from the polo grounds to Torrey Pines all week with no hassle. The U.S.G.A.’s organization was spectacular, and no matter what the armchair golf architects think about Torrey Pines’ value as a golf course, Riviera could never host a US Open without a second course for practice and staging and large crowds of spectators. Well, I guess they could if they closed Brentwood, and maybe Bel-Air, and filled them with tents, and shuttled people by helicopter like they do at Grand Prix races!

Unfortunately, the U.S.G.A. didn’t have time to do any historical research on Torrey Pines. In fact, in their display of future US Open venues — in the American Express tent — they wrongly credited Chandler Egan with changing the 18th at Pebble Beach into a par 5. We at Rancho, and Neal Hotelling (the official historian of Pebble Beach), know that it was LACC and Rancho’s own W. Herbert Fowler who made the changes in 1921, the same year he finished designing the original Rancho-Ambassador course, and the Los Angeles Country Club’s North and South courses.

As is my custom, I told everyone that I met about Torrey’s history, even though they were mostly interested in a certain golfer from Cypress, California…

Camp Callan – Torrey Pines South during WW II

For the record, Torrey Pines was given to San Diego in 1908 by Ellen Scripps, the most amazing philanthropist California has ever known. Miss Scripps, along with her sister Virginia, bought every acre of Torrey Pines to stop development, and then donated it to the City of San Diego to be protected and used as a public park. During World War II it became Camp Callan, the Coast Artillery Corps base, then a Sports Car Club of America race track, and then finally the Torrey Pines golf courses.

Billy Bell and his son Billy Jr.

William P. “Billy” Bell, who designed, co-designed, or constructed the majority of the great Southern California golden era golf courses before his untimely death from a heart attack in 1953, had the original vision for Torrey Pines. His equally prolific and brilliant son William F. Bell (Billy Jr.) made his father’s vision a reality by completing the designs in 1955 when he began construction of the golf courses.

Camp Callan postcard – Torrey Pines South during WW II

Billy Jr. shaped the mostly flat landscape into the rolling land of the Torrey Pines we know today by using the many acres of asphalt roads, parade grounds, and even the foundations of the camp buildings, piling the rubble to shape the courses. Truly a pair of genius’ at work!

Torrey Pines South course opened in June 1957 with an exhibition that included 1934 Rancho golf course professional Ralph Guldahl, winner of the 1937-38 U.S. Open and the 1939 Masters.

In 1972 golf course architects David Rainville and Billy Casper did a major remodeling job which included recontouring the greens. More recently, Rees Jones improved the layout tenfold in preparation for the 2008 US Open. The local club golfers I met over the week were amazed at how beautiful Rees had made their golf course.

Maybe we can use Hillcrest for the extra tents and host the US Open in 2024 at Rancho Park!

Jones during U.S. Open practice at Torrey Pines

Back to the 108th US Open.

The rough during the practice rounds was all anybody needed to see to know that hitting fairways was going to be the name of the game at this Open. Unlike the Masters, getting up and down wasn’t the hard part. Narrow fairways made it paramount to be in the fairway. Even the short rough made hitting the green unlikely and a bogey likely. Many players also seemed to be caught off guard by the fluffy sand traps and the slowness of the greens the first couple of days compared to expectations.

Sergio Garcia didn’t get this one (or the next 2) out of the second cut on 14 on Wednesday.

The U.S.G.A.’s scoring prediction was right on. They got what they wanted and the spectators and TV viewers were treated to some brilliant golf. Even the best drivers of the ball ended up in the rough and paid the price. How Tiger won while missing so many fairways says volumes about the quality of his short game and his superhuman strength from the rough. Even though we always go on about his awe-inspiring swing, he really is also as good as the best putter who has ever lived — and his ‘drive’ to win is unequalled.

There were many highlights of my week, including seeing former S.C.G.A. President Ed Holmes scouting the course for the TV announcers, and meeting up with legendary golf course supervisor Ted Horton (C.G.C.O.A.), Kevin Heaney (S.C.G.A.), Craig Kessler (P.L.G.A.) and U.S.G.A. President Jim Vernon and his assistant Ashleigh on the North Course, away from the action, for a photo shoot celebrating Golf Week in California.

The most impressive feat of the event, without a doubt, were the thousands of volunteers who came from all over America and across the world to work for their clubs and charities, helping to raise millions for their communities. It really is the pinnacle of dedication and charitable giving by the volunteers, and the U.S.G.A. should be praised for using their championships this way.

I was so lucky to have been a part of the 108th US Open. Thank’s Pete and Kevin! I did it wearing my Rancho Park logos in full view on the various shirts and visors I wore all week.

Next up for us in California – Pebble Beach 2010.

All photos and words Copyright 2008-2014 JIB Jones Golf Historical Society
Not to be reprinted without permission.

Real Golfers No. 1: George Glennie

Thomson, Melville, Dougall, Glennie, Pirie, Gilmour, Fairlie, Morris

A Calotype of great players of the day at St Andrews circa 1855.

No. 1 – In the center is Mr. George Glennie, head and shoulders over the other gentlemen players in match play. I never knew a kinder-hearted and more sterling man. Early trained as an engineer, he went to Blackheath, where he was instrumental in putting fresh life into the old club. I hope to have a whole article on my very worthy friend, for the last match of any importance which I played was in 1874, with him as my partner, against Messers. Leslie Balfour Melville and Henry Lamb. The whole golfing world knows the name of George Glennie. He broke the medal record in St Andrews, for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, in 1855, when he scored 88. This was not beaten till I gained the university Medal eleven years afterwords in 86. But there never was a steadier player, and never was there a more charming partner.

An excerpt from October 20, 1899, Golf Illustrated (UK). Golf and Golfers of the Old School, by Dr. J. G. McPherson.

A Matter of Course – The Life of William Herbert Fowler 1856-1941

A Matter of Course is a new book written by Derek Markham and published by Markham & Truett.

The story of legendary golf course architect William Herbert Fowler. The book is a proper biography of a most interesting life, mostly well lived.

I contributed research to the chapter, “American Adventures,” written about Fowler’s work in California, which included Los Angeles Country Club, Pebble Beach and the Del Monte Hotel courses, the Presidio, Burlingame Country Club, the no longer existing Ambassador/Rancho Golf Club, Olympic Club, Lincoln Park, Sequoyah, Del Paso, Crystal Springs, Menlo C.C., and others!

This is a small print of 650 books that can be ordered by emailing Philip Truett:
philip@truett.co.uk

or ordering online from Browns Books

Protected: 110 Years of the Los Angeles Country Club at “Beverly.”

Only Woman Golf Pro is Pasadenan

Mrs. Gourlay Dunn-Webb, who bears the unique distinction of being the only woman golf instructor in the country.

From an article published in 1919:

Pasadena has long been noted as being the home of many “best“ and various “onlys,“ but a new distinction has been added in the latter class by the presence here of the only woman golf professional in the country.

She is Mrs. Gourlay Dunn-Webb, is the niece of famous Willy Dunn, and is conducting a series of demonstrations at the Hotel Maryland.

Mrs. Webb comes from a family of noted golfers. Her grandfather and great grandfather on both sides were players and teachers, and her father, the late Thomas Dunn, was acknowledged the greatest teacher of his time. Mrs. Webb‘s mother was the first woman teacher in England, having taught golf in 1875 at the Royal Wimbledon Golf club.

Mrs. Webb was the next women instructor and taught the game at Prince’s Golf club, near London, one of the principal women’s golf clubs in England. Mrs. Webb can drive a ball 250 yards. The average woman’s drive is about 100 yards less.

She has worked out everything to her own satisfaction, dress as well as the method of procedure, playing the game to get the best results.

“It is simply wonderful,“ said Mrs. Webb, when I asked to give her opinion of the value of the game as an exercise and amusement. “It exercises every muscle in the body, even the toes, the head, the hands. It is the unique exercise. Golf is all a question of balance and poise, it creates a control of the body that no other game can give, and I’d say it is particularly beneficial for women.“

Mrs. Webb herself in action, with rare poise and control, is sufficient proof of the statement.

January 1919, Pacific Golf & Motor advertisement.

Aside from golf-instruction, this week Mrs. Webb is conducting the hiking expeditions from the Hotel Maryland.

105 Years of the Brentwood Country Club (1916)

Brentwood Country Club temporary clubhouse and part of golf course south of San Vicente.

Born as the Santa Monica Country Club on July 6, 1915, the club secured 133 acres by purchase and lease and planned an eighteen-hole golf course, twenty tennis courts and a polo field, at what was then Brentwood Park, Santa Monica.

Tennis champion Tom Bundy was founding president, with Thomas McCall of the Los Angeles Country Club, vice president. Directors included Mayor Dudley of Santa Monica, real estate man Robert Marsh, Riverside’s Frank Miller, and class amateur golfer and LACC member Norman Macbeth.

Old-time polo players George Waring, and J.B. Proctor, along with tennis players, Claude Wayne, the Sutton and McCall sisters, Herman Janss, King Gillette, Stanley Anderson, and Judge Works, were some of the other charter members.

By the end of July 1915, the club was renamed Brentwood Country Club. Architect Frank T. Kegley designed a clubhouse and trees were planted to enhance the site.

On Saturday, January 8, 1916, Thomas McCall met with golf expert William Watson of St Andrews, Chicago and Los Angeles, and planned the layout of the holes. Under the direction of McCall and his golf advisory committee of E. S. Armstrong and Norman Macbeth, work began on Monday clearing and smoothing the grounds, before constructing Watson’s novel double circle all-grass 18-hole sand-green golf course.

105 years ago on Saturday, March 25, 1916, the new Brentwood Country Club held their official opening with nine-holes ready to play and the temporary clubhouse (donated by Herman Janss) outfitted with lockers, showers and baths. The 3,004 yard, par 35, front nine would be followed in the summer by the opening of the second nine. Hutt Martin of LACC acted as host professional for a series of putting and driving contests played over the opening weekend. Clarence Mandeville was then hired as the club’s first professional instructor, and the youngest on the West coast.

105 Years of the Brentwood Country Club 1916 by J.I.B. Jones
©2021 jib jones/golfhistoricalsociety

Protected: The Highest Score on a hole in a major Golf competition in Southern California

Golf Terms: The Tee Box

The Teeing Ground, one club length from the hole – circa 1860.

The original teeing ground in golf was a one club length circle around the last hole played, known as the tigh in curling, which is the Scottish word for home, and is pronounced tee.

The ball had to be played off the ground until the 1800’s when players were allowed to use dirt to ‘tee it up’. After dealing with the damage done by golfers digging up dirt, greenkeepers began providing sand.

By 1875 the tee was between 8 and 12 club lengths from the hole, and in 1888 it became our modern version – between two marks, two club lengths deep, and laid out by the greenkeeper.

A typical wood and dirt Tee Box with sand dressing and a rubber tee – circa 1920

By the time golf reached America in the 1890’s, many teeing areas were level boxes made of wood, stone, or cement, and filled with sand, soil, dirt, bitumen or cement, and sometimes covered with coconut matting.

Walter Fairbanks on the tee box at Los Angeles Country Club in 1901

The tee box at Palm Beach, Florida circa 1904

These rigid teeing areas were the reason that modern wooden or plastic tees couldn’t be stuck in the ground and required a sand-pile to tee-up the ball. The tee box was obviously not named after the box used for sand.

The 9th Tee box at Virginia Country Club, now Rec. Park, Long Beach – circa 1911

The 5th Tee box at Coronado Country Club in 1919

Real grass teeing areas were standard on Scottish links courses and became standard on championship and private golf courses in the United States by the 1920’s.

As of 2021, there are still many hundreds of courses that still have tee boxes and matts throughout the United States.

LACC’s SOUTH Course Turns 100!

LACC South – 9th green looking south towards Westwood Hills, Hillcrest and Rancho in 1920s.

On Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1921, the Los Angeles Country Club officially opened its new William Herbert Fowler designed South course.

Fowler was asked to keep as many of the existing grass fairways and grass greens from the original 1911 LACC Beverly links in his plans when designing two new 18-hole courses.

By 1920 the club had acquired additional land south of Wilshire Boulevard and Fowler remodeled the front nine and added nine new holes, seven of them on the new land and two north of Wilshire, to make the new South course. He also redesigned six old holes north of Wilshire, and added twelve new ones to make the North course that opened in August 1921.

LACC, SCGA, PCGA and CGA legend Edward B. Tufts and new LACC member George C. Thomas Jr., led the green committee for both new courses and supervised construction with Greenkeeper Charlie Cavanaugh and his assistants. Another man at hand was LACC head professional and golf legend John Duncan Dunn who might have had a word to say about Fowler’s design.
(My great uncle Richard Brook worked under Dunn at LACC in 1920-21. His twin brother Tom worked at the Beverly Hills Hotel as golf instructor – small world!)

George C. Thomas Jr., wrote in Pacific Golf and Motor that, “the first nine of the South course will be nearly the same as the old lay-out, except for new greens on the second, sixth and seventh, and new tees on the eighth and the ninth.”

“The second nine will be all new holes.”

Before the South’s opening on the 22nd the final version of the Beverly course hosted the 1921 Southern California Open from February 6 to 8, using none of the new tees, greens or holes. The three-day event started with the pro-am, followed by two days of 36-hole medal play.

Unfortunately, the tournament was hampered by severe winds, up to 70 mile per hour and super dry conditions, making it nearly impossible to stop a ball from any height on the greens. It got so bad that George Thomas himself was out on the course drenching the greens to keep them playable.

Hutt Martin, Carnoustie, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Altadena, Culver City, Parkridge.

LACC’s ex-assistant professional from Carnoustie, Hutt Martin (297) won the tournament. American Eddie Loos (299) was 2nd, and LACC’s Everett Seaver (309) was low amateur finishing in 8th place overall. Leo Diegel had the low round of the tournament and claimed the course record of the South with a 70 during his 4th round. LACC member William Armstrong won the pro-am with Diegel. Armstrong donated the “bridge to the 18^th.”

The new South course greens were perfect by February, but the fairways were still rock laden on the back nine and were not used in competition until after the Southern California Amateur in April.

The South course lasted through many iterations until it was redesigned in 2015 by Gil Hanse who retained parts of some original holes that we can still enjoy today! Thanks for the century!

Norman Macbeth Jr., ref. note

At the *opening exhibition* of Municipal #2 (*Harding) golf course in Griffith Park in 1923* with Willie Hunter, George C. Thomas Jr., Ed Tufts, A.D.S. Johnston and Norman Macbeth.

Norman Macbeth Jr., was born in Bolton, England in 1879, and grew up playing at Royal Lytham & St Annes golf club where he won the club championship three times while still in school. After an engineering apprenticeship in India with his father’s company he emigrated to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1903.

Norman married American Lucia Holliday in 1907, and they moved to Pittsburgh where Macbeth played on the Oakmont Golf Club Leslie Cup team with W.C. Fownes Jr., and on the 1909 Pennsylvania State golf team with Albert Tillinghast.

#1 son was John Holliday Macbeth born in 1908. He drowned in 1919 while Norman was in France working for the Red Cross during WW I.

The Macbeth’s moved to Los Angeles in 1910, with Norman working for the Riverside Portland Cement company. The company supplied cement for the Los Angeles Aqueduct and half the roads that we still drive on in the 21st century.

#2 son was Norman Macbeth III or Jr., born in Los Angeles in 1910. He was also a golf champion and lived until 1989.

Norman joined the Los Angeles Country Club and won numerous amateur golf titles over the next several years.

#3 son was Alexander born in 1915 and died in May 1920. Cause unknown.

Macbeth volunteered for the Red Cross in France, where he drove an ambulance, and managed to play at least one round of golf!

He returned to Los Angeles in August 1919, and was soon elected chairman of the Green committee creating the new Wilshire Country Club golf course in Hancock Park, which became his non-working life’s passion.

Norman was also playing a full schedule of club tournaments at Los Angeles Country Club where noted golf architect John Duncan Dunn was professional and George C. Thomas Jr., and Herbert Fowler were making history designing and building the new North and South courses.

*Charles Orr (manager) and Norman Macbeth (chair).*
Wilshire Country Club green committee.

The new Wilshire Country Club course was completed and open for member play in December 1920. Macbeth led the club team and green committee and was elected to the USGA Green Section. He was also a member of the Los Angeles Traffic Commission.

Norman and Lucia had an uncontested divorce in 1928.

In 1934 Norman married Lucille Chandler, ex-wife of Wilshire CC founder Raymond Stephens. They were parents to Norman Jr., and Lucille’s son and daughter.

At the time of Norman’s death in 1940, he also left two brothers and five sisters in England.