Chicago GC/Macdonald Exhibit

Bob Goldsborough files a Chicago Tribune piece on the new museum exhibit devoted to Chicago GC and C.B. Macdonald:

 A new exhibit filled with rare golf artifacts to pay tribute to the landmark course at the 114-year-old Chicago Golf Club, just outside Wheaton, opened recently in the Center for History in a former firehouse at 315 W. Front St.

Titled "Fairways, Greens & Clubs," the $500,000 exhibit also highlights the Chicago area's influence on the evolution of golf in the Midwest, particularly from the 1890s through the 1940s. With red leather chairs, a faux fireplace and 30 custom-made wood display cabinets, the exhibit has the luxurious feel of a golf clubhouse.

And...

There are trophies and memorabilia on loan from the Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest, the North Shore Country Club in Glenview, the Flossmoor Country Club in Flossmoor and the Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields.

The exhibit also celebrates the father of American golf architecture, Charles Blair Macdonald, who founded Chicago Golf and laid out its course.

Macdonald, whose expertise as a player is demonstrated through two of the trophies he won, lived in unincorporated Wheaton from the club's founding until 1905. His mansion, which overlooks the club, is known as Ballyshear and still stands.

Rackham Photos

Thanks to reader Smitty for these photos of the historic clubhouse at Rackham, the Donald Ross designed Detroit public golf course that may be developed.

I don't know what it looks like on the inside, but the exterior architecture is pretty extraordinary.

(click on image to enlarge)

Update on 2006-12-06 15:42 by Geoff

There is a Christy Strawser story in today's Daily Tribune on the efforts to save Rackham.

Rackham Gets Historic District Status

Reader Smitty shares this Naomi Patton story on the Huntington Woods City Commission approving a proposal to designate the Donald Ross designed Rackham Golf Course a historic district.

Huntington Woods residents and Rackham supporters applauded the vote, but they should expect a legal challenge from the private developer that plans to purchase the property.

Arthur Siegal, attorney for Premium Golf LLC, called the vote "politics at work," and said, "The main event is the litigation."

This is an interesting bit from Jennifer Chambers' Detroit News story:

The 123-acre course, designed by Donald Ross, is one of the earliest integrated golf courses in America, starting from the early part of the 20th century. Its clubhouse, an Arts and Crafts structure with a heavy Prairie and Romanesque revival influence, is a 1924 state-of-the-art building with a tile roof and a long, sweeping veranda with Pewabic tile.

George Thomas Seaver?

I was perusing ebay and searching for items related to architect George Thomas when I stumbled upon a baseball signed by Hall of Famer "George Thomas Seaver," aka Tom Seaver, who was signing his legal name.

The late, Charlie Seaver, Tom's father, played a lot of golf during his teenage years with George Thomas at Los Angeles Country Club and also played a round with MacKenzie at Cypress Point. (When I interviewed him for The Captain, he told me had film of the MacKenzie round, though he did not want to have it transferred to tape at the time).

And for trivia buffs, Seaver was one win away from facing Bobby Jones in the final of the 1930 U.S. Amateur.

Anyhow, I'm presuming that Seaver named his son after Captain Thomas. And I know this makes your day!

Does anyone have any idea what Tom Seaver is these days?

Saying Goodbye to Byron

Jimmy Burch reports on the memorial service for Byron Nelson.

"He was active until the last second"

The Dallas Morning News' Brad Townsend and Bill Nichols pen the best of the obits on Byron Nelson.

Nelson's wife Peggy came home from a Bible class around 12:30 p.m. and found her husband on the porch, longtime friend and business manager Jon Bradley said.

"He had been gone for a while," Bradley said.

He said Peggy told him Nelson was feeling good Tuesday morning, and may have been headed for his golf cart when he collapsed.

"He was active until the last second," he said.

Richard Goldstein writes the New York Times obituary and Thomas Bonk pens the LA Times version.

SI digs up Walter Bingham's 1995 piece detailing the win streak.

Of course, Dan Jenkins contends that it was actually 13.

Byron Nelson, R.I.P.

One of the greats passes away.

Update on 2006-09-26 23:14 by Geoff

Several excellent stories has been posted on Nelson's life and times, starting with PGATour.com's in-depth coverage.

Ron Green Sr. files this remembrance. The tour web site also includes a timeline, his records, a career overview and statement from the Commissioner.

At SI.com they have posted a 1995 Jaime Diaz piece on the magnitude of Nelson's streak, as well as this photo gallery.

And at USGA.org, David Shefter pens this obituary to the 1939 U.S. Open champion.

Catching Up With The Morrises

Thanks to reader Chris for this Craig Howie piece on Old and Young Tom, which ought to help you get in the mood for the Open Championship.

Auchtertonie On The Old Course

Most who read GolfClubAtlas.com saw this courtesy of Brian Ewen, but just in case you didn't, it's a wonderful short clip of Willie Auchterlonie talking about the Old Course in 1949.

Now This Is Furrowing...

From The Golden Age of Golf Design, Oakmont circa 1929.

 

Unfairness of Furrowed Bunkers

(click to enlarge)A few of you emailed to ask about yesterday's Bobby Jones quote on furrowed bunkers.

Since some form of furrowing is taking place at Muirfield Village this week, I thought you might want to read the entire article, which appeared in The American Golfer and was later reprinted in a magazine style publication called Bobby Jones On Golf, which was reprinted again by Sid Matthew. It's a must if you don't have it and love Jones's writings (though I'm afraid it's out of print looking at Amazon).

Anyway, click on the window to read his take on Oakmont's furrowed bunker raking. You'll probably have to print it out, as I had to resize it to fit the screen.
 

Crenshaw's Shot

Ben Crenshaw pens an SI Golf Plus My Shot on Ben Hogan and Colonial:

Mr. Hogan wasn't one to hold back his opinions, even if they hurt your feelings. Back then I had a driver that I loved, and one day he asked to look at it. He held it up at an angle and examined it on all sides. Finally he said, "That's the worst driver I've ever seen." Man, that killed me, but that was the way he was.

Turnberry Turns 100

Tom English pens a nice overview of Turnberry's 100th birthday for Scotland on Sunday.

In the Second World War the government commandeered the golf course just as they had in the First. They made a military air station of it, put 1,200 men on site and told those who wanted to know that golf had probably had its day at Turnberry. The links had survived one conflict. It was unlikely to survive a second.

The bulldozers moved in. Greens were ploughed up and several thousand tonnes of concrete and tarmac were poured on to fairways to make runways.

How times have not changed...they're revving up the dozers again.

It's a challenge that is going to get stiffer by the time 2009 comes around. It would have been appropriate for Turnberry to host the Open in this their 100th year but change was needed there. Foul weather defended the course against the bombers of today but you'd fear for it if the modern pros cut loose in dry conditions. The fear is they'd tear it to pieces. The game has changed a lot since Nick Price won there in 1994. Apart from the infrastructure around the course, they needed to toughen-up the Ailsa.

The changes are pretty radical, even if the R&A has asked for some of them to be undone. They were concerned the new and extensive bunkering on some holes was too penal and would force players to go defensive off the tee. Some have been filled in completely, others have been made less deep. Still, there will be approaching 30 new traps when the Open returns there and about 200 extra yards to negotiate.

The most dramatic alteration is the shifting of the 10th tee 50 yards to the left. Dinna Fouter now requires a 220-yard carry over the sea to find the fairway. Anything remotely hooky will end up wet. It's a hole to challenge the signature ninth, with all the stunning views of the lighthouse and the Ailsa Craig. It is a vision that brings to mind Henry Longhurst's plaintive words in troubled times.

"In those long periods inseparable from wartime service when there is nothing to do but sit and think," he wrote, "I often used to find myself sitting and thinking of the time when once again we might be playing golf at Turnberry."

China Unveils Its Evidence

That whole China invented golf story? Well the plot thickens, at least according to Reuters:

An exhibition of three replica paintings depicting nobility playing a golf-like game unveiled at Beijing's Great Hall of the People this week backs the claim that modern golf is derived from an ancient sport called Chuiwan.

The paintings are said to have been stored at Beijing's Imperial Palace Museum and date back to the Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties.

"China's ancient Chuiwan, whether in the equipment, the course and the rules -- even in the etiquette -- is very similar to modern golf," Li Yong, deputy secretary of China Golf Association (CGA), told reporters.

"Not only was it played much earlier than (Scotland's) 15th century golf, it's also earlier than other countries' similar ancient golf games. Thus, we can absolutely say that China's ancient Chuiwan is the mother of modern golf."

The replica paintings depict scenes of imperial nobility standing near small, round balls and holding sticks reminiscent of golf clubs.

The other item of evidence offered was a copy of Wan Jing -- a book published in 1282 and reading like a beginner's textbook on golf, according to experts.

"Virtual Janet"

Ken Klavon introduces the USGA's exciting new online research tool named after longtime curator Janet Seagle.

This could become addictive.