Original articles relating to the History of Golf.
“The new course, which has just been opened for play at Pebble Beach, to be known as the Del Monte Second Championship Course, has as complete a watering system as was ever devised. It is already in working order, and with like comparison the other features of the course are having their development in the … Continue reading “Pebble Beach Opened with Irrigation in March 1918 says Neville.”
In January 1916, the Hotel Del Monte announced they were planning to build a much needed second golf course at Moss Beach, as professional golfers Walter Fovargue, Wilfrid Reid and James Donaldson arrived to remodel the Del Monte No. 1 golf course for the Western Golf Association’s Western Amateur and Open championships, to be held … Continue reading “Del Monte No. 2 at Pebble Beach Version 1”
By J.I.B. Jones DEL MONTE No. 2. golf course at Pebble Beach “Undoubtedly the golfer on his first visit to Pebble Beach has a delightful surprise in store, for he will find an all-grass links, tees, fairways, and greens.“ (R.H. Hay Chapman, April, 1918) The story of the Hotel Del Monte No. 2 golf course … Continue reading “101 Years of Golf at Pebble Beach 1918-2019”
After an infamous round of golf on Del Monte No. 2 at Pebble Beach in April 1918, sports writer, humorist, and author, Charles E. Van Loan, said, “Never again, it is too dangerous a course.” Van Loan found a very large garter snake next to his ball on the fifth hole, and then “encountered four … Continue reading “Charles Van Loan at “Dangerous” Pebble Beach in 1918″
by J.I.B. Jones Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1919 One Hundred years ago, on Washington’s Birthday 1919, the excitement was high for the long-awaited opening of the new Del Monte Lodge at Pebble Beach. Lewis Hobart was the Hotel Del Monte’s architect. He also designed the original Pebble Beach Lodge in 1909. Hobart was well known … Continue reading “100th Anniversary of the Del Monte Lodge at Pebble Beach”
When he arrived in New York from England in 1920, W. Herbert Fowler was already a long time Royal and Ancient amateur golfer, who had won the Jubilee Vase in 1902, and the Bombay Medal in 1903, at St Andrews, and had played on the English golf team of 1903-1905, against Scotland. In his early … Continue reading “W. Herbert Fowler at Del Monte No. 2 at Pebble Beach”
At Rancho Los Cerritos in Long Beach, on September 1, 1921, a day after the new Hunt & Burns clubhouse was dedicated, the new William Watson designed grass-green golf course of the Virginia Country Club opened to its members. The club had voted to move from Los Alamitos after ten years, leaving their old Arthur … Continue reading “The Virginia Country Club’s 100th Anniversary at Los Cerritos!”
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 … Continue reading “A Matter of Course. The Life of William Herbert Fowler 1856-1941”
It was with great anticipation that Los Angeles Country Club’s new North course at Beverly officially opened to members on Wednesday, August 10, 1921, making LA CC the first club in California to have adjoining eighteen hole golf courses. The new course had been “thrown open for practice,” in early June, and members had declared … Continue reading “The Opening of Los Angeles Country Club’s W. Herbert Fowler designed North course in 1921”
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 … Continue reading “Tiger Pines – the 2008 U.S. Open”