The first golf competition held under the auspices of the Southern California Golf Association in November 1899 at the Los Angeles Country Club’s Pico & Western eighteen-hole sand-green golf links.
Category: Womens Golf History
SCGA Women’s Amateur Championship 1900
The first official Women’s Championship of Southern California was held under the auspices of the Southern California Golf Association in 1900 at the 9-hole, 2,291 yard, Pasadena Country Club Links at Oak Grove (NLE), over two days in January 1900.
Pasadena CC was the first golf “country club” in Southern California. It was founded in 1897, and the course opened in 1898. Its first professional was W. H. “Bertie” Way, formerly of Westward Ho!, England, Shinnecock Hills, Meadow Brook and Detroit Country Club. Over the winter of 1899-1900 he was doing double duty at Pasadena and Los Angeles Country Club.
The women’s championship contest at Pasadena was played over two days. It started with an 18-hole medal play qualifier for the four lowest scores. Then 18-hole match-play, and an 18-hole final.
The first Southern California Women’s Champion was Mrs. Jean W. Bowers, who beat Mrs. John D. Foster 5 and 4. Both ladies from Los Angeles CC. Mrs. Hugh Vail won the medal. Jean Bowers won again the next year at Los Angeles CC.
The Women’s Amateur Championship was run by the SCGA tournament committee from 1900 to 1920, when they formed a women’s sub-committee, and soon after, the Women’s Auxiliary of the SCGA. The Auxiliary ran the tournament until the Southern California Women’s Golf Association was formed in 1934.
The 1934 Women’s championship was played at San Diego Country Club at Chula Vista in May.
“Miss Helen Luscomb, sweet girl graduate of U.C.L.A. just a year ago, today became the new Southern California California golf champion. She defeated Mrs. Kenneth Carter, San Gabriel champion, 4 and 2, in a scheduled 36-hole match.” Helen won on her home course.
The Southern California Women’s Amateur Championship was held every year until World War II. After that it gets complicated!
To be continued…
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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.
Aside from golf-instruction, this week Mrs. Webb is conducting the hiking expeditions from the Hotel Maryland.
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