Golf History:
American Golf History
American Golf History
Woodrow Wilson:
The Golfing President
The article, authored by John W. Fischer III, discusses Woodrow Wilson as the U.S. President who played the most golf while in office, estimating between 1,000 and 1,600 rounds from 1913 to 1921. Wilson began playing golf at the age of 55 upon the recommendation of his physician, Dr. Cary T. Grayson, who believed it would benefit Wilson’s health. The piece outlines Wilson’s background, early interests in sports, and his rise in academia and politics before his presidency.
American golf history
Earliest Golf Courses in America
The history of organized golf in the America’s is somewhat fuzzy as regards its first mentions in Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. While there was no specific discussion about golf matches played in those cities, advertisements in the newspapers and other notices indeed referred to specific Golf Clubs.
The Charleston City Gazette of October 13, 1795, included the notice that “The anniversary of the Golf Club will be held on Saturday next, at the Club House, Harleston’s Green where members are requested to attend at one o’clock.” Another advertisement on October 12, 1797, referred to the organization as the “South Carolina Golf Club”.
Regarding a Golf Club in Savannah, there is a formal invitation dated December 1811 saying, “The honor of Miss Eliza Johnson’s presence is requested to a ball to be given by the members of the Golf Club in this city, at the Exchange on Tuesday evening, the 13th at 7 o’clock”. Later newspaper ads in the “Daily Republican” referred to meetings of the Savannah Golf Club, the last mention on January 7, 1820.
Regarding Canadian golf, The Royal Montreal Golf Club was officially formed in 1873 with the encouragement of Scottish born and elite player Alexander Dennistoun. the club’s location changed two times, moving from Fletcher’s field in downtown Montreal to Dixie in the parish of Dorval in 1896, and then to its current location in Ile-Bizard in 1959.
The topic of “What is the Oldest Continually Operated Golf Club in the US?” is the focus of the following PDF (8 pages)
Eras of Golf Ball Collecting
Early rubber Core – 1900-1920 Era
Around the turn of the 20th century, the golf ball took another leap forward with the invention of the wound, rubber core ball. Supplanting the gutty over a period of just a few years, the rubber core, or “bounding billy” as the early ball was known, took off, literally, with golfers who discovered its penchant for to add distance to their games. The early balls varied in size and weight. Core materials varied widely as inventors tried almost everything from a hollow core, to compressed air, honey, steel, a radioactive substance, and, in one bizarre instance, the pizzle (penis) of a bull! Yes, you read that right. Such were the many patterns, weights, cores, that collecting balls from this period involves much research to understand the many patents and varieties. It is a particularly rich period for collectors and balls can be found ranging from reasonable prices to very high for prized and rare patent balls.
Eras of Golf Ball Collecting
Rubber Core 1920-1940 Era
The ball was still undergoing experimentation as manufacturers jockeyed for position in the market. Surface patterns in the early 20s were just as inventive and unusual as the earlier decade. As time wore on, the golf ball market began to settle down as more consistent manufacturing processes took hold and key makers began to dominate. The collector for this period will look for early maker names and try to assemble a progression that shows the evolution of both the ball and its marketing and maker iterations.
Characteristics of rubber core collecting involve looking for moulded or hand-cut gutties; wrapped and uwrapped balls, golf ball boxes (fascinating in their colorful varieties), even fakes, which have, when known, a certain collectible appeal. Wooden balls, too, were available for short time during war years.
Eras of Golf Ball Collecting
1940s-Current Era
Collectors of balls for this period have many choices should they wish to focus on a particular niche, as these include balls with logos of from anything to universities to sports clubs and everything in between; corporate brands (logos); images of any number of things from animals to birds; joke balls, balls with the names of professional golfers, sometimes in script; autographed balls, itself a category as collectors often like to build a display of balls that the golfer him or herself has signed.