What Do Bill Kilgour Golf Clubs Have to Do With Pelham History?

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Recently an unusual item popped up for auction on eBay.  It is a right-handed hickory-shafted antique golf club known as a "dot face Mashie Niblick" -- a club with a loft between those of a mashie and a niblick today's closest relative of which would be about a six iron.  The reverse of the club face is inscribed "BILL KILGOUR PELHAM BAY PARK, N.Y.     X     MASHIE . . NIBLICK"

With the opening of the auction, another Pelham history mystery was born.  Who was Bill Kilgour?  What, if anything, did he have to do with Pelham Bay Park?  Today's Historic Pelham article attempts to answer such questions.

In early April, 1900, the New York City Park Commissioner August Moebus of The Bronx, arranged for his engineer, Daniel Ulrich, to survey the area of Pelham Bay Park near the old Delancey Mansion opposite Hunter's Island for the construction of a proposed eighteen-hole course.   Only days later, on April 16, 1900, a gang of workmen began construction of the new course with the hope that nine holes would be open for play by the following June.

Portions of the course were planned for the area that once served as the polo grounds and steeplechase course of the old "Country Club at Pelham" that operated in the 1880s on land that it leased before the formal creation of Pelham Bay Park and the annexation of the park lands to New York City.   I have written about construction of the course a number of times.  See:  

Wed., Oct. 14, 2015:  More on the Beginnings of the Pelham Bay Golf Course in 1900.

Thu., Mar. 19, 2009:   More on the Early Efforts To Develop the First Nine Holes of the First Pelham Bay Golf Course.   

Tue., Dec. 20, 2005:   An Early Description of Construction of the First Nine Holes of the Pelham Bay Golf Course.  

Fri., Oct. 02, 2009:   Failed Efforts in 1900 to Build a Golf Course on Hunter's Island Rather than on the Mainland in Pelham Bay Park.

Construction of the original nine-hole course was slower and more chaotic than planned in 1900 and 1901.  The course opened, however.  It still exists, though somewhat evolved, as a portion of today's Pelham Bay Golf Course in Pelham Bay Park bordering the Village of Pelham Manor boundary.  The course later was joined by a second adjacent course known today as the Split Rock Golf Course.

William Kilgour, also known as "Bill" and "Willie" was a golf pro who began with the Pelham Bay Golf Course in 1911.  He was an early golf professional in the region.  Though virtually nothing has been written about him (and his professional accomplishments are little known today) he was a golf architect who designed several holes at the Mosholu golf course in The Bronx, redesigned several holes at the Van Cortlandt golf course in The Bronx, and even spent several months in late 1913 and early 1914 designing an entire course overseas in Prague.  

Bill Kilgour was instrumental in expanding the popularity of the Pelham Bay Golf Course in the years leading up to World War I.  As one article notes, although one hundred lockers had been built in the old Delancey Hunter Mansion (that later became Hunter Island Inn) when that structure was first co-opted for use as the Pelham Bay Golf Course clubhouse, Kilgour had to oversee construction of an additional 100 lockers and feared more would be necessary.  

Kilgour served as the golf pro at the Pelham Bay Golf Course until at least late 1917.  

Periodically Bill Kilgour golf clubs appear for auction.  Last night one such auction was ended when the "dot face Mashie Niblick" referenced above sold for about $40.00.  An image of that club appear immediately below.

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"Going to Pelham.

As the season advances the congestion at Van Cortlandt Park links becomes more apparent.  Many who used to golf there have gone elsewhere, and among others 'Willie' Kilgour, who looks after the interests of the enthusiasts at Pelham Bay Park, is finding the truth of the saying that 'it is an ill wind that blows no one good.'  That the throng is wending Pelhamward is evidenced by the fact that more than one hundred additional lockers have been installed there, making a total of more than two hundred.  The early season rush soon accounted for the first batch.  Now it begins to look as if still more will soon have to be installed."

Source:  Going to Pelham, The Evening Telegram [NY, NY], Jun. 5, 1912, p. 10, col. 6.

"KILGOUR GOING ABROAD.
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'Willie' Kilgour, who has had the clubhouse and golfing privileges of the Pelham links for the past two years, has been engaged to lay out an eighteen hole course near Prague, in the heart of Bohemia.  He will leave on Saturday, but will spend some time in the British Isles, from which he graduated as a golfer.  His intention is to look over the field and to note the very latest developments there of links architecture."

Source:  KILGOUR GOING ABROAD, N.Y. Herald, Dec. 3, 1913, p. 14, col. 7.

"'BILL' KILGOUR RETURNS.
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Declaring that he had found golf fast becoming the king of outdoor sports wherever he had turned during his travels abroad.  'Willie' Kilgour, professional to the Manhattan Golf Club, of Pelham Bay Park, returned to this country on Monday and already is making his preparations for a busy season at Pelham.  Kilgour went abroad several weeks ago for the purpose of laying out a golf course at Prague, in the heart of Bohemia.  He is perhaps the first professional golfer connected with an American links and club to receive such a commission.

While away Kilgour found time to pay a visit to many of the leading British golf courses, noting the very latest developments there.  He tells an amusing story of how while looking over a links near London he was more than surprised to hear a familiar 'Hello Bill,' come booming over the links.

'Gee,' said Kilgour when telling the story, 'I thought for a moment I was back at Pelham.  Imagine my astonishment when I turned to behold 'Dan' Mackie, the same Dan who used to hail me when we would be running around New York on business of a Monday,.'

Mackie, who is professional at the Century Country Club, of White Plains, was married recently.  He and his bride are spending their honeymoon abroad."

Source:  "BILL" KILGOUR RETURNS, N.Y. Herald, Feb. 11, 1914, p. 14, col. 2. 

"WORKING ON LINKS AT VAN CORTLANDT
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Several Additional Traps To Be Installed -- Old Bunkers to Go.

Preliminary work relative to the improvement of the public golf links at Van Cortlandt Park began yesterday when Thomas W. Whittle, the Park Commissioner; William Kilgour, the professional, and Hamilton, the superintendent, went over the ground and decided to place a number of additional traps.  One or two old-time bunkers, including the zig-zag affair close to the first tee, will be removed.

Most of the work which the Commissioner expects to have started in the near future will consist of trapping about the greens.  In all probability a sand hazard will be dug a few yards short of the first green, thereby adding considerably to the difficulty of the second shot.  Going to No. 5, the bunker on the other side of the brook, will be knocked down and the green trapped.  The new tenth green will be trapped and so will the eleventh, while the plan is to have a sand hazard to the side of the twelfth green.

Mr. Whittle admitted yesterday that he expected soon to take up the game.  Before he appears in public, however, the Commissioner will have a few lessons at an indoor school.

The new Mosholu links also will be gone over.  Last season this course consisted of only nine holes, but Kilgour declares it will not be long before the entire eighteen holes will be playable.  The 'pro' is enthusiastic over the possibilities of this course, which, in his opinion, is destined to become more popular than the old.  There appears to be little doubt now that considerable time and money will be expended on municipal golf this year."

Source:   WORKING ON LINKS AT VAN CORTLANDT -- Several Additional Traps To Be Installed -- Old Bunkers to Go, N.Y. Tribune, Feb. 17, 1915, p. 10, col. 3. 

"NEW FIRST HOLE PLANNED
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Change Is Made In Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course.
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Golfers who frequent the public links at Van Cortlandt Park will be surprised to learn that it has been decided to make a new first hole.  The layout was staked off yesterday under the direction of William Kilgour, the professional at Pelham Bay.

The tee of the new hole is to be between the skate house and the boathouse.  The green will be near the clump of trees just beyond the drain that runs past the milk booth.

The line of play, about 170 yards, will be between the lake and the road that forms at the police booth.  This arrangement will make the present first hole, the beginning of the meadow holes, the second.  To make room for this extra hole the third and fourth holes (old tenth and eleventh) will be played as one, skipping the third green.  The distance of this combined hole, which was suggested in The Eagle three years ago, will be about 520 yards, a fine three-shot hole.

It is feared that sliced balls from the new first tee may hit persons on the sidewalk or that pulled tee shots will injure persons at the boathouse.  One idea of the authorities to avoid this danger is to build protective network along the roadside.

Other changes now under way are a moving of the water-hole tee (the eleventh) back to the railroad fence.  The marsh at the cop bunker of the tenth is being drained and the brush has been cut away, changes that will take away the dog's-leg character of the hole.  The green of this has been spaded up for new grass, and some of the cross bunker at the west end has been leveled down.

The cross bunker at the tee of the old first meadow hole has been taken away and a new gravelled path has been constructed where the old tee was.  The new tee will not be raised and will be about twenty feet nearer the lake.  The cross bunker at the first (old twelfth) hole, or water jump, just beyond the brook, was levelled yesterday, and a ring of shallow traps about as deep as the one back of the fourth green has been dug around the fifth green on three sides, the front being left untrapped according to present arrangements."

Source:  NEW FIRST HOLE PLANNED -- Change Is Made In Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Mar. 18, 1915, p. 2, col. 7.

"SOME SHOTS OFF THE FIRST TEE
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The public links situation looks more encouraging every day.  William Kilgour, the Pelham professional, who has been requested to complete the details incident to laying out the links at Mosholu, has been over the ground twice since the time Thomas W. Whittle, Park Commissioner for The Bronx, made the trip.  Kilgour will make another inspection and report his findings to the Commissioner.
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Some time ago some one referred to the socket club as being an American invention.  Kilgour is authority for the statement that the idea was the invention of Charles Spinks, of Leith, Scotland, and was brought out about twenty-five years ago.  Klgour was a youth then, but remembers the occasion. . . ."

Source:  SOME SHOTS OFF THE FIRST TEE, N.Y. Tribune, Mar. 12, 1915, p. 10, col. 6.

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More on the Beginnings of the Pelham Bay Golf Course in 1900

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In the late 19th century and the earliest years of the 20th century, residents of Pelham and New Rochelle, and members of the New York Athletic Club who used the club's facilities on Travers Island were pressuring New York City to construct a world-class public golf course in Pelham Bay Park.  The New York Athletic Club even established a "Golf Committee" to push for such a course.  

In 1899, members of the New York Athletic Club asked Lawrence E. Van Etten to develop plans for the construction of an eighteen-hole course in Pelham Bay Park adjacent to the border with the Village of Pelham Manor bounded by Shore Road on one side and the branch line railroad tracks on the other.  Van Etten was a civil engineer and architect who drew up the plans for the Sutton Manor subdivision in New Rochelle.  In the late 19th century and early 20th century Van Etten became a somewhat noted golf course architect.  He prepared the initial design for the Wykagyl Country Club golf course completed in 1905.  He also designed the Knollwood Country Club course near White Plains, and the first golf course at Deal Beach, New Jersey.  At the time, New York City and the New York City Park Commissioner were busy finishing construction of the golf course in Van Cortlandt Park.  Once that was complete, however, they turned their attention to Van Etten's plans for Pelham Bay Park.

In early April, 1900, the New York City Park Commissioner August Moebus of The Bronx, arranged for his engineer, Daniel Ulrich, to survey the area of Pelham Bay Park near the old Delancey Mansion opposite Hunter's Island for the construction of the proposed eighteen-hole course.  Only days later, on April 16, 1900, a gang of workmen began construction of the new course with the hope that nine holes would be open for play by the following June.  

Portions of the course were planned for the area that once served as the polo grounds and steeplechase course of the old "Country Club at Pelham" that operated in the 1880s on land that it leased before the formal creation of Pelham Bay Park and the annexation of the park lands to New York City.  According to one article, the following was planned:

"The golf course will be in the northwestern end of the park, the first tee being about one mile from the Pelham Manor station on the New Haven branch railroad running from Mott Haven to New Rochelle.  The entire course will be east of the railroad.  The first tee will be almost opposite the entrance to Hunter's Island, and close by the old De Lancey Kane house, now owned by the Park Department.  It is the intention to have some of the rooms in this house fitted up for the golfers, with lockers and dressing rooms.

A few trees will be cut down, the stone walls removed, except where needed for bunkers, when they will be covered with earth, and the entire course will be thoroughly rolled several times.  The turf is excellent, and one green will be laid out on the old polo field formerly used by the members of the Westchester Country Club.  The old clubhouse of the Country Club is just across Shore Road from the links.  In one corner of the property near the railroad track, is a small pond, and there are one or two brooks, so several water hazards can be added as an attractive novelty."

Pelham Bay Golf Course Along Shore Road in

Pelham Bay Park in Satellite Photo Taken Earlier

This Year.  Source:  Google Maps.

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes the text of another article describing the earliest efforts to create the Pelham Bay Golf Course beginning in 1899 and 1900.  The text is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

I have written about this topic before.  For examples of other such articles, see, e.g.:  

Thu., Mar. 19, 2009:  More on the Early Efforts To Develop the First Nine Holes of the First Pelham Bay Golf Course. 

Tue., Dec. 20, 2005:  An Early Description of Construction of the First Nine Holes of the Pelham Bay Golf Course.

Fri., Oct. 02, 2009:  Failed Efforts in 1900 to Build a Golf Course on Hunter's Island Rather than on the Mainland in Pelham Bay Park.

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"GOLF LINKS IN PELHAM PARK.

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Work Begun on a New Course in Pelham Bay Park, Which Will Be the Longest in the Country.

Work has begun yesterday in Pelham Bay Park upon a new public golf course for the lovers of the game in New York City.  While this will be cheerful news to the great body of golfers in general, it will appeal with particular interest to the members of the New York Athletic Club, who for over a year have been making strenuous efforts to secure a course may not be opened until August, or September, the Golf Committee of the club feels well satisfied with the practical results of their twelve months' efforts.

Park Commissioner Moebus of the Borough of the Bronx delegated to his engineer, Daniel Ulrich, to make a final survey of the property last week, and yesterday morning Mr. Ulrich, with a gang of workmen, began operations.

'We shall make the new course just as good as possible with the money at our disposal,' said Commissioner Moebus yesterday.  'The links were mapped out last year by Lawrence E. Van Etten, at the request of some of the New York Athletic Club members, and the plans were sent to me with estimates of cost.  Our whole attention then was devoted toward enlarging the Van Cortlandt links, but now, with that work well completed, we are going to give New Yorkers a second public course in another part of the city.

'Besides the New York Athletic Club members, we have had many requests from residents in the locality of New Rochelle to utilize a section of Pelham Bay Park for a golf links, and when finished it will be open to all, subject to no restrictions, on the same basis as the Van Cortlandt course is open to the public.  There is no doubt that the course will be popular, and it will also serve to make New Yorkers acquainted with the beauties of Pelham Bay Park.'

Lawrence E. Van Etten, who is a practical golfer, having laid out the Knollwood Country Club course near White Plains, and the first course at Deal Beach, went over the Pelham Bay property with Park Engineer Ulrich last week and made a few slight changes in his original plan.  The distances of some of the holes may be changed as work progresses, but the present plans call for an eighteen-hole course, 6,363 yards long.  This will make it the longest eighteen-hole course in the country, and the longest hole, which will run parallel with the Shore Road, will be over 600 yards from the tee to the green.

The golf course will be in the northwestern end of the park, the first tee being about one mile from the Pelham Manor station on the New Haven branch railroad running from Mott Haven to New Rochelle.  The entire course will be east of the railroad.  The first tee will be almost opposite the entrance to Hunter's Island, and close by the old De Lancey Kane house, now owned by the Park Department.  It is the intention to have some of the rooms in this house fitted up for the golfers, with lockers and dressing rooms.

A few trees will be cut down, the stone walls removed, except where needed for bunkers, when they will be covered with earth, and the entire course will be thoroughly rolled several times.  The turf is excellent, and one green will be laid out on the old polo field formerly used by the members of the Westchester Country Club.  The old clubhouse of the Country Club is just across Shore Road from the links.  In one corner of the property near the railroad track, is a small pond, and there are one or two brooks, so several water hazards can be added as an attractive novelty.

The first tee will be less than half a mile from the little neck of land leading to Travers Island, from the road to Pelham Manor Station, and the New York Athletic Club golfers can get to the links from their clubhouse in fifteen minutes or less.  The Golf Committee of the club consists of James D. Foot, J. J. O'Donohue, Jr., George E. Armstrong, Paul A. Curtis, and J. H. Stead.  If the work progresses favorably nine holes may be opened for play in June.  The Van Cortlandt links measure 6,060 yards, and with the completion of those at Pelham Bay, New York will be far in advance of all other cities in the United States in respect to its public golf facilities." 

Source:  GOLF LINKS IN PELHAM PARK -- Work Begun on a New Course in Pelham Bay Park, Which Will Be the Longest in the Country, N.Y. Times, Apr. 17, 1900, p. 10, col. 2.  

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The New Pelham Bay Golf Course Became Popular in 1903

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There were early, slow efforts to build the first nine holes of the Pelham Bay Golf Course (which was redesigned by John van Kleek in 1937). Val Flood, New York City's "golf professional" was overseeing construction of the course. Although the first nine holes of the course were scheduled to open in August, 1900, its condition in September of that year -- a full month later -- was described as "chaotic".  Soon, however, the course opened.  I previously have written about early efforts by New York City to develop a golf course in the Pelham Bay area.  See, e.g.:  

Fri., October 2, 2009:  Failed Efforts in 1900 to Build a Golf Course on Hunter's Island Rather than on the Mainland in Pelham Bay Park.

Tue., December 20, 2005: An Early Description of Construction of the First Nine Holes of the Pelham Bay Golf Course.

Thu., March 19, 2009: More on the Early Efforts To Develop the First Nine Holes of the First Pelham Bay Golf Course.

By 1903, the little golf course in Pelham Bay Park was growing in popularity.  An interesting article about the course appeared in the October 2, 1903 issue of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.  Interestingly, the article describes a short cut used by golfers to get from the Pelham Manor Depot on the New Haven branch line to the course that saved about a half mile.  The route was described as the "old wagon trail through the woodland."  A careful analysis of old maps clearly indicates that the reference is to an old wagon trail that ran from today's Manor Circle along today's Beech Tree Lane to connect with the ancient roadway at the end of Beech Tree Lane that ran to the stone bridge that once connected the mainland with Hunter's Island where golfers could turn onto today's Shore Road to get to the Pelham Bay links.

Below is the text of the article.

"PUBLIC LINKS AT PELHAM BAY POPULAR.
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Course Now Catches the Overflow from Van Cortland Park.
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CADDIES ARE NOT TABOOED.
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New Rochelle Players Are Using the Links-Pelham Country Club Active.
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(Special to the Eagle.)

Pelham Manor, N.Y., October 2 -- Five times as many people are using the public golf links at Pelham Bay as last season.  The attendance on Sunday now averages 250 persons.  The course is beginning to catch the overflow from the public links at Van Cortland Park and folk who can afford the extra time and money necessary to reach Pelham Bay make no mistake in going there. 

The course was opened three or four years ago, but not until this summer did it attain much vogue.  It is located a mile from the Pelham Manor railroad station by the old wagon trail through the woodland.  By road it is nearer a mile and a half away.

The first hole overlooks Pelham Bay and the landing at Glen Island.  Altogether the city owns 1,700 acres of attractive pasture and woods hard by, which makes the extension of the links from nine to eighteen holes only a question of time.  Indeed, influence has already been exerted looking toward the doubling of the course, but the approach of the municipal election has caused the delay inevitable in all public improvements.

Caddies can be engaged at this course, although tabooed at Van Cortland.  The greatest drawback just now is the ack of locker rooms, although one of the Bronx social clubs, which uses the course, as the New York Golf Club does the Van Cortland links, has provided temporary arrangements in the tool house.  The Hunter Island Inn serves the purposes of a club house.

New Rochelle folk are using the course extensively, there being no golf club in that town.  It is almost 3,300 yards long and gives opportunity for more effective play than most public links.  J. M. Bennetts, formerly of the Ocean Country Club, Far Rockaway, is the professional.

The Pelham Country Club, located a mile the other side of the station and away from the water, is negotiating for land from the estate of Mrs. Black, which will bring the last holes close ot Long Island Sound.  This club, although practically a private organization, has developed a number of excellent players, as shown last week in the open tournament of the Westchester Country Club.

The members intend to widen the activities until the Pelham becomes one of the leading Hudson River clubs.  So far only club tournaments have been held.  At any rate the club must act soon, for building operations threaten to encroach on its present domain."

Source:  Public Links at Pelham Bay Popular, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Oct. 2, 1903, p. 12, col. 4.

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Failed Efforts in 1900 to Build a Golf Course on Hunter's Island Rather than on the Mainland in Pelham Bay Park

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Today's Pelham Split Rock Golf Club, consisting of the Pelham Bay Golf Course and the Split Rock Golf Course, sits on land that once was part of the Town of Pelham before annexation by New York City in 1896. The narrow, tree-lined Split Rock Golf Course opened in 1934 and was designed by John van Kleek. Pelham Bay Golf Course opened in 1905.

I previously have published to the Historic Pelham Blog a couple accounts of the early, slow efforts to build the first nine holes of the Pelham Bay Golf Course. See:

Thursday, March 19, 2009: More on the Early Efforts To Develop the First Nine Holes of the First Pelham Bay Golf Course.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005: An Early Description of Construction of the First Nine Holes of the Pelham Bay Golf Course.

As noted in the December 20, 2005 posting, Val Flood, New York City's "golf professional" was overseeing construction of the course. Although the first nine holes of the course were scheduled to open in August, 1900, its condition in September of that year -- a full month later -- was described as "chaotic".

It turns out that things were more "chaotic" than I previously understood.  It turns out that in 1900 members of the New York Athletic Cub were lobbying the Commissioner of the Bronx Park District to lay out the course on Hunter's Island.  Below is a brief article that appeared in The New York Times about the matter.

"ACTIVITY IN LOCAL GOLF

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Championship Tournament Will Be Played in May.

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THE NASSAU CLUB MAY GET IT

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Golf Prospects in the New York Athletic Club -- Business Compels Forgan to Relinquish the Game.

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. . . . . Golf has been under discussion during the past week by the House Committee of the New-York Athletic Club.  The proposition which was considered a few months ago to lay out a golf course on Hunter's Island instead of in Pelham Park is not meeting with much favor.  Last year Lawrence Van Etten laid out, on paper, an elaborate eighteen-hole course in Pelham Park, and it met with the approval of Commissioner Moebus of the Bronx Park district.  Nothing could be done then, as all the city's efforts were being directed toward the completion of the Van Cortlandt links.  Mr. Van Etten favors Pelham Park, and says he thinks Hunter's Island would prove too small for golf purposes in the near future.  The athletic club members are hoping that Commissioner Moebus may give them some golf encouragement early in the season.  Wherever the new public course is laid out, the New York Athletic Club will try to secure special privileges for the links on certain days of the week."

Source:  Activity in Local Golf, N.Y. Times, Feb. 4, 1900, p. 16, col. 1.


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Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

More on the Early Efforts To Develop the First Nine Holes of the First Pelham Bay Golf Course

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Today's Pelham Split Rock Golf Club, consisting of the Pelham Bay Golf Course and the Split Rock Golf Course, sits on land that once was part of the Town of Pelham before annexation by New York City in 1896. The narrow, tree-lined Split Rock Golf Course opened in 1934 and was designed by John van Kleek. Pelham Bay Golf Course opened in 1905.

I previously have published to the Historic Pelham Blog an interesting account of the early, slow efforts to build the first nine holes of the Pelham Bay Golf Course. See Tuesday, December 20, 2005: An Early Description of Construction of the First Nine Holes of the Pelham Bay Golf Course. As noted in that posting, the account, published in The New York Times in 1900, indicates that Val Flood, New York City's "golf professional" was overseeing construction of the course. Although the first nine holes of the course were scheduled to open in August, 1900, its condition in September of that year -- a full month later -- was described as "chaotic".

Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes an excerpt of an article that describes the earliest efforts to plan and construct the course. The full article appeared in the April 18, 1900 issue of the New-York Tribune.

"GOLF.

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COMING MATCHES AT RICHMOND HILL -- ANOTHER PUBLIC LINKS AT PELHAM BAY PARK.

* * * * * * *

Now that the Van Cortlandt Park links are in running order, Commissioner Moebus has turned his attention to Pelham Bay Park, where a second public links is to be laid out this coming season. Commissioner Moebus has all along promised that as soon as the Van Cortlandt improvements were completed he would devote his attention to Pelham Bay, and in fulfilment of that promise a gang of men were at work yesterday making the preliminary arrangements for the new course.

The news of the Commissioner's action will be particularly gratifying to the members of the New-York Athletic Club, whose summer grounds at Travers Island are scarcely fifteen minutes from the new links. In fact, when the club's scheme for a course at Fox Hills fell through the golfing portion of the membership were quick to see that Pelham Bay Park offered the most satisfactory substitute, and they have been urging the carrying out of the project ever since. At the direction of Mr. Moebus, Daniel Ulrich, the city's engineer, has made a careful survey of the property, and, with the suggestions of Laurence E. Van Etten, of the New-York Athletic Club, the map of the new course is now fairly outlined. The course will occupy the northwestern end of the park, about a mile from Pelham Manor, and is comparatively easy of access by means of the New-Haven Railroad to New-Rochelle. It is probable that the first nine holes will be opened in July, but the completed course will be opened in July, but the completed course will hardly be ready before September. . . ."

Source: Golf, New-York Tribune, Apr. 18, 1900, p. 6, col. 3.

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