The Country Club of New Bedford had long claimed that Donald Ross was the man who designed our relatively short but very challenging course. Like many golf courses in America that also claim him as their architect, there remained an air of uncertainty about CCNB truly owning that distinction. Late in the Fall of 2016, I set out to prove that Donald Ross was the golf course architect responsible for the design of our golf course. Thinking that this should be a relatively simple task, I soon dis
When I began my research in 2016, the city of New Bedford was still struggling to recover from years of economic decline. Thus it was difficult to imagine life in the city at the end of the nineteenth century. Affluence, high society, highly respected businessmen and a robust economy in transition were all in evidence in this city at that time. Commerce in New Bedford, Massachusetts was primarily centered around whaling from the early to mid 1800's. With a population of approximately 20,000 in
Golf - the Early Days
It is thought that the first organized golf game was played in America in 1743 in Charleston, SC. Records show that 473 golf balls and ninety-six golf “sticks” arrived there then from Scotland. At that time there was no set number of holes for a round of golf. The game was played on pasture land with no actual tees or greens and crudely dug unmarked holes provided the target. An early version of today’s caddies called “finders” stood by the hole and yelled “fore” as shots
Blog post 3 CCNB Golf Arrives in New Bedford The Country Club of New Bedford had its origins on the fringe of the old city limits on a tract of farmland. The city’s first golf course was located between what are now Hawthorn, Allen and Brigham Streets and the present day Rockdale Avenue (which had not yet been cut through the woods). The original Hawthorn links were somewhat organized in 1897 *35 on what was formerly the Hawthorn farm and was formally incorporated as the Hawthorn Golf Club the f
A New Venue In 1902 a core group of Hawthorn Golf Club members, perhaps emboldened by the affluence of the whaling industry and the inception of the Industrial Age, initiated a search for a location to establish a new golf course for the city of New Bedford. Dr. John T. Bullard, William C. Hawes, Frederick T. Stetson, Edward T. Pierce, Clarence A. Cook and Edward S. Brown, the original subscribers, reimbursed themselves $6.25 for a rented car and found what they were looking for in the adjacent
New Bedford Country Club Envisioned In 1902, the new golf links was incorporated as the New Bedford Country Club. The original Board of Governors was comprised of some of New Bedford's well known business leaders.The first meeting of the Board of Governors for the proposed Country Club of New Bedford occurred on June 30, 1902 at the Bullard residence. Those present elected Dr. John T. Bullard (President), William E. Hatch (Secretary), Edward S. Brown (Treasurer), and William C. Hawes, Clarence
The Original Nine Voted That Jerih Smith Jr., S. T. Pierce, and Fredrick D. Stetson constitute a committee to lay out golf links on the Club grounds.*5 Thus began the process of building a new golf course for the the city of New Bedford when our founders relocated to Dartmouth in 1902. The BOG Minutes describe the original property acquired ... “for the sum of $12,000, for the purchase of the Club, a tract of land in Dartmouth containing approximately 86 acres, bounded by Kempton Street, Slocum
More Than Just A Links In 1902, with the property secured, plans were rapidly put in place to make the site an elite Country Club experience catering to the wealthiest people of the area. As mentioned earlier, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. was hired to lay out the grounds as landscape architect. A clubhouse was soon under construction, supervised by architect Nat Smith, but the Club founders envisioned much more. The Olmsted drawings reveal designs for four grass tennis courts, four croquet field
The Clubhouse The proposed clubhouse for the new golf course was envisioned as something extravagant. A simple structure as seen in the historical images preserved, for its time it was considered state of the art. Architect Nat Smith was hired "to prepare plans for a Clubhouse, the cost of which is not to exceed $7500 to include heating, plumbing and a room for a water tank and an engine.” *16 The 12/19/02 Minutes show the Board’s displeasure in that the - "Plans for Clubhouse shown and all
Membership
At an early meeting of the Board of Governors, Mr Stetson made a motion recommending that "present members of the Hawthorn Golf Club be invited to join the Country Club of New Bedford" and that "those signifying acceptance on or before April 1, 1903 shall thereby become members upon payment of the initiation fee and dues for the first half of the year". This was followed by a motion by Mr. Prescott that the above vote "also be made applicable to bond holders and their immediate fam
My search for Donald Ross This research project began for me in 2016 with a single question: Was Donald Ross really the golf course architect responsible for the current layout at the Country Club of New Bedford? My research efforts were an attempt to prove that Mr. Ross was in fact our designer. Finding the answer to that simple question presented a true challenge and ultimately led me to discover that in fact he was not. What follows below is a description of my process and the three year jo
Willie Park Jr. frequently returned to his home course in Musselburgh seeking inspiration when designing new golf courses. He took annual winter voyages back to Scotland while he was doing his golf course designs in North America. Musselburgh Links, The Old Golf Course has a wonderful history. It has been documented as being the oldest golf course in the world still in play. Documentation exists showing that the course was in play as early as March of 1672 although Mary Queen of Scots reputedl
Willie Park Jr, “golf’s first true entrepreneur”, was born in Musselburgh, Scotland February 2, 1864. Willie was the son of three time Open Champion Willie Park Sr. The Park family’s golfing prowess directly rivaled that of Tom Morris Sr. (Old Tom) and his son Tom Morris Jr. (Young Tom) in Scotland. The competition between these two families was intense for what was then called the Challenge Belt. The belt, which preceded the Claret Jug we know today, was kept by the champion for the year. U
John S. Gilholm Sr. began a near fifty year long career as the golf professional at the Country Club of New Bedford on July 15, 1910 according to the Board of Governors Minutes from that date. It states that "Mr Williams reported that Mr Gilholm has been engaged for the remainder of the season at $40 per month" There was no further mention of exactly what Mr. Gilholm was hired to do or why he was to be paid $40 per month.
In fact members had their doubts about hiring the young twenty one year
The Country Club of New Bedford has employed several Greenkeepers over the past century, however, none was more respected than Michael Joseph O’Grady. For those of us who were fortunate enough to have known him, there was no question but that the Country Club of New Bedford was hiscourse! Woe to the caddy who went under the fence on Route 6 or cut across his course in the early morning before working. In his eyes there was only one way in and out - the main entrance. Caddies caught sneaking on
Barry McDonnell essentially grew up at the Country Club of New Bedford where he was raised by his grandfather John S.Gilholm Sr. Here, where he grew up as a caddy, is where his fascination with the game of golf began. He was taught the fundamentals of the game by his grandfather, played for the Dartmouth High School golf team, played many local tournaments including the August Fourball and eventually made his way to the west coast. His professional career began as an assistant golf professiona