Davie Strath holds a unique and tragic place in golf lore. He was one of several highly-accomplished players within the same family (Davie was one of four brothers and was a frequent partner with young Tommy Morris, Jr.), three of whom died young (including Davie) and were victims of circumstance, having lived just prior to the discovery of penicillin, which might have saved them all from their cruel fate. Miraculously, Davie (1849-1879) came in second place in The Open three times, in 1870, 1873, and 1876. It is that last event—in 1876—that sealed his place in golfing history. Golf Australia published a detailed piece on Strath in January 2023, which…

There was no joy in Skagit County in 1916. “Skagit County claims the best fishing in the state, its climate is unexcelled, the crops there grow almost overnight and tourists come in flocks to admire the scenery, yet the joy of residents still is incomplete – they have no golf links.” (Seattle Times 6-14-1916) With those words, Frank Hall, a local businessman dealing in sports equipment, joined with others to organize a golf club in Skagit County in the latter part of 1916. Twenty-five residents met on December 1, 1916 and formed a temporary organization called the Skagit County Country and Golf Club. They elected Wilbra Coleman, a prominent local…

Charles Lees was born in 1800 in Cupar, Fife. And while digital maps don’t offer an option to calculate the distance (in time) from Cupar to The Old Course by carriage, on foot it is three hours, and by motorcar (sadly, invented six years after Lees’ death in 1880), it would have taken only 15 minutes. However, it must be said, Charles Lees was not a golfer. But he would leave—for history—a seven-foot incandescent canvas with one of the most iconic and emblematic portraits ever made of the game, in 1847, immortalizing the 1844 Grand Match at St. Andrews, entitled, “The Golfers.” As a young man, Charles Lees trained as…

The Society of Golfers in and around Edinburgh, known today as The Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh, is widely recognized as the oldest Golf Club in the world. The earliest Members formed a competitive and spirited Society, playing golf for wagers and enjoying a lively social life. Playing at Bruntsfield Links, their adopted clubhouses were popular ‘howffs’ such as Maggie Johnstone’s, or later at Golfhall on the Links where Thomas Comb, clubmaker, established his workshop, sharing the premises with a golfers’ tavern. During the 1760’s the Society’s fortunes became increasingly precarious until the membership stirred itself and a resurgence followed with the addition of 16 new Members in 1773.…

Although Walla Walla Country Club in Walla Walla, Washington indicates their club was established in 1923, the roots of golf in Walla Walla go back a quarter century earlier to 1898.  That year, some of Walla Walla’s most prominent men, led by Stephen B. L. Penrose, President of Whitman College, organized the Walla Walla Golf Club. A nine-hole course “with greens of hard, gravelly clay” was laid out near the railroad depot in 1899.   Read All About it Here!                     EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPrint

NWHP co-founder Martin Pool is the author of most of the the course histories on our website (see Courses menu item).  In his latest post, he covers the history of Hood River Golf and Country Club, with Chandler Egan connections and more!  Click the photo for the full story.             EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPrint

As noted in Alistair Beaton Adamson’s biography of Allan Robertson (Allan Robertson, Golfer: His Life and Times published by Grant Books) St Andrews, as we regard it today, wasn’t always a hospitable place for golf. Formally, golf was played at St Andrews for some time before Sir Robert Gordon’s book was published in the 17th century, The Earldom of Sutherland. In it, there is some of the earliest known documentary evidence, including reference to a license of January 25, 1552, granted by John Hamilton, “by the mercie of God archebishop of Sanctandros, primat et legat natie of the haill realme of Scotland” to the community of the city to rear rabbits…

The Leavenworth Golf Club was formed in 1927, site of the Pacific Northwest Sand Green Championship, won several times by Native American golfers from Nespelem, Washington!  Martin Pool profiles its history.  Read all about it here.           EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPrint

The following article is from the Pacific Northwest Golf Association, who inducted Macan into their Hall of Fame in 1989. Every now and then, a personality emerges with such passion and conviction that he warrants being called a “renaissance man.” In Northwest golf circles, Arthur Vernon Macan was truly a renaissance man. Though he had considerable skills as a tournament golfer, Macan is best known for his brilliant golf course designs. Macan was born in Ireland. His eponymously-named father graduated from Dublin’s Trinity College with a degree in medicine in 1868. While serving in the Prussian Army as a field doctor, Macan Sr. learned advanced surgical techniques that would later…