The great Sandy Herd was runner-up at The Open Championship four times over 28 years but claimed the Claret Jug only in 1902 at Hoylake by a stroke from Vardon and Braid.  His victory popularized the new Haskell ball with a wound rubber core.  It was said to give 20 extra yards compared to the old gutty, but supplies were scarce in Britain at the time and Herd, like most, was skeptical until trying one out in a practice round with his friend John Ball, the Hoylake amateur, who had already adopted the ball.  Herd won the British Professional Matchplay at age 58 and still played tournaments to a high…

Mike Just, former owner and President of the Louisville Golf Company, passed away on October 2nd.  Northwest Hickory Players remembers Mike and his profound love of the game of hickory golf. Mike Just was selected in 2013 as the Mike Brown Award honoree by the Society of Hickory Golfers.  Why Mike?  Because, each year, the Society looks for its best representative of the hickory golf community that embodies the respect for the traditions of the game of hickory golf; one who exhibits a singular dedication to growing the game of hickory golf; and a candidate who exemplifies the passion for promoting lasting friendships through hickory golf.  That was Mike Just,…

By Douglas Seaton [adapted from North Berwick website] John Ernest Laidlay wad born on the 5th of November, 1860, at Seacliff House, two miles east of North Berwick.  His father was an Indigo manufacturer in Calcutta before he acquired the estates of Seacliff, Auldhame and Scoughall which then passed to John’s brother Andrew Laidlay who perished in a fire which destroyed Seacliff House in 1907. Johnny Laidlay dominated the Amateur Championship for seven years from 1888, winning twice in 1889 and 1891 and runner-up 1888, 1890 and 1893.  Laidlay was a member of a number of golf clubs and throughout his career won over 131 medals.  In 1887 alone he…

Dick Estey (1930–2016), World Renowned Golf Collector, Has Passed A giant in the world of golf collecting, Dick Estey, 86, died recently at his winter residence in Rancho Mirage, California, as a result of complications following a fall. A life-long resident of Portland, Oregon, Estey was an accomplished golfer from an early age.  He won the Oregon Junior Championship in 1946 and had aspirations to turn pro.  He was exposed to a pro’s life when he caddied for Sam Snead in an exhibition match in 1946 and for Henry Cotton in the 1947 Ryder Cup held at Portland Golf Club.  Perhaps sensing the difficult life of a golf professional, he…

James Braid won The Open Championship five times in the span of ten years, closing out his final victory there on the 50th anniversary of the championship.  Cool stuff! 41st Open – Muirfield 1901 The first of Braid’s five titles It was at the 1901 Open at Muirfield that a new challenger emerged to the domination of Harry Vardon and JH Taylor. The pair had won six of the previous seven Opens but James Braid beat both of them for the first of five titles in ten years. Such was the Fife-born golfer’s influence on the game that his name had to be bracketed along with the other two in…

While not exhaustive, NWHP’s 2016 collector’s cards feature some of the groups regular players.  Put ’em under your bed; they may be worth something some day….  LOL                   EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPrint

BOOK REVIEW Royal Blackheath by Ian T. Henderson and David I. Stirk published by Royal Blackheath Golf Club 1981 reviewed by Robert Birman This entirely absorbing history of England’s early and distinguished golf club conveys the passion of those who established our golfing traditions during an era in which the elements of the game were indubitably crude. Authors Henderson and Stirk help the reader believe that they can relate, in spite of the passage of generations, to the precise anticipation and feeling of our earliest pioneers from a time before those we most commonly know by name today. The account of the membership of Blackheath connects us to the long-dead…

reposted from http://www.otgt.org The MacGregor Golf Co. was founded on innovation — on the creative process of making something new from existing resources.  And through the thick and thin of a storied business history, the company has maintained that particular inventive genius in golf equipment design and manufacture. The Copying Lathe and The Rise of MacGregor Golf It began in 1829, when the Crawford brothers founded the Dayton Shoe Last Company, in Dayton, Ohio.  From shoe lasts to golf clubs? Yes, and it wasn’t as circuitous or accidental a connection as one might assume.  The lasts used by shoe manufacturers were made by a copying lathe, essentially the same device…

            I purchased this Foulis-patent mashie niblick in March 2016 specifically for use at the 2016 International Match Play tournament in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. The reason is simple. We play stymies in this event, and with the concave shape of this Foulis-model club, and the flat-lie of the leading edge (in combination with the loft), I have the belief that this is the ideal club for use on the greens when forced to jump an opponent’s ball. Below is a terrific history of the Foulis brothers, as well as links to the original patent for this club, c.1905. This club generates a tremendous amount…

Mungo Park was a sailor who spent much of his early life at sea although on his return he soon showed that he had many of the family’s golfing genes. He had a strong swing and, like his older brother and nephew, was a fine, bold putter. The family lived by the motto, “never up, never in”. Park was the younger brother of Willie Park senior and was born in Musselburgh in 1835. His early career was as a seaman but he returned to terra firma and, with only a few months’ practice, won the 1874 Open Championship on his home course of Musselburgh. Brother Willie Park Sr, won The…

Craig Dolch, writing for the Palm Beach Post in June, 2003, noted the following about Johnny Farrell… He was “Handsome Johnny” to the press, winning golf championships, dating Hollywood starlets and living the good life with the celebrities of his day. Dempsey. Ruth. Gershwin. Fairbanks. Legendary names. But “Handsome Johnny” Farrell’s legacy didn’t last. He perhaps is the greatest golfer the game has forgotten. Until now. 2003 marked the 75th anniversary of Farrell’s victory in the 1928 U.S. Open, when he birdied the last two holes of a 36-hole playoff to beat Bobby Jones by a shot at Olympia Fields Country Club. The United States Golf Association, not known for…

October 2015 Martin Pool, NWHP co-founder and newly elected Region 8 GCS Director, says he purchased this quaich from an antique dealer in Scotland. “It was presented to Robert B. Shaw as a trophy in 1864. A quaich is a small drinking vessel and the story told to me by the dealer was that it was traditional in Scotland, that after a round of golf, the winner of the competition had the honor of having the first drink out of the quaich whereupon it was passed around to others.” “Far and Sure” is engraved on a banner on one handle, with thistles and crossed clubs on the other. An inscription of the bottom of the bowl reads: Presented by H.…

As cited by the World Golf Hall of Fame, Allan Robertson was practically born into golf. Born in 1815 in St. Andrews, Scotland, Robertson’s family reflects the emergence of the game. His grandfather was a caddie at St. Andrews and his father was senior caddie of those who served the Royal and Ancient. Both men were feathery ball-makers of the highest repute and Allan followed in the family tradition. But his skill and playing ability set him apart. No less an authority than World Golf Hall of Fame member Charles Blair Macdonald claimed that Robertson was “the best known golfer of his generation and generally thought to have been the…

What a course!  We’re proud to have one of the best new golf courses in the country right here in the Pacific Northwest, and NWHP had the first opportunity to play it with hickories.  Check out our photos here!           EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPrint

The history of golf in our region rivals that of the Eastern seaboard.  Read all about it here.  And don’t forget to browse our exhaustive roster of courses in Washington, Oregon and Idaho – in chronological order with design credits on our Courses page!                           EmailFacebookTwitterPinterestPrint

NWHP, on occasion, has the great good fortune to assist in preparing the original Country Club of Seattle, on Bainbridge Island, for play, by invitation of its members. Virtually untouched since the 19th century, the CC boasts its original sand greens and views to kill for.  Below are photos and a reprint of a Kitsap Sun story about the exclusive property….   THE COUNTRY CLUB AT SEATTLE: Timeless treasure tucked away on the Island By Chuck Stark, Sun Staff — Aug 25th, 2000   Bainbridge Island’s The Country Club at Seattle course has been around since 1896. Here’s your history lesson for the day: In 1792, Captain George Vancouver, an…

HoF = Hall of Fame Inductee    Allan Robertson HoF 1815-1859  Tom Morris, Sr. HoF 1821-1908  Mungo Park 1835-1904  Andrew Strath 1837-1868  Jamie Anderson 1842-1905  Tom Morris, Jr. HoF 1851-1875  Bob Martin 1853-1917  John Rahm 1854-1935  Leslie Balfour-Melville 1854-1937  Willie Fernie 1855-1924  Charles B. Macdonald HoF 1855-1939  Frederick Winslow Taylor 1856-1915  Ben Sayers 1856-1924  George Lyon 1858-1938  Lucy Barnes Brown 1859–????  Jack Simpson 1859-1895  Peter Paxton 1859-19??  Daria Pratt 1859–1938  Johnny Laidlay 1860-1940  David Brown 1861-1936  John Ball HoF 1861-1940  Jesse Carleton 1862-1921  Walter Travis HoF 1862-1927  Joe Lloyd 1864-????  Willie Park, Jr. HoF 1864-1925  Charles Sands 1865-1945  John Cady 1866-1933  Allen Lard 1866-1946  Laurie Auchterlonie 1867-1948  Orus Jones 1867-1963…