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Walter J. Travis: A golfing pioneer of the 20th century--- Click Here |
Becoming
A Member--- |
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For results
of the 2008 Travis Cup
The 2008 Travis Cup
at Cherry Hill |
The
Travis Society's |
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Our Favorite Internet Golf Links--- |
The Golf Courses Of Walter J. Travis
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For more information, contact The
Walter J. Travis Society at:
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Walter J. Travis--a golfing
pioneer of the 20th century
Many
would argue that the past century deserves the title of The Golden Age of Golf. However, there is no debate that present day
golfers, and those involved in the golfing industry, owe a great debt of
gratitude to the early pioneers of the game whose efforts and
accomplishments accelerated the popularity of the sport.
Prominent among those pioneers is Walter J. Travis.
"The Old Man" reigns supreme--
During
the early decades of the 20th century, the most prominent
name in golf was Walter J. Travis, a man who emigrated from Australia
and soon became a naturalized United States citizen.
From 1900 to his retirement from competitive golf in 1916, Walter
Travis was hailed as the most successful amateur golfer in the United
States, despite not taking up the game until he was nearly 35.
Thus, he became affectionately known as "The Old Man".
He was the United States Amateur Champion in 1900, 1901, and
1903, and was Medalist in the 1902, 1906, 1907, and 1908 Amateur
Championships. In 1904, in
his crowning achievement as a golfer, Travis became the first American
(and first non-Brit) to win the British Amateur Championship.
It would be 22 years before another American would duplicate this
feat.
Of
particular note to those in Western New York and Southern Ontario,
Travis won the Western New York Championship, played at the Country Club
of Buffalo (now the Grover Cleveland Park course) in 1909 and 1912.
Still
a competitor to be reckoned with at age 53, Travis was ousted in the
semi-finals of the 1914 U.S. Amateur at Ekwanok Country Club by 27
year-old Jerome Travers. However,
"The Old Man" gained some measure of revenge in 1915 when he
sank a 30-foot putt on the final hole against Travers, to win his fourth
Metropolitan Golf Association Championship.
Walter
Travis achieved his success as a golfer through sheer determination,
dedication, and hard work. He
was entirely self-taught, drawing upon the writings of Willie Park, and
others, to develop his basic technique. He
is credited with being the first to take a scientific approach to
practice, as he devised various drills to improve his skills, and
meticulously studied the effects of various types of swings and strokes. He dared to depart from standard practices in other areas, as
well. For example, to
compensate for his notoriously short driving, he experimented with extra
long shafts on his driver. He
was the first to win a major championship (the 1901 U.S. Amateur) while
using the Haskell rubber-cored ball, a feat that doomed the gutta-percha
golf ball; a development that influenced the construction of wooden
clubs thereafter. In his
British Amateur victory, he chose to use the new Schenectady center
shafted putter, a type of club that eventually was banned by the Royal
and Ancient.
Travis
made significant contributions to the formulation of the United States
Golf Association Rules of Golf, and wrote an authoritative and
well-received proposal for a handicapping system.
He is credited with establishing a simplified procedure for
indicating hole difficulty on the scorecard.
In
the arena of golf course design, Travis was harsh in his reviews of golf
courses in the United States, firmly expressing his opinion that they
were inferior to the great courses of the British Isles. He characterized cross-bunkers, a common design feature in
those days, as clear examples of mindless course design, and produced
illustrations of strategically placed bunkers along the fairway edges, a
design philosophy and practice that is used today.
 The creative side of Travis---
During
his golfing career and following his retirement from competitive golf,
Travis was highly influential through his writing and golf course
design. In 1901, he
published his first book, Practical
Golf, followed shortly by The
Art of Putting. In
1908, he founded and published the first issue of the highly regarded
magazine, The American Golfer.
He was a prolific and influential golf journalist whose
writings appeared regularly in magazines such as Country
Life in America, Harpers Weekly, Colliers, Outing, Golf, and
Golf Illustrated. He
presented his theories and philosophy of golf technique and strategy,
and many of his articles detailed his opinions and ideas regarding the
design, construction, and maintenance of golf courses.
His
remodeling of Garden City Golf Club established his reputation as an
authority in golf course design and construction.
Thereafter, the demand for his services as a golf course
architect grew rapidly. Between
his work at Ekwanok Country Club in Vermont (1899) and his final project
at the Country Club of Troy (1927), Travis left his distinctive marks on
many fine, first-class championship golf courses.
In May, 1999, Golf World
magazine listed Travis as number two on its "Top
Ten List of Underrated Golf Course Architects". In its 2001 ranking of America's top 100 "Classic"
courses, Golfweek included
four Travis golf courses: Garden
City Golf Club (from 1901-06, Travis brought the original Devereux Emmet
course into the 20th century), Westchester Country Club
(South and West courses, 1919), Ekwanok Country Club (Manchester, VT,
with John Duncan Dunn in 1899), and Hollywood Golf Club (Deal, NJ, a
1917 major renovation of the 1913 Isaac Mackie layout).
Walter
Travis's golf course design business flourished in Western New York and
Southern Ontario. In all
likelihood, he gained a foothold in this region because of prominent and
influential family ties. His
wife's sister had married Mr. Albert J. Wright, one of the founders of
the Country Club of Buffalo. When
the Country Club of Buffalo sought to upgrade its Main-Bailey course to
championship standards in 1910, it called upon Walter Travis.
Shortly after his alterations to the course, it hosted the 1912
U.S. Open. The CC of
Buffalo eventually sold the course to the City of Buffalo in 1926, and
it was renamed the Grover Cleveland Park.
Travis
continued to make his mark on the golfing landscape of the region when,
in 1916, he designed a new course for The Park Club in the town of
Orchard Park. Thirty years
later, that course came under the ownership of the Orchard Park Country
Club. During the years of 1921 and 1922, Travis was busy at work on
four other courses in the region: Cherry
Hill Club and Lookout Point Country Club, in southern Ontario; Pennhills
Club, in Bradford, Pa.; and Stafford Country Club, Stafford, NY.
Each course provides striking examples of unique Travis
signatures: greens with
challenging undulations, ingenious layouts that maximize the available
landscape, and dramatically placed greens sites.
Current
records indicate that Travis had his hand in nearly 50 golf course
projects, including such notable courses as Pine Valley Golf Club and
Pinehurst Country Club #2 course.
For
more on the life of this remarkable man, Sleeping Bear Press has
published a wonderfully written and thoroughly documented biography,
titled The Old Man, and
authored by Bob Labbance of Montpelier, Vt.
Contact: The Walter
J. Travis Society, Inc., 24 Sandstone Drive, Rochester, NY 14616, or TravisSociety@yahoo.com
for a copy.
Credits:
this brief biographical account has been prepared by Ed Homsey,
Travis Society Archivist, from Travis Society documents, information
provided by Bob Labbance, author of The Old Man, and Mr. Albert J. Wright, historian of the Country Club
of Buffalo.
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The Travis Society's mission
and accomplishments
The
Walter J. Travis Society, Inc. is a non-profit organization that was
formed in 1994 to promote an awareness and appreciation of the
achievements and contributions of Walter J. Travis, and to foster the
continuation of his legacy in golf.
To accomplish this mission, the Travis Society strives towards
fulfillment of the following objectives: Establish
a library of documents either authored by Travis, or written about him;
including memorabilia associated with his life and career. Through its ongoing research, the
Travis Society continues to add to its collection of articles and
periodicals written by Travis, and others. The
Society has developed individual files of information pertaining to a
number of Travis clubs, including centennial or 75th
anniversary books from several of the clubs.
The Travis Society's initiative,
research, and financial support played a major role in producing the
Travis biography, "The Old
Man", by Bob Labbance. The
book was released in August 2000 by the publisher, Sleeping Bear Press. In addition to the major bookstores, the book is available
through the Travis Society.
·
Create
the Walter J. Travis Memorial scholarship program for aspiring golf
course architects.
Steps are underway to establish the Travis Society as
a not-for-profit organization for the purpose of accepting tax-free
donations to be used in the scholarship program.
·
Promote
competition among Travis clubs to develop a sense of camaraderie and
kinship associated with the common characteristics, history, and
traditions associated with Travis courses. In 1994, representatives from
Lookout Point Country Club, Orchard Park Country Club, and Stafford
Country Club met to discuss a proposal for a competition between the
clubs that would include players representing a cross-section of each
club's golfers. These discussions led to the creation of the Travis Cup, with
the first event held at Orchard Park Country Club in 1995. The following clubs are current
participants in the Travis Cup: Cherry
Hill Club of Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada; Lookout Point Country Club of
Fonthill, Ontario, Canada; Orchard
Park Country Club of Orchard Park, New York; Pennhills Club of Bradford,
Pennsylvania; and Stafford Country Club of Stafford, New York.
Each club fields a team of 16 players, from Junior Champions to
the Head Professional, including men and women of all skill levels.
In 2001, the Country Club of Scranton became the 6th
Member Club of the Travis Society. Club
Membership creates a good opportunity for clubs to promote their
members' recognition and appreciation of the heritage of their club, as
well as providing support for the Society's mission.
It should be noted that Club Membership in the Travis Society
does not require participation in the Travis Cup.
·
Solicit
both individual and club memberships in the Society. Individual Member benefits
include a bag tag, copies of Travis articles from the Travis Society's
collection, and periodic newsletters that highlight Travis Society
activities, and provide information about Walter Travis.
In addition, Individual Members may obtain copies of the Walter
Travis Golf Course Directory, the Society's chronology of Travis's life,
and purchase "The Old
Man" at a discounted price.
Individual Memberships currently represent most regions of the
United States and southern Ontario, and include members of Travis clubs
and others. The Society is
pleased to count among its Individual Members several noted golf course
architects, golf professionals, and golf course superintendents.
Current Member Clubs are Cherry Hill Club, Country
Club of Scranton, Lookout Point Country Club, Orchard Park Country Club,
Pennhills Club,
Garden City Golf Club,
Ekwanok Country Club, Hollywood Golf Club, Garden City Country Club,
Onondaga Golf and Country Club, White Beeches Golf and Country Club,
Cape Arundel Golf Club, Country Club of Troy, The Gleneagles Golf Course
at the Equinox and Stafford Country Club. Member Clubs receive a Travis Society banner and a special Travis
Society wall plaque.
·
Promote
an awareness of the Society's mission and activities through local and
national media. In addition to local media, The Walter J. Travis Society has received notice in national
periodicals such as The Golf
Collectors Society Bulletin, USGA Golf
Journal, and Golfweek.
Individual
Memberships:
Individuals
who are interested in supporting the mission of The Walter J. Travis Society, Inc., may become members upon
completion of an application and payment of $25 ($35 Cdn) annual dues.
Individual
Members will receive a Travis Society bag tag and copies of interesting
and significant articles written by, or about Travis. In addition, the Travis
Society News is published periodically and mailed to Individual
Members. Plans are underway
to acquire Travis Society merchandise, e.g. logoed balls, ball markers,
divot repair tools, shirts, etc., to be made available to Travis Society
members.
Club
Memberships:
Club
Memberships are available to each golf and country club that is included
in the Travis Golf Course Directory.
This directory includes all golf courses where Travis was
responsible for the original design, redesign, remodeling, or addition
of golf holes, as well as courses where Travis served as consultant to
the primary architect.
The
initial fee for a 2006 Club Membership is $400. This fee includes the entrance fee and $100 annual dues.
The
Travis Society welcomes Club Memberships in the spirit of recognizing
and celebrating the significant role that Walter J. Travis played in the
creation of golf courses that continue to provide unique challenges and
enjoyment. Club Memberships
have contributed greatly to the Travis Society's mission to highlight
Travis's remarkable contributions. You may contact the Travis Society at TravisSociety@Yahoo.com. Click Here for a downloadable .pdf application.
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Our Favorite Internet Golf Links--- The
Seth Raynor Society |
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The Golf Courses Of Walter J. Travis--- Walter J. Travis Golf Course Projects 2009 revision
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2008 Playing of the Travis Cup
Stafford Country
Club's put in a stellar performance at the 14th annual Travis Cup held
at Orchard Park CC on August 15th, narrowly defeating the home team.
The Orchard Park team produced a solid result, but finished in second
place. Third place went to The Pennhills Club of Bradford, PA,
followed by Cherry Hill Club and Lookout Point CC of southern Ontario.
Stafford Country
Club will host the 15th annual Walter J. Travis Cup in 2009.
2007 Playing of the Travis Cup
The 2007 Walter J.
Travis Cup was held on August 17th at Pennhills Club in Bradford, PA.
The inter-club competition involved 16 player teams from Orchard Park
CC, Cherry Hill Club of Ridgeway, Ontario, Stafford CC, Lookout Point
CC of Fonthill, Ontario, and Pennhills Club. Lookout Point CC enjoyed
a resounding win with the largest margin of victory in the 13 years of
the Travis Cup. Second place was Orchard Park CC, closely followed by
Pennhills Club, Stafford CC and Cherry Hill Club. Special guests at
this year's Travis Cup were Winkie Roessler, Walter Travis's
granddaughter, and Albert W. Wright III and his wife, Jane. Mr.
Wright is the great-grand-nephew of Walter Travis and Historian at the
CC of Buffalo.
The 2008 Travis Cup
will be hosted by Orchard Park CC.
2006 Playing of the Travis Cup--- The
12th Annual Walter J. Travis Cup was held at Lookout Point CC, in
Fonthill, Ontario, on August 18th. The event was founded with the
purpose of recognizing the common heritage shared by each participating
club that consists of having a golf course designed by the legendary
Walter J. Travis. |
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