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- This
column by John Cosway is a mix of 50 years of media memories
and 15 years of buying and selling experiences via live and online
auctions, flea markets, antique stores and markets etc.
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- Cosway's Corner -
Summer swings in on world-wide golf courses
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- Canada plays an important
role in the history of golf
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- By John Cosway
Now that the 2007 golf season
is in full swing, here is a trivia bet sure to win you a drink
or two in the clubhouse.
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- Where was the first golf club founded
in North America?
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- (a) Palm Beach, Florida (b) Catalina
Island, California (c) Montreal, Quebec (d) Yonkers, New York
(e) Toronto, Canada.
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- If you are sitting there debating whether
it was Florida, California or New York, you are watching too
much American golf on TV, or you tend to believe a sport as popular
as golf must have been first played in the United States.
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- But, good neighbors to the south, pardon
us for flaunting our bragging rights. The answer is Montreal
Quebec (1873), with Quebec City second (1875) and Toronto a close
third (1876).
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- Americans didn't get into the game
until the St. Andrews Golf Club in Yonkers, N.Y., now known as
the "birthplace of American golf," opened in 1888 -
15 years after the Royal Montreal Golf Club was founded.
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- Take that, Tiger.
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- The Golf Historical Society of Canada
credits Alexander Dennistoun, a Scottish immigrant who
first settled in Peterborough, Ontario, in the mid-1800s and
later moved to Montreal in the early 1870s, with getting the
ball rolling, so to speak.
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- "It was in Montreal, in the fall
of 1873, that this relocated Scot gathered seven of his fellow
expatriates and local businessmen to establish the first club
in North America, the Royal Montreal Golf Club," says the
GHSC web site.
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- Founded Nov. 4, 1873, golf commenced
there in the spring of 1874 and the Montreal course hosted the
first Canadian Open in 1904.
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- When the Royal Quebec Golf Club in
Quebec City opened in 1875, it led to the first inter club matches
to be played in North America.
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- The Quebec clubs met the demands of
19th century Scottish immigrants wanting to renew their love
of the game, says Claude Gravel, veteran golfer and a
GHSC historian.
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- Ontario's first golf club, the Toronto
Golf Club, opened in 1876 and remains the third oldest club in
North America.
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- Quebec and Ontario rivalry developed
after other golf clubs took root in Toronto, Kingston, Niagara
and Brantford, with the first inter-provincial competition held
in 1882.
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- While the origins of golf are fuzzy,
historians do know the clubbing of a ball for sport was a documented
non-organized pastime in Scotland as early as the 1500s.
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- The St. Andrews Links, founded in Edinburgh
in 1744 and known as the "Home of Golf," owns the oldest
known golf clubs in existence. They were discovered along with
a newspaper dated 1741.
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- (Objects looking much like golf clubs
have been found in ancient Chinese tombs. Were they used for
a golf-like game two thousand years ago? The debate continues.)
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- The burning question for modern day
golfers is why did they eventually settle for 18 holes for a
full round of golf?" Why not 16, 17, or 24?
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- One source says the old course at St.
Andrews Links had 21 holes, but through civic development "and
probably a screw up on the part of the club," the course
lost three holes. Subsequently, 18 holes became the standard.
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- Another theory is the decision was
based on the number of shots it takes to consume a fifth of scotch
- 18, so the game was over when the scotch was gone. But we wouldn't
bet on that being the case.
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 What
we would bet on is the Hickory Hackers being the most original
group of nostalgic golfers in Ontario. Twice a year, spring and
fall, they abandon all of the high tech tools of the game in
favour of vintage hickory clubs and attire fitting the Bobby
Jones era (photo at left).
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- Hickory clubs used in the Ontario tournaments
and during spontaneous friendly competitions with American visitors,
date back to the early 1900s and a distinct change in play is
required.
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- "Hickory clubs are very different
from modern clubs," says veteran golfer John Duffy,
a GHSC member. "You do have to modify your swing, but good
players can still hit 250 to 260 yard drives with those old clubs."
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- Duffy, who has participated in Hickory
Hackers tournaments, uses his collection of clubs dating back
to the early 1900s, including a hickory putter his father, Jack,
a Seagrams executive, used well into the 1950s.
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- "An increasing number of golfers
and golf organizations are having the new experience
of playing with hickory golf clubs," says Bill Macdonald,
a GHSC member. " In last year's Skins Game , all the players
used hickories and one almost had a hole in one.
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- "Comments ranged from 'how can
they play with these clubs?' to 'that wasn't too hard, let me
hit some more.' People are also surprised by the relatively low
cost of old playable hickories, unlike scarce or pre 1900 clubs."
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- Hickory clubs are at the top of the
list for collectors of golf memorabilia, with clubs made entirely
from single pieces of hickory fetching well into the thousands
of dollars. Hickory clubs with steel bases can be purchased for
$25 and up.
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- Novice golfers with a love for the
game - and collectibles - don't have to have deep pockets to
start a collection. They can begin with one of the many affordable,
golf-related items found in online and live auctions, at sports
shows etc.
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- Take your pick from a wide range of
golf collectibles - postcards, cigarette cards, balls, score
cards, tees, trophies, wedges, ball markers, magazines, programs,
stamps etc.
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- Some collectors aim for signature golf
balls from every major golf course and display them in specialized
wall cases. Others settle for signature balls from every course
they play.
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- The GHSC holds three annual trade fairs
and auctions in Ontario alone to cater to the demands of collectors.
The events include appraisals of golf memorabilia.
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- eBay is an excellent source for golf
collectibles. A recent search of completed auctions produced
more than 300,000 items, from a million dollar home on a golf
course down to one-cent sunglasses. Something for every budget.
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- There are also numerous how-to golf
books and DVDs for sale.
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- But the hundreds of golf jokes and
one-liners are free:
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- Golf Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd:
"They call it golf because all of the other four-letter
words were taken."
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- Former U.S. President Gerald Ford:
"I know I am getting better at golf because I'm hitting
fewer spectators."
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- Comedienne Phyllis Diller: "The
reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't
see him laughing."
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- It's tee time.
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- Fore!
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- Other articles by John Cosway
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