William J. Devine Memorial Golf Course, colloquially referred to as and contained within Franklin Park, is a municipal golf course in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bordered by the neighborhoods of Dorchester and Roxbury. Established on October 26, 1896, it is the second oldest public golf course in the United States.[2] The course is named after William J. Devine, former Commissioner of Boston's Parks and Recreation Department.[3]
Wright and partner Henry Ditson were the proprietors of sporting goods store Wright & Ditson on Washington Street in Boston. When ordering cricket equipment from an English athletic goods catalog, Wright noticed a listing for golf balls and clubs. Despite not having knowledge of the game, Wright placed an order for a dozen golf balls and a set of clubs.
After acquiring a rulebook he attempted to play a game in Franklin Park in October 1890, but was stopped by a policeman who informed him he needed approval to play from the Boston Parks Department. Wright wrote a letter to the commission but was denied authorization, the stated concern that it was too dangerous for people walking in the park. Undeterred, Wright personally attended the next commissioners' meeting on December 5 and received a hearing, and a permit was granted on an "experimental" basis.
On December 10, Wright and an assistant paced off the holes, tomato cans buried in the ground serving as cups. Flagsticks were cut 3 feet in length with a piece of red flannel attached to serve as flags marking each hole. Wright, Fred Mansfield, Sam Macdonald and Temple Craig then played the new course, becoming the first foursome to play on American public, municipally-owned land.[4] They played 2 rounds of 10 holes.[5]
FIRST ROUND
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Total
Wright
8
7
8
6
9
7
6
5
4
8
68
Macdonald
11
7
3
8
4
5
11
7
8
8
72
Mansfield
14
8
7
9
6
6
5
5
6
8
74
Craig
7
6
6
7
7
5
7
9
11
10
75
SECOND ROUND
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Total
Wright
6
6
4
5
3
4
10
9
6
6
59
Mansfield
7
4
5
5
7
7
6
6
6
6
59
Macdonald
6
4
5
8
9
6
5
5
4
8
60
Craig
6
9
7
6
6
6
6
9
4
6
65
Franklin Park, 1929
After the day's events, Wright reported all had "enjoyed the outing" and the game was "a grand success". However, while private clubs were being established in Massachusetts after Wright's "experiment", no further golf was played at Franklin Park or any other public course in America through 1894.
Boston resident Willie Campbell, the Scotland-born professional at Brookline's The Country Club began petitioning the City of Boston to open a public links at Franklin Park.[4] Because of these efforts, a 9-hole municipal course designed by Campbell opened at the park on October 26, 1896.[6] The course was built on Country Park, a mile long and ¾ of a mile wide section, originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for the enjoyment of rural landscape for urban Bostonians.[7] The cost of play was 25¢ for a double round of 9 holes, and the hours of operation were 7:00a.m. to 9:00p.m. daily, except for Sundays.[8] The holes were named Harvard, Valley Gate, Schoolmaster, Pettigrew, Scarborough, Canterbury, Abbotts, Brooks and Misery.[9] Campbell was named the first professional at the course.[10]
The course was redesigned and expanded to 18 holes by Donald Ross in 1922.[11] In recent years, course renovations have been done by Mark Mungeam of Mungeam Cornish Golf Design.[12]
The first clubhouse was built in 1911. The building was destroyed during World War II when the hilltop was used for artillery guns. The second course clubhouse was built in 1949. Burned down in a suspicious fire in 1975,[13] the building was subsequently reconstructed within the burned out shell of the old building in order to save money. This led to an unsatisfactory result, and the current clubhouse is the product of an entirely new design. It was built by the City of Boston for $3.4million and was opened in 1998.[14]
Legacy
After Willie Campbell's death in 1900, his widow Georgina Campbell was appointed by the City of Boston as a professional at the course, becoming the first female golf pro in the United States.[4]
Franklin Park links the neighborhoods of Jamaica Plain, Roxbury and Dorchester together due to its proximity to all three communities. Originally named West Roxbury Park, Frederick Law Olmsted planned and developed the park in the former municipality of West Roxbury (of which Jamaica Plain was a section), which was annexed to Boston in 1872. Roxbury lies across Seaver Street to the north and Dorchester across Blue Hill Avenue to the east.
The street address of the course has a Dorchester ZIP code, 1 Circuit Drive, Dorchester, MA 02121.
Roxbury is a neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts.
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of 4.4 square miles (11 km2) in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The community seceded from Roxbury as a part of the new town of West Roxbury in 1851, and became part of Boston when West Roxbury was annexed in 1874. In the 19th century, Jamaica Plain became one of the first streetcar suburbs in America and home to a significant portion of Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Dorchester is a Boston neighborhood comprising more than 6 square miles (16 km2) in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, England, to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This dissolved municipality, Boston's largest neighborhood by far, is often divided by city planners in order to create two planning areas roughly equivalent in size and population to other Boston neighborhoods.
George Wright was an American shortstop in professional baseball. He played for the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team, when he was the game's best player. He then played for the Boston Red Stockings, helping the team win six league championships from 1871 to 1878. His older brother Harry Wright managed both Red Stockings teams and made George his cornerstone. George was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. After arriving in Boston, he also entered the sporting goods business. There he continued in the industry, assisting in the development of golf.
The Emerald Necklace consists of a 1,100-acre chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula. In 1989, the Emerald Necklace was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission.
Mattapan is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Historically a section of neighboring Dorchester, Mattapan became a part of Boston when Dorchester was annexed in 1870. Mattapan is the original Native American name for the Dorchester area, possibly meaning "a place to sit." At the 2010 census, it had a population of 36,480, with the majority of its population immigrants.
Hyde Park is the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Situated 7.9 miles south of downtown Boston, it is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban characteristics.
Boston's diverse neighborhoods serve as a political and cultural organizing mechanism. The City of Boston's Office of Neighborhood Services has designated 23 Neighborhoods in the city:
The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is the oldest golf-oriented country club in the United States. It holds an important place in golf history, as it is one of the five charter clubs that founded the United States Golf Association, and has hosted numerous USGA tournaments including the 1913 U.S. Open won by then-unknown Francis Ouimet. Although the club has 1300 members, it is known for its exclusivity.
Forest Hills is a part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Forest Hills is characterized by hilly terrain and wooded areas within and adjacent to its borders. In general, the area slopes upward from Hyde Park Ave and downward from Walk Hill Street.
Franklin Park, a partially wooded 527-acre (2.13 km2) parkland in the Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, and Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts, is maintained by the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department. It is Boston's biggest park and the site of Franklin Park Zoo. It was designated a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1980.
Jamaicaway is a four-lane, undivided parkway in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts near the border of Brookline.
Arborway consists of a four-lane, divided parkway and a two lane residential street in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s as the south most carriage road in a series of parkways connecting parks from Boston Common in downtown Boston to Franklin Park in Roxbury. This park system has since become known as the Emerald Necklace of Boston.
George Wright Golf Course is a municipal golf course in the Hyde Park and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. The course was designed by Donald Ross, with the construction completed as one of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects. It represents one of the least known but impressive examples of Ross' breathtaking design art. The course opened in 1938.
The Dorchesterway was a parkway planned by 19th century landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted to be a continuation of the Emerald Necklace park network in Boston, Massachusetts. This plan, however, was never implemented.
The Grover Cleveland Golf Course is a historic golf course located in Buffalo, New York that hosted the 1912 U.S. Open that was founded as The Country Club of Buffalo. It is one of two courses owned by Erie County.
John A. Fox (1835–1920) was an American architect. Fox practiced in Boston for fifty years and is best remembered for his works in the Stick Style.
Willie Campbell was a Scottish professional golfer. He reached the top ten in The Open Championship eight times in the 1880s. Campbell emigrated to America in 1894. He finished alone in sixth place in the 1895 U.S. Open which was the first U.S. Open, held on Friday, 4 October, at Newport Golf Club in Newport, Rhode Island.
Phoenix Country Club is a country club in the southwestern United States, located in Phoenix, Arizona. The club was founded 122 years ago in 1899 and was moved to its current location in 1921. Golf Connoisseur Magazine rated Phoenix Country Club among top 100 Most Prestigious Private Clubs in America in 2006. The club was chosen for the “ultimate mix of course, history, membership, tradition and class.” In 2009 and 2014, PCC was selected by its peers as a Platinum Club of America. The original golf course designed by Harry Collis was redesigned by Tom Lehman and John Fought in 2002.
Governors Island Golf Course was a military course on Governors Island in New York Harbor, New York City, approximately 800 yards (732 m) from the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The golf course offered one of the most unique golf experiences in New York City due to its views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan skylines, with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop. It was considered the only golf course in Manhattan as Governors Island is technically part of the borough.
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