GOLF MUSEUM

January 1996

 

MUSEUM COMMITTEE

 

Dear Members:

 

            Many times during the year, members will bring guests to the James River Country Club and show them the golf museum.  Once inside, however, they are unable to share its history as well.  So save this letter—because listed below are some fascinating highlights to captivate your guests about the oldest golf museum in the world and the only country club in the world with a golf museum.

 

            Some highlights include:

 

  1.           The oldest identifiable golf club in the world, 1790, Simon Cossar.  We have 500

                old clubs.

  2.           The oldest book in the world with a reference to golf, 1566.  We have 1000 volumes.

  3.           The oldest golf ball in the world, 1790.  We have 150 balls dating from 1790 to 1932.

  4.           The largest collection of old, long-nosed wooden clubs in the world, 85.

  5.           Two of the six oldest golf medals, 1826 and 1838.

               

                It also contains:

 

  6.           Harry Vardon’s complete set of golf clubs plus his golf bag.

  7.           The putter used by Horace Rawlins when he won the first U.S. Open in 1895.

  8.           Three clubs used by Bobby Jones in his championship years, including the Grand

                Slam, 1930.

  9.           Clubs donated by Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, and many others.

10.           One hundred lithographs and oils, plus many photographs throughout the building.

11.           An 1836 map of St. Andrews’ old golf course.

12.           Two Kolven clubs plus a ball, about 500 years old, are displayed in the museum. 

                Kolven was a Dutch game played on ice.

 

            You may wonder why the James River Country Club has this museum enriched with all its golf artifacts instead of Bruntsfield, St. Andrews, or some other place of prominence.

 

            Well, back in 1931 when the James River Country Club was beginning construction—Mr. Archer Milton Huntington, who was the principal owner of the Newport News Shipyard, suggested to the officials of the James River Country Club that since he was giving the Mariners’ Museum and other museums to the people, that he endow a golf museum to us.  He not only suggested it—but he sent his plant engineer, Mr. John Campbell, to Europe with a pocketful of money to collect every golf relic available.  This happened before anyone thought of collecting golf artifacts and it was during the Depression, when you could get a lot for a little.

 

            So that is why the James River Country Club has the oldest golf museum in the world.

 

            The museum is governed by a board of five trustees and is administered by a curator and assistant curator.  It is funded by the James River Country Club.

 

            We hope you will avail yourselves the opportunity to visit our historic museum.

 

                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                           

                                Weymouth B. Crumpler             and                   Dr. Frank S. Beazlie, Jr.

                                Curator                                                             Assistant Curator


             

              75th Anniversary, Page 1                75th Anniversary, Page 2

              75th Anniversary, Page 3                75th Anniversary, Page 4