Golf Association of Philadelphia
Encyclopedia
The Golf Association of Philadelphia is the oldest regional Golf Association in the United States
. Better known as the GAP, the Golf Association of Philadelphia was founded in 1897 by members of Aronimink Golf Club
, Merion Cricket Club
, Philadelphia Country Club and Philadelphia Cricket Club
. Its 140 member clubs are spread across Pennsylvania
, New Jersey
, Delaware
and Maryland
. The purpose of the association is simple: to preserve, protect and promote the game of golf
.
On December 22, 1894, delegates from five clubs – St. Andrews Golf Club, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
, Newport Golf Club, The Country Club (Brookline, Massachusetts
), and Chicago Golf Club
– met at the Calumet Club in Manhattan
to form the Amateur Golf Association of the United States (subsequently to change its name, first to The American Golf Association, then to the United States Golf Association
). Less than a month afterwards the Essex Country Club and the Philadelphia Country Club were elected to membership, the sixth and seventh on the roll.
A little more than two years later the Golf Association of Philadelphia was founded. It was America's first regional golf association. Interestingly, once again the Devon Golf Club served as a spur. For it was on this organization's course that the first interclub team match in the Philadelphia area was played. On Oct. 15, 1896 a team representing Philadelphia Cricket Club squared off against Devon's top players. The Cricket Club won 22 to 12. The occasion was so thoroughly enjoyable (even the losers had a grand time!) that the appeal of interclub matches on a broader scale was discussed and embraced. The obvious outgrowth of such thinking was the formation of an association of local golf club
s to organize and administer these competitions.
On Feb. 5, 1897, seven men gathered at the Market Street National Bank for the express purpose of founding the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Representing the Belmont Golf Association (soon to be reorganized into the Aronimink Golf Club) were Milton C. Work and Dr. Henry Toulmin. From Merion Cricket Club came Rodman E. Griscom and Walter E. Stephenson. Philadelphia Country Club's delegates were George D. Fowle and Isaac T. Starr. Samuel Y. Heebner alone represented Philadelphia Cricket Club, Alan H. Harris being unavoidably absent.
The objective of the fledgling association was simplicity itself: to promote interest in the game of golf and to regulate all competition
s between member clubs. In order to join the Association, a club had to be formally organized, have at least nine holes of golf for its exclusive use, and belong to the United States Golf Association. At the outset four clubs - the four founding clubs - were named Associate Members of the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Most clubs which would follow were accepted into the association as Allied Members. The difference was significant: Associate Member clubs had the right to be represented at the annual meeting by two delegate
s, each with one vote. Allied Members, on the other hand, could send only one delegate to the meeting and he has no vote. Moreover, the Association's three officers - president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer - could be elected from the rosters of Associate Member clubs. The same was true of the other two members of the Executive Committee.
The annual dues were $25 for Associate Member clubs, $10 for Allied Members, the bargain rate doubtless a reflection of the latter category's powerless position in the scheme of things. With the passing of the years, this distinction between the two classes of membership would blur and finally, with a revision of the by-laws, be eliminated.
At an organizational meeting two months later, on April 5, 1897, George D. Fowle, Philadelphia Country Club, was elected the first president of the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Dr. Henry Toulmin, Belmont, was elected vice president, and Alan Harris, of the Cricket Club, secretary-treasurer. Named to join these three on the then five-man Executive Committee (it would become a seven-member body in 1901) were Samuel Heebner, of the Cricket Club, and Louis A. Biddle, of the Country Club and Merion.
Once the officers and Executive Committee were in place, little time was lost in launching the first interclub team matches. That year the Association's four founding clubs each fielded two teams, six players per team, for a total of 48 players in the "league." Matches were played in both spring and fall. When the final tally for the year was in, Merion's 1st team and the Cricket Club's 2nd team were the winners. The only other competition in the Golf Association's first season was what was then called the Individual Championship Tournament, today known as the Philadelphia Amateur Championship.
(which equates to three matches in three weeks). A total of 12 players per team compete with six players staying home and six traveling to the opponent’s club. Clubs are divided and placed in Divisions AA through F based on the previous year’s results. Playoff and Challenges determined the top divisions’ clubs. It is believed that the GAP Team Matches are the single-largest golfing team competition in the country.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Better known as the GAP, the Golf Association of Philadelphia was founded in 1897 by members of Aronimink Golf Club
Aronimink Golf Club
Aronimink Golf Club is a private country club located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Its championship golf course is consistently rated among the top 100 golf courses in the United States. In 2010, Aronimink was ranked #4 among the toughest courses on the PGA Tour by Links Magazine. The club has...
, Merion Cricket Club
Merion Cricket Club
Merion Cricket Club is a private club in Haverford, Pennsylvania, founded in 1865. The current clubhouse is its sixth, the last four having been designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness and his partner, Allen Evans .-History:...
, Philadelphia Country Club and Philadelphia Cricket Club
Philadelphia Cricket Club
The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, is the oldest country club in the United States. It has two locations: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, and Flourtown, Pennsylvania.-History:...
. Its 140 member clubs are spread across Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
and Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The purpose of the association is simple: to preserve, protect and promote the game of golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
.
History
The following excerpt comes courtesy of “A Centennial Tribute to Golf in Philadelphia” by James W. Finegan:On December 22, 1894, delegates from five clubs – St. Andrews Golf Club, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is a links-style golf club located in the hamlet of Shinnecock Hills in the town of Southampton on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It has hosted the U.S. Open four times in three different centuries and will host the 2018 U.S. Open...
, Newport Golf Club, The Country Club (Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
), and Chicago Golf Club
Chicago Golf Club
Chicago Golf Club is a private golf club in Wheaton, Illinois in the United States. It is the oldest 18-hole course in North America and was one of the five clubs which founded the United States Golf Association in 1894. Its founder, Charles B. Macdonald, won the first official U.S...
– met at the Calumet Club in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to form the Amateur Golf Association of the United States (subsequently to change its name, first to The American Golf Association, then to the United States Golf Association
United States Golf Association
The United States Golf Association is the United States' national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the Rules of Golf. The USGA also provides a national handicap system...
). Less than a month afterwards the Essex Country Club and the Philadelphia Country Club were elected to membership, the sixth and seventh on the roll.
A little more than two years later the Golf Association of Philadelphia was founded. It was America's first regional golf association. Interestingly, once again the Devon Golf Club served as a spur. For it was on this organization's course that the first interclub team match in the Philadelphia area was played. On Oct. 15, 1896 a team representing Philadelphia Cricket Club squared off against Devon's top players. The Cricket Club won 22 to 12. The occasion was so thoroughly enjoyable (even the losers had a grand time!) that the appeal of interclub matches on a broader scale was discussed and embraced. The obvious outgrowth of such thinking was the formation of an association of local golf club
Golf club
A golf club is used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a clubhead. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots; Hybrids that combine design elements of woods and...
s to organize and administer these competitions.
On Feb. 5, 1897, seven men gathered at the Market Street National Bank for the express purpose of founding the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Representing the Belmont Golf Association (soon to be reorganized into the Aronimink Golf Club) were Milton C. Work and Dr. Henry Toulmin. From Merion Cricket Club came Rodman E. Griscom and Walter E. Stephenson. Philadelphia Country Club's delegates were George D. Fowle and Isaac T. Starr. Samuel Y. Heebner alone represented Philadelphia Cricket Club, Alan H. Harris being unavoidably absent.
The objective of the fledgling association was simplicity itself: to promote interest in the game of golf and to regulate all competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
s between member clubs. In order to join the Association, a club had to be formally organized, have at least nine holes of golf for its exclusive use, and belong to the United States Golf Association. At the outset four clubs - the four founding clubs - were named Associate Members of the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Most clubs which would follow were accepted into the association as Allied Members. The difference was significant: Associate Member clubs had the right to be represented at the annual meeting by two delegate
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
s, each with one vote. Allied Members, on the other hand, could send only one delegate to the meeting and he has no vote. Moreover, the Association's three officers - president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer - could be elected from the rosters of Associate Member clubs. The same was true of the other two members of the Executive Committee.
The annual dues were $25 for Associate Member clubs, $10 for Allied Members, the bargain rate doubtless a reflection of the latter category's powerless position in the scheme of things. With the passing of the years, this distinction between the two classes of membership would blur and finally, with a revision of the by-laws, be eliminated.
At an organizational meeting two months later, on April 5, 1897, George D. Fowle, Philadelphia Country Club, was elected the first president of the Golf Association of Philadelphia. Dr. Henry Toulmin, Belmont, was elected vice president, and Alan Harris, of the Cricket Club, secretary-treasurer. Named to join these three on the then five-man Executive Committee (it would become a seven-member body in 1901) were Samuel Heebner, of the Cricket Club, and Louis A. Biddle, of the Country Club and Merion.
Once the officers and Executive Committee were in place, little time was lost in launching the first interclub team matches. That year the Association's four founding clubs each fielded two teams, six players per team, for a total of 48 players in the "league." Matches were played in both spring and fall. When the final tally for the year was in, Merion's 1st team and the Cricket Club's 2nd team were the winners. The only other competition in the Golf Association's first season was what was then called the Individual Championship Tournament, today known as the Philadelphia Amateur Championship.
GAP Team Matches
The GAP Team Matches, originally known as the Interclub Matches, served as the basis for the founding of the Association in 1897. Teams compete in a four-team sectional round-robin formatRound-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
(which equates to three matches in three weeks). A total of 12 players per team compete with six players staying home and six traveling to the opponent’s club. Clubs are divided and placed in Divisions AA through F based on the previous year’s results. Playoff and Challenges determined the top divisions’ clubs. It is believed that the GAP Team Matches are the single-largest golfing team competition in the country.