More Than Just A Links
In 1902, with the property secured, plans were rapidly put in place to make the site an elite Country Club experience catering to the wealthiest people of the area. As mentioned earlier, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. was hired to lay out the grounds as landscape architect. A clubhouse was soon under construction, supervised by architect Nat Smith, but the Club founders envisioned much more.
The Olmsted drawings reveal designs for four grass tennis courts, four croquet fields, a bowling green, a caddy’s house and an ice skating pond. It appears as though the creek running across what is today our 14th and 16th hole was to be used to create this pond with a dam constructed to retain the water. This new pond as shown in their golf course elevation drawing appears to be in the middle of today’s 14th fairway. It is interesting to note that when the course was designed, sketches of the original pond on the property show it to be larger than today’s pond. It would seem to have been redesigned during the eighteen hole expansion project and left to serve as a hazard for hole #17.
Board minutes reveal“...that the Building committee was empowered to procure plans for a horse stable.” *24 This was an obvious need since transportation to the club in 1902 was still by horse, horse draw buggies or by bicycle. There is no indication that there were any horse riding trails as a part of Club activities.
President Bullard appointed a Committee to arrange for a shooting Club at an annual rental not to exceed $50 per annum. The Green Committee was authorized to build a road from Slocum Rd to the club house for golfing “about the Clubhouse” and for building (grass) tennis courts. *25
Taking advantage of the hilly terrain, the new sporting club also developed plans for a toboggan slide. *28 The Board of Governors Minutes show that in February 1904 Willard Nye donated services and money for installing an indoorshooting gallery. By April of that year a committee was empowered to lay out croquet grounds and bowling greens at an expense not to exceed $50.
Improvements to the new course began relatively soon. Construction of what has become Rt 6 appears to have been underway. The Minutes reflect that in 1905 the Grounds Committee was authorized to request, if possible, that the State Highway Commission leave loam on the grounds of Club from land to be taken by the commission and grade slope cuts. The earliest evidence of an irrigation system for CCNB was also in 1905 when the Board approved spending $250 to pipe water to six of the relatively new greens. *64
By 1907 the newly formed Club averaged more than four hundred members in three categories - active, associate and non-resident (which included army, navy and revenue officers). Around this time, the Golf Committee engaged Mr. Willian Connelan as the first recorded golf Professional at CCNB for a salary of $600 a year". *65
Mr. Connelan was succeeded by a Mr. Kimball as golf professional who was hired in February of 1910 and dismissed in November of that same year. The Minutes provide no insight as to why Connelan served such a short term
Stability arrived for the position of Golf Professional on August 15, 1910. The Minutes recorded that - "Mr Williams reported that Mr. (John S.) Gilholm has been engaged for the remainder of the season at $40 per month". This marked the beginning of Mr. Gilholm’s fiftyyears of dedicated service to the Country Club of New Bedford. In addition, Mr. Gilholm was later offered the position of greens keeper in 1912 - an offer he declined. Thus Mr William Brennan was engaged as greens keeper on 4/1/12 at a higher salary of $65 per month. *66
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