There’s a saying that what happens today is tomorrow’s history. In light of this, a group of Golf Historians led by Captain Michael Jamieson decided to host the first Annual Gathering of the Golf Club Historians of Northern California in late August at Peninsula Golf and Country Club. The purpose of the meeting was to connect Club Historians through the NorCal region so they may better share knowledge and experiences about researching, archiving, displaying and writing about golf history.
Among the presenters were Jamieson, who’s been the historian at Peninsula G&CC for 35 years, longtime Pebble Beach Company archivist and author Neal Hotelling and Sean Tully, who is known as ‘The Professor’ due to his knowledge and passion for golf history. As Jamieson noted, all clubs and courses in NorCal have a history and those treasures should not be lost to time.
“I think eventually, having and knowing your club’s history makes the Membership prouder and stickier to their club,” said Jamieson, who was instrumental in discovering that esteemed architect Donald Ross designed Peninsula (Peninsula is the only Donald Ross course on the West Coast). “Now, we have members who say, ‘We’re proud this is a Donald Ross course.’ This is now part of the Members’ shared history.”
If your Club currently doesn’t have a Historian nor celebrates its history? Jamieson has some suggestions on how to get started. “Start a committee, have Members who want to participate,” Jamieson said. “Start having meetings and learn as you go. Basically, get your Members engaged. Be fearless about visiting other Clubs and talking to their Historians. You will get a lot of ideas. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect and I was astounded at the positive reaction I’ve gotten across-the-board after the meeting. Being better connected will improve everybody’s skills.”
There will be a second Gathering of the Golf Club Historians of Northern California sometime in 2025 at a site to be determined. To learn more, please email Jamieson at Mchootz@gmail.com.