Devereaux Emmet

Devereux Emmet (December 11, 1861 – December 30, 1934) was a pioneering American golf course architect who, according to one source, designed more than 150 courses worldwide.

Early life

Devereux Emmet was born in Pelham, New York, on December 11, 1861, one of eight children of William Jenkins Emmet and Julia Colt Pierson. He was the great-grandson of Thomas Addis Emmet.

College and marriage

Emmet graduated from Columbia University in 1883; in 1889 he married Ella B. Smith in an elaborate wedding at her home in New York City.[5] Miss Smith, born in 1858, was the daughter of Judge J. Lawrence Smith and a niece of Alexander Turney Stewart. Ella's sister Elizabeth "Bessie" Springs Smith was the wife of architect Stanford White. The couple had two children, Richard Smith Emmet (born October 1889) and Devereux Emmet, Jr. (born January 1897).

Golf course design career

On a vacation in England he spent time with his friend, Charles B. Macdonald, who was measuring British golf courses in preparation for the design of the National Golf Links of America. Emmet's first design was Island Golf Links, a predecessor of Garden City Golf Club. A friend of his remarked:

Emmet could not possibly conceive of any other use to which any given piece of real estate could be put except to lay out golf links on it.

In 1924 he hired Alfred H. Tull as a design associate, and in 1929 made him a partner in the firm of Emmet, Emmet and Tull. The Tull-Emmet partnership continued until Emmet's death in 1934.

Amateur golf

Emmet was a talented amateur golfer. He made the quarter-finals of the 1904 British Amateur and won the Bahamas Amateur at the age of 66. In 1916, after he won the father-son tournament at Sleepy Hollow Country Club with Devereux Emmet, Jr., the United States Golf Association instituted the so-called architects rule that barred golf course architects from competing as amateurs in tournaments.

Death and legacy

Devereux Emmet died in Garden City, New York, on December 30, 1934.

Courses designed

18th hole (formerly the 17th) of the Blue Course of the Congressional Country Club

Emmet designed many of his courses in an era of wooden-shafted clubs. Because the holes are often short by current standards many of his designs have since been reworked.

Note: Dates indicate when the course opened.
Note: This is a partial list, portions of which were taken from WorldGolf.

Belmont Hills Country Club, St Clairsville, Ohio, 1924

Bethpage State Park (Green), Farmingdale, New York, 1923

Congressional Country Club (Blue), Bethesda, Maryland, 1924

Congressional Country Club (Gold), Bethesda, Maryland, 1924

(remodeled by George Fazio and Tom Fazio in 1977 and by Arthur Hills in 2000)

Hartford Golf Club (Blue, Green), West Hartford, Connecticut, 1914

Bonnie-Briar Country Club, Larchmont, New York, 1921

Bedford Golf and Tennis Club Bedford, New York, 1891

Brentwood Country Club, Brentwood, New York, 1925

Capital Hills at Albany, Albany, New York, 1928

Cherry Valley Club, Garden City, New York, 1916

Copake Country Club, Craryville, New York, 1921

Dudley Hill Golf Club (9 holes), Dudley, Massachusetts, 1926

Edison Club, Rexford, New York, 1925

Engineers Country Club, Roslyn Harbor, New York, 1921

(originally designed by Herbert Strong, remodeled by Devereux Emmet in 1921)

Country Club of Farmington, Farmington, Connecticut, 1924

Garden City Golf Club, Garden City, New York, 1899 (later remodeled by Walter Travis)

Leatherstocking Golf Course, Cooperstown, New York, 1909

Mohawk Golf Club (East), Schenectady, New York, 1907

Glen Head Country Club, Glen Head, New York, 1920s

Hartford Golf Club (Green, Red), West Hartford, Connecticut, 1914

Greenacres Country Club, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, 1932

Green Meadow Club, Rye, New York, 1917 - known today as Willow Ridge Country Club. The Green Meadow Golf Club was an offshoot of The Apawamis Club and formed in 1917 directly adjacent to Apawamis but with frontage on North Street. In fact, in 1927 the two clubs considered consolidating.[14][15]

Hampshire Country Club, Mamaroneck, New York, 1927

Huntington Country Club, Huntington, New York, 1910

Huntington Crescent Club, Huntington, New York, 1914

(renovated by Devereux Emmet and Alfred H. Tull in 1931)

Keney Park Golf Club, Hartford, Connecticut, 1927

Lake Isle Country Club, Eastchester, 1926

Leewood Country Club (Eastchester (town), New York) 1922

Long Hill Country Club, East Hartford, Connecticut, 1930

Mahopac Golf Club, Mahopac, New York, 1893

Manchester Country Club, Manchester, Connecticut, 1917

(with Tom Bendelow)

McGregor Links Country Club, Saratoga Springs, New York

Mechanicville Golf Club, Mechanicville, New York, 1909

Nassau Country Club, Glen Cove, New York, 1896

Oliver D. Appleton Golf Course at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY 1926 (Original 9 holes)

Pelham Country Club, Pelham Manor, New York, 1908

Pomonok Country Club, Queens, New York, 1921 – closed in 1949

Powelton Club, Newburgh, New York, 1892

Radisson Cable Beach & Golf Resort, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, 1929

Eisenhower Park Golf Course (Red), East Meadow, New York, 1914

Hartford Golf Club (Red, Blue), West Hartford, Connecticut, 1896

(with Donald Ross)

Riddell's Bay Golf and Country Club, The Islands of Bermuda, 1922

Ridgewood Country Club, Danbury, Connecticut, 1927

Rockaway River Country Club, Denville, New Jersey, 1923

Rockville Links Club, Rockville Centre, New York, 1924

Rye Golf Club, Rye, New York, 1920

Salisbury Golf Club, East Meadow, New York

Schuyler Meadows Club, Loudonville, New York, 1928

Seawane Country Club, Hewlett Harbor, New York, 1927

St. George's Golf & Country Club, East Setauket, New York, 1917

St. Mary's Country Club, Saint Mary's, Pennsylvania, 1924

Wee Burn Country Club, Darien, Connecticut, 1902

Mohawk Golf Club (West), Schenectady, New York, 1903

Wheatley Hills Golf Club, East Williston, New York, 1913

(remodeled by Devereux Emmet and Alfred Tull in 1931)

Wheeling Country Club, Wheeling, West Virginia, 1902

Wheeling Park Golf Course, Wheeling, West Virginia, 1926

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