Golf Course Information

Description

"The first of January 1930, saw the realization of a dream of 15 years, a golf course on the Stanford campus. And what a golf course ... the site is gloriously inspiring. The panorama of hills, valleys, and Bay will surely etch itself on your memory so you can readily understand our inability to do justice with mere words." * Garry Bennett, 1930.

In the 1920s, Stanford students lobbied for a golf course. The golf team was using the Burlingame Course for practice and was coached by Burlingame pro Harold Sampson. Luckily they found an enthusiast in Almon E. Roth '09, the University Controller, who had become hooked on the game and was a member of the Los Altos Country Club. In February 1929, he persuaded the Stanford University Board of Trustees to provide the land and finance the construction. Then he gave instructions to Al Masters, the manager of the Athletic Department, to hire George C. Thomas Jr. and William "Billy" Bell to design and build the course. In the photo from the left: Billy Bell, George Thomas & Alister MacKenzie

Roth had his own ideas as to the layout of the course. When Bell arrived in March they walked the area. Bell immediately saw the possibility of incorporating San Francisquito Creek into the design. To get the land on the other side of creek, which belonged to the Buck Estate, required a change in the California State Constitution to permit a land swap. Roth flew to Sacramento from the Palo Alto Airport in an open cockpit biplane to lobby for the change.

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