In
the early 1930's, Frank H. Goodyear II, a prominent Buffalonian and his wife, Dorothy Knox, daughter of
Seymour Knox, one of the founders of the Woolworth
Corporation, frequently enjoyed riding and entertaining
at Crag Burn, their summer home in East Aurora.
Crag Burn gets its origins from Scottish words "Crag"
meaning "top of the bluff" and "Burn", meaning
designed by famed
landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, whose work
includes New York City's Central Park and Buffalo's park
systems.
By 1950, the land near the
stable was seeing very little use. Goodyear's son
Bobby, who was an accomplished sportsman with a passion
for golf had an idea to change the overgrown polo fields
into a world class golf
BOBBY GOODYEAR HAD A
CLEAR VISION WHEN HE DREAMT OF FORMING CRAG BURN GOLF
CLUB. A PLACE WHERE FRIENDS COULD GET TOGETHER AND PLAY
GOLF.
"small stream." This is an apt
description of this beautiful property with its house,
magnificent stables and grounds that were
course. So he enlisted the help
of family friend and prominent American golf course
architect, Robert Trent-Jones, who agreed to design a golf
course for the Crag Burn property. Bobby then enlisted
the help of his sister and brother-in-law, Dottie and Clint
Wyckoff, and their sons Peter, Ranny and Kevin to convince
their friends to help fund the construction of a club where "a
group of friends could play golf," and the course was on its
way.
A
t r i b u t e
t o i t s
h e r i t a g e
Bobby
was adamant, after seeing other Trent-Jones designed
courses, that Crag Burn be kept small and manageable.
Given the combination of heavily-wooded sections and open
fields, it was decided to build a course that would
capitalize on the terrain of the property. The front
nine would be a parks course and run through the wooded
section. The back nine would have more open,
traditional feel of a links course. To add
topographical drama, Trent-Jones said, "We'll make it
interesting by adding ponds."
undulations that
characterized Crag Burn's greens today. The clubhouse
was fashioned from the stables, immediately lending a sense
of history to the new club. Many of the original
details of the stable were kept, including the magnificent
slate
roof and horse stalls
that made unique alcoves for dinner guests.
GIVEN THE
COMBINATION OF HEAVILY-WOODED SECTIONS AND OPEN FIELDS,
IT WAS DECIDED TO BUILD A COURSE THAT WOULD CAPITALIZE
ON THE TERRAIN
Dirt was moved, and a
sophisticated valve system was installed to regulate the
flow of water. Trent-Jones had hired the best people in the
business, among them contractor Bill Baldwin, who had on his
crew some of the world's best equipment operators. In
fact, the man who put down the final layer of soil on the
greens was able to translate a hand scrawled Trent-Jones
sketch into the delicate
By May 1, 1972 Crag Burn was
ready for its first foursome. That honor went to Ranny
Wyckoff, Peter Wyckoff, David Smith and Edwin Johnston.
The course was in excellent condition and set a perfect
stage for that dramatic moment when the first shot was hit
by Peter Wyckoff, the club's first treasurer. The
foursome proceeded to have a great match and wonderful time
- Crag Burn had become exactly what its co-founders had
imagined!
A
w o r l d - c
l a s s f a c i l i t y
Membership
grew throughout the 1970's and by 1979 the club
adopted a new structure to assure its future
health. A group of members led an effort
to raise capital and invest in the club and the
course. Doris Gleisner, club manager, Ned
Booth, course superintendent and Lonnie Nielsen,
head
the country.
As members say, "If you can think of a shot, you
can practice at Crag Burn." In 1999, Crag
burn was sold back to its membership. This
milestone is a testament to the hard work and
the vision of Bobby Goodyear and the Wyckoff
family, and later Jim Smith, Jay Wattles, Barry
Snyder and Gary Grelick.
OVER THE YEARS,
NUMEROUS COURSE IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, WHILE
MAINTAINING THE INGENUITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE ORIGINAL
DESIGN.
professional, were hired at this
time. Over the years, numerous course improvements have
been made, while maintaining the ingenuity and integrity of
the original
design. The practice facility at Crag Burn is widely
considered to be one of the finest in
Today, Crag Burn reflects the
original vision of Bobby Goodyear as the finest golf course
in this part of the world. Far from pretentious, the
club is simply a place where good friends can gather and
golf on a world-class course.
Crag Burn Golf Club, 1231 North Davis Rd., East Aurora N.Y., 14052, (716)
655 - 0000
[Info]
