Wilfrid Reid
Wilfrid Reid | |
---|---|
— Golfer — | |
Personal information | |
Full name | Wilfrid Ewart Reid |
Nickname | Wilfie |
Born |
Bulwell, Nottingham, England | 3 November 1884
Died |
24 November 1973 89) West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | (aged
Nationality |
England United States |
Career | |
Turned professional | c. 1901 |
Professional wins | 1 |
Best results in Major Championships | |
Masters Tournament | DNP |
U.S. Open | T4: 1916 |
The Open Championship | T16: 1911 |
PGA Championship | T9: 1919 |
Reid was born in Bulwell, Nottingham, England, and died in West Palm Beach, Florida, United States.
Reid studied club and ball making under Tommy Armour's father, Willie, in Edinburgh, Scotland. A scratch golfer at 15, Reid turned professional at 17 and was a protégé of Harry Vardon who helped him get a club professional job at La Boulie Golf Club in Versailles, France, in 1901 for roughly five years. He later was the professional at Banstead Downs Golf Club in Sutton, London, England, for roughly nine years and a successful tournament player. Reid was a fine competitive golfer despite being small of stature, and he beat his mentor, Vardon, on several occasions, was never short of confidence. In 1913 Reid visited America with Vardon and Ted Ray where they played in a number of tournaments including the famous 1913 U.S. Open in which he tied for 16th. Reid tied Vardon for the 2nd round lead and played with Francis Ouimet in the 3rd round. In 1915 he tied 10th. His best finish in the U.S. Open was a T-4 in 1916.
In 1915 Reid immigrated to America at the invitation of Clarence H. Geist to be golf professional at Seaview Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey, after the outbreak of World War I. He later, at the suggestion of the DuPont family, became the golf professional at the Wilmington Country Club, Wilmington, Delaware. He became a member of the PGA of America in 1917 and was appointed to the national PGA Executive Committee as a vice president at large, a position he held for two years. In August 1920 he was elected vice-president of the PGA of America and he was reelected in 1921. In 1920 and 1921 he also held the office of secretary of the Southeastern Section PGA. That year in December of 1921 he attended the founding meeting of the Philadelphia Section PGA and was a member of the organizing committee. Later in 1929 he was the president of the Michigan Section PGA for three years (see photos below).
Reid obtained U.S. citizenship in 1921. Reid served as a professional at several of America’s top clubs, including Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Pte. Farms, Michigan, Beverly Country Club, Chicago, Illinois, Broadmoor Golf Club, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Seminole Golf Club, North Palm Beach, Florida, and Atlantic City Country Club, Northfield, New Jersey. He won the 1926 Michigan PGA Championship and had 26 holes-in-one in his long playing career. The border of his stationery, that he used to send to club-makers such as George Izett of Bailey & Izett Inc. his customers' golf club orders listed so many of his accomplishments that there was very little room left for him to write his message (see photos below).
Not only was Reid a wonderful golf teacher, his greatest accomplishments were golf course designing. Reid began designing golf courses at an early age and laid out courses in Europe and Britain before settling in the United States. He once estimated that he had designed 58 courses and remodeled some 43 others during his design career. While based in Michigan during the 1920s, he partnered with another club professional, William Connellan. The firm of Reid and Connellan designed some 20 courses in that state alone. Reid retired to Florida in the early 1950s and consistently improved his game in both social and competitive rounds. Even into old age he continued to "beat his age" in score on his birthday. In 1985, Reid was posthumously inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.
Reid designed courses in the following states: California (Olympic Club - original Lakeside Golf Club course, San Francisco, 1917), Delaware (see below), and Michigan (see below). In addition he designed courses in England, France (La Boulie Golf Club - La Vallee course), Belgium and Canada.
Often, his first name gets misspelled as "Wilfred" in documents, such as in the movie and book The Greatest Game Ever Played. Occasionally, his middle initial is incorrectly documented "A." as well.
Results in major championships
Tournament | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | 1909 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Open Championship | T53 | CUT | T37 | CUT | T37 | T35 | T21 |
Tournament | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | T16 | DNP | T10 | T4 | NT | NT | T21 |
The Open Championship | T24 | T16 | T20 | 26 | T41 | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT |
PGA Championship | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | R32 | NT | NT | R16 |
Tournament | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Open | T56 | DNP | DNP | DNP | T47 | T27 | CUT | T48 | DNP | CUT |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | R64 | R32 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | T49 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
Note: Reid never played in the Masters Tournament, founded in 1934.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
Delaware designs
- DuPont Country Club - the original DuPont Course, Wilmington, Delaware, 1921
- Wilmington Country Club - original course, now Ed Oliver Golf Club, Wilmington, Delaware
- Newark Country Club, Newark, Delaware, 1921
Michigan designs
- Port Huron Golf Club, (Reid, Connellan), Fort Gratiot, Michigan
- Indian River Golf Club, (original 9 hole), (Reid), Indian River, Michigan
- Birmingham Country Club, (Reid), Birmingham, Michigan, 1916
- Water’s Edge Golf Course, (Reid), Grosse Ile, Michigan (9-hole course commissioned by William S. Knudsen)
- Brae Burn Golf Club, (Reid, Connellan), Plymouth, Michigan, 1923
- Gaylord Country Club, (Reid), Gaylord, Michigan, 1924
- Indianwood Golf and Country Club - Old Course, (Reid, Conellan), Lake Orion, Michigan, 1925
- Tam-O'Shanter Country Club, (Reid, Connellan), West Bloomfield, Michigan, 1926 (redesigned)
- Bald Mountain Golf Course, (regulation course), (Reid, Connellan), Lake Orion, Michigan, 1929
- Flushing Valley Country Club, (Reid, Connellan), Flushing, Michigan, 1940
Photo Gallery
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Copy of Wilfrid Reid's stationery
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Golf professionals Wilfrid Reid (left) and Joe Devany circa 1925
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Michigan Section PGA President 1928-29-30
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Wilfrid Reid
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A young Wilfrid Reid
References
- http://www.zmistowski.com/wilfridereid
- A Chronicle of the Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members by Peter C. Trenham, The Leaders and The Legends 1916 to 1921
- A Chronicle of the Philadelphia Section PGA and its Members by Peter C. Trenham, The Southeastern Section of the PGA 1916 to 1921
- The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf by Mark Frost
- http://golfmajorchampionships.com/players?player=978
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=990DE4D7123FE633A2575BC1A96F9C946296D6CF Edward Ray and Wilfred Reid Lead in Open Tournament Play
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=950DE0DC1238E633A25754C2A9649C946496D6CF Golfer Reid arrives; British Pro Comes to Take Charge at Seaview Club.
- http://www.worldgolf.com/golf-architects/wilfrid-reid.html
- http://kellysgolfhistory.blogspot.com/2009/05/clarence-h-geist-and-seaview.html
- http://iwgcc.com/home/page4.html
- http://www.pattiengineering.com/blog/shoff/index.php/2007/11/
- http://www.golflink.com/search.aspx?q=wilfrid+reid
- Olympic Club Golf Club section
- http://www.edolivergolfclub.com/Course-Architects_5b.html
- http://www.baldmountaingolf.com/wilfred_reid.htm
- http://books.google.com/books?id=l4K6G9nSyZMC&pg=PA432&dq=La+Boulie+Wilfrid+Reid+golf&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dhKzT7aUOoiI8QSesNyECQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=La%20Boulie%20Wilfrid%20Reid%20golf&f=false
External Photos
- Wilfred Reid Taking a Swing
- Andrew Carnegie II, Wilfred Reid and George Crocker Golfing
- Andrew Carnegie II Learning to Play Golf