12, 1922 issue of The Tacoma Sunday Ledger burned down in 1960. a party from the Templar Motor Car Company and a Ledger representative motored to the golf links at Meadow Park in a Templar Sportette to prove the reliability of the model for sport use.” 22, 1920 issue of the Tacoma Sunday Ledger includes some great shots of the club house, fourth hole and putting on the second green. Ralph Williams, the Metro Parks commissioner and golf enthusiast who negotiated the acquisition. The present 27-hole facility includes a nine-hole course named after J. The previous year, fire had destroyed the clubhouse. Meadow Park always has been a public course, but its ownership changed several times before Metro Parks bought it for $250,000 in 1961. Meadow Park rents sets of antique, Scottish clubs to golfers who’d like to try them. Many hickory golf enthusiasts enjoy dressing the part and using vintage gear, including a softer, more pliable ball typical of the era. It’s a style of play that’s been enjoying a revival of sorts. Steel-shafted clubs were not introduced until the 1920s, so the stems were shaped from a hardwood called hickory. Women wore long skirts or dresses and hats. Male golfers donned newsboy-style caps, shirts and ties, knickers and knee socks. In another advertisement, announcing the opening of the entire, 18-hole course, golfers were invited to sign up for annual tickets, covering green fees, plus access to the clubhouse and locker rooms starting in January 1916. It’s a reminder of how the value of money has changed. From Tacoma, passengers rode the American Lake car to the city limits. The plan was to build a club house within 300 feet of the street car station. “The face that we are within the city limits is another thing that should find favor in the eyes of golfers who have not the time to make longer trips,” he said. Among other amenities, Meadow Park featured grass putting greens, which were relatively rare among area links at that time, Jowders told the newspaper. To design the links, they hired architect John Ball, who also created courses in Aberdeen, Seattle and Everett. Beal, who had purchased 165 acres north of a street car line in what was then known as the Manitou neighborhood. In 1915, the driving forces behind the new course were partners W.F. A trophy from a 1917 Meadow Park women’s tournament is included in a collection of artifacts. Typically, private golf clubs only permitted women golfers on specified days. It proclaimed: “Ladies May Play Any Day in the Week.” This broke from the routine at most private courses that dominated the golf world at that time. An advertisement published on opening day touted the inclusive nature of the place. Plans for the original Meadow Park course were first publicized in September 1915 in The Daily Ledger, a granddaddy of what is now The News Tribune. Now, course superintendent Chris Goodman and the rest of the Meadow Park crew pride themselves on nurturing young players, providing access and support for players with special needs, and embracing innovations. In that year, when the Metro Parks board held a public hearing about future course management, one African-American golfer declared that Meadow Park was the only course in the area that allowed him to participate in tournaments. This egalitarian policy endured and grew over the years, including after the course came under Metro Parks governance in 1961. From the get-go, Meadow Park was promoted as a course unrestricted by the men’s club tradition prevalent elsewhere. In contrast to the country clubs where membership was required and exclusivity reigned, Meadow Park was the first course in Tacoma open to the public. Back then, what is now one of Metro Parks’ South Tacoma treasures was a privately owned operation. 14, 1915, about six months after the first municipal course opened in Seattle. The first nine holes of what was then an 18-hole course opened for play Nov. The system is designed to provide low impact golf cart wash rack facilities which allow for water treatment and filtration back through the ground naturally. As part of the greater effort, we also house salvage plant materials to help the Alliance propagate additional vegetation within our open naturalized area for use in other prairie restoration projects throughout the county. We are re-introducing species such as Camas, Lupine, Western Red Columbine and species of concern, Aster Curtis. It also provides important plant and animal habitat. This purposeful approach to course operations results in the use of less water, pesticides, herbicides and reduced emissions as a result of decreased mowing. We are committed to putting the “Meadow” back in Meadow Park! As a result you’ll find that the out of play areas are maintained at a greater height than most courses.
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