Antique Golf Clubs from Scotland: Clubmakers

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Clubmakers

Walter Clark
Nassau/Springfield/Denver

A sad end to his golf adventure in the New World, Walter Croall Clark died on a voyage to New York from Southampton on which he was taking his sister to visit America in 1921 where he was professional at the Denver Country Club.

Born in Montrose in 1880, he was the youngest of three brothers but the first to make his mark in the United States, followed by his elder brothers Jack at Chicopee, MA, and Tom at the Bluehills Club in Kansas City.

He initially left Montrose in 1901, having learned to make and repair clubs in the Royal Albert clubhouse then completing an apprenticeship with James Winton in the town. He went on the recommendation of Alex Findlay as professional to the Nassau club in New York. He entered the US Open in his first year in the country and tied for 22nd place.

He was only a year at Nassau and 1902 - 1903 he was professional at the Wentworth Links, Newcastle, New Hampshire but was back home in Montrose for Christmas, breaking the course record with a 71 and then improving on that with a 69 the following March. There are also reports of him playing at Carnoustie testing the Click Click ball whether out of interest or as a paid endorsement I don’t know.

On his return to the USA he took up the post of professional at the Springfield Country Club in Massachusetts. In several articles on the site I have pointed to the versatility of the niblick as a club. An anecdote from Clark’s time in Springfield illustrates this. Tennis players at the Country Club were alarmed by the appearance on court of a snake with a diamond-shaped head. Walter came to the rescue with a few blows of his niblick. An autopsy released a six inch live frog from the snake’s stomach. ‘Clark will make a grip for his niblick from the skin of his victim.’

All three brothers were home in Montrose for the winter of 1907 and played together in a match for Montrose against St Andrews University over the Old Course in February 1908.

In 1909 he went west to become professional at the Denver Country Club taking five shots off the course record with a 68 the next year.

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