Original Travis drawing of Lookout Point Country Club, circa 1920.
Walter. J. Travis portrait from the cover of his biography, The Old Man.
A Golfing Icon Designs Lookout Point
In 1919, a small group of businessmen from Welland reached out to Walter J. Travis to design a golf course in Pelham, Ontario. At the time, Travis was an American golfing icon, player, author, innovator, architect, and ambassador for the game of golf. Following a very successful amateur golfing career, and 12 years as editor of the American Golfer magazine, Travis switched his full attention to golf course architecture. The timing was perfect for future members of Lookout Point. Travis the architect had already completed 12 golf courses in the United States and consulted on a dozen or so other projects. He was quickly building a reputation as a course architect and leading expert on course maintenance.
Travis the Golfer
Walter Travis, originally from Australia, moved to the United States at the age of 23. He learned to play golf at the age of 34. One month later, he won his first tournament. Two years later, he reached the semi-finals in the US amateur. Four years after his first swing, he was the national champion, a meteoric rise by any standard. Over the next two decades, Travis dominated the game of golf, winning the US amateur three times, numerous state and regional events, and became the first American to win the British Amateur. When on his game, he had the reputation for being unbeatable. An accurate tee to green game combined with his deadly putting and a dogged determination to win, characterised his tenacious playing style. Travis earned the name “The Old Man” because his opponents were frequently half his age. Over a 20-year career, Travis won close to 500 tournaments, including 45 state and national championships. Considering Travis did not start playing the game until he was 34 years old, was slight of build, self-taught, and often was competing against much younger players, makes these accomplishments even more remarkable.
Travis the Golf Course Architect
Travis was involved with approximately 50 course design projects ranging from consulting on green construction, modifying holes, to designing new courses. Travis worked on Augusta C. C., Pinehurst #2, Garden City, Buffalo Country Club, Columbia Country Club, Country Club of Troy, Ekwanok Country Club, Pine Valley Golf Club and The National Golf Links of America. Four Travis designs remain in the top 100 traditional courses in America - Garden City, Scranton, Ekwanock and Hollywood. In Canada, two Travis courses are ranked in the top 100, Lookout Point and Cherry Hill.
The Initial Plan for Lookout Point
The original plan was to build a 9-hole golf course, so the club could maintain an orchard and vineyard located on the northwest corner of the property. However, after visiting the location Travis quickly convinced the committee to build an 18-hole course. The property was spectacular, consisted of two farms, and a promontory that was known as “Observatory Hill” perched 150 feet above the farmlands below which wrapped around the side of the Niagara escarpment. From the highpoint, the mist of Niagara Falls could be seen 10 miles to the east. The soil was a rich sandy loam, over a gravel bed, which Travis found to be perfect for growing grass and draining run-off water. Travis said that “The grand possibilities that this unique property offered could not be ignored”, and when completed “the course has all the attributes to being a world beater”. Incidentally, Travis managed to route the 18 holes around the vines and orchard. Club records indicate in the early years, more revenue was generated from the sale of grapes than green fees! The final result was a championship calibre course, both challenging and rewarding, for all to play. The hole routing went north, south, east and west, traversing undulating fairways, valleys and ponds. No two holes or two greens were alike.
Travis Cup
In 1995, an inter-club event was initiated, involving clubs with a golf course designed by Walter Travis for the purpose of celebrating the shared heritage of each club. The competition format of the Travis Cup was patterned after the Ryder Cup, with teams made up of a cross-section of players from each club. Over the years, in addition to Lookout Point, the Travis Cup has included Orchard Park CC, Stafford CC, Cherry Hill CC, PennHills CC. Lookout Point has hosted the tournament in 1997, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2015, and 2017. The LP Team won the Cup in 1995, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Read more about Walter J. Travis at The Travis Society
