Golf in the Gilded Age:
Robber Barons, Railroads, and Resort Hotels / 19

1. Birth of Golf in America	2. Gilded Age	3. Robber Barons	4. Tycoons and Patronage
5. Railroads & Resorts	6. Early Grand Hotels	7. Carolinas	8. Georgia
9. Jacksonville	10. St Augustine	11. St Aug. (pt 2)	12. Ormond Beach
13. Palm Beach	14. Boca Raton	15. Miami	16. Miami Beach
17. Coral Gables	18. Tampa / St Pete	19. Later Resort Golf	20. Gilded Age Legacy

American golf had its birth in the Gilded Age (1870s-1890s), and by the close of the 19th century the United States had more golf courses than Britain. This start is inextricably intertwined with the dominant Tycoons of the day, and this in turn entangles the foundation of golf in America with the expansion of their railroads and their associated Grand Hotels in exclusive resort locations.

From 1900 to the advent of WWII, golf in America added sinew and muscle on this underlying frame to make the Resort golf experience truly spectacular and widely accessible outside the echelons of elite society. The enduring legacy has been that the popularization of golf in America is indelibly stamped with the watermark of excellence set by these fabulous early Resorts.

Later Golf Resorts

Golf resorts since the Gilded Age have followed the basic pattern: grand hotel in a vacation area with golf and other recreation activities plus a health spa. These resorts, however, have been developed in a different economic climate catering to the middle and upper classes rather than to the elite social strata of the very rich. In addition, the development of the properties has proceeded in an era when $100 million simply isn't what it used to be. A golf resort designed and constructed around the year 2000 at a cost of $100 million in current value, by relative comparison with the expenditures of the Gilded Age, is roughly one-fifth to one-tenth as "extravagant" as the earlier Grand Hotels. And frankly it shows. Modern resorts have embraced a spartan, minimalist aesthestic more out of economic necessity than positive choice, lacking in elegance, polish, and ornamental detail the luxurious panache of the earlier era. The history of the popularization of golf in American runs along a parallel track with that of resort hotels: a track that runs from the Grand Hotel of the Railroad age to the Motel 6 of todays highways. Still, the golf resort experience defined in the earliest decades of golf in America continue to set the gold standard for today's resorts.

2007 World's Best Golf Resorts | Travel + Leisure Golf

CondŽ Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Top Resorts on Concierge.com

Amelia Island FL north of Jacksonville -- The Ritz-Carlton Resort

The Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix, based upon the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

Arizona Biltmore room interior

Barton Creek Golf Resort, Austin TX

Barton Creek Resort

Bandon Dunes Lodge, Oregon coast

Bandon Dunes

Bandon Dunes links style course

Chateau on the Lake, Branson MO

Boulders Resort, Carefree AZ

Boulders Hacienda Villa

Boulders Sanoran Casitas

La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad CA

Interlocken Resort, Denver

Interlocken

Grand Traverse Resort, Acme MI

Grand Traverse Resort, Acme MI - Lobby

Grand Traverse Resort, Acme MI - Desk

Grand Traverse Resort, Acme MI - Clubhouse

The Woodlands, Houston TX

The Woodlands, Houston TX - Lobby

The Woodlands, Houston TX

Princeville Resort, Kauai HI - Golf

Princeville Resort, Kauai HI - Library

Princeville Resort, Kauai HI - Lobby

Princeville Resort, Kauai HI - Health Exercise Room

Kiawah Island Resort, The Sanctuary, Kiawah Island SC - opened in 2004

Kiawah Island Resort, The Sanctuary, Kiawah Island SC - Presidential Suite

Kapalua Resort, Lanahai HI, Ritz-Carlton

Kapalua Resort, Lanahai HI

La Quinta Resort, La Quinta CA - a respite in the casitas style for Hollywood elites for over 50 years

WALTER MORGAN In 1926, Walter H. Morgan, the youngest son of a wealthy San Francisco businessman, decided to build a small, secluded retreat in the north end of what was then known as Marshall Cove. Morgan, with the help of C.N. Sinclair of Indio, constructed six adobe cottages, an office, and a lobby and dining facility. Mr. Morgan has a private opening of the resort to a group of his elite friends in December 1926, however the hotel's grand opening to the public was in February 1927. A total investment between $150,000 and $200,000 was spent to build the hotel. Morgan's goal was to lure Hollywood's rich and famous to a hideaway where they could attend social functions, or simply relax and enjoy the beauty and peacefulness of their own little "casita."

FIRST GOLF COURSE IN THE VALLEY The resort, with its original 20 casitas, was the site of the Coachella Valley's first golf course. Green fees on the course was $1. Hollywood's brightest stars were regular patrons. Frank Capra came to the hotel to write a movie script and the result, "It Happened One Night," became such a success, Capra declared the spot his good luck charm and returned to the same casita to write other scripts. Other regulars at the resort included Bette Davis, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Katherine Hepburn, Eddie Cantor, Greta Garbo, and Shirley Temple. An international clientele of political dignitaries, business leaders and sports heroes often "escaped" to La Quinta for recreation and relaxation amid an atmosphere of exclusivity and privacy. The only hotel to have an incorporated city named after it, the 640-casita La Quinta Resort & Club has preserved the charm and serene ambiance of its glorious past while offering guests the finest in resort amenities and services, including five resort golf courses, one of the nation's top tennis clubs, a full-service spa and fitness center, exclusive dining and resort shopping.