Old Elm Club: "An Eveless Eden"

Cooler By The Lake
Old Elm Club: "An Eveless Eden"

This image appeared on the cover of a 1932 edition of Chicago Golfer and Country Club Review, which sought to cater to its readers’ curiosity about the “little known and much discussed” Old Elm Club.

The ""old elm."" Image from Golf Illustrated, 1923.

The ""old elm."" Image from Golf Illustrated, 1923.

No further testament to the growing appeal of golf in the 1910s is needed than the formation of Old Elm Club in 1913. The founders took their inspiration for a new kind of club from a long wait on a crowded afternoon at Onwentsia. As the Chicago Daily Tribune noted, these were “men whose minutes are reckoned in hundreds of dollars. Time with them is precious, and there can be none wasted even when they take a few hours of recreation.”The founding roster for Old Elm was comprised of business leaders of the day, with the names Armour, Schweppe, Dick, Swift, Shedd, Palmer, Field, and McCormick peppering the list. These men solved the problem of overcrowded links by structuring their new club as a complement, not competitor, to Onwentsia. That club was for their families, for community; Old Elm would be for themselves, for peaceful recreation.To bring this about, the founders of Old Elm “caused a great sensation,” according to the Tribune. Their new club, which opened in June, 1914, was limited to 150 male members, with no Sunday golfing restrictions, like those at other area courses. This caused a great uproar in Presbyterian Lake Forest, a town which only a year later would vote down a referendum to screen movies on Sundays.
The club took its name from a large and venerable elm tree near the entrance to the grounds. At the club’s founding in 1913, members estimated the tree at 193 years old. It remained deeply rooted until 1958, when it died of Dutch Elm disease.Old Elm’s Spanish-style clubhouse, which included a patio with a retractable roof, was designed by club vice president Benjamin Marshall. Famed golf course architects H. S. Colt and Donald Ross laid out the course. At its founding, Old Elm was the most exclusive golf club in America - initiation cost $1,500, the highest in the country. Membership was set at 150 hand-picked members; no amount of money or influence could break that rule, only death or resignation created a vacancy.
The 1923 Golf Illustrated article called Old Elm “An Eveless Eden,” and emphasized the calm, tranquil atmosphere at the club. Of the dress code, someone remarked: “If they are dressed up in what’s proper for golf, the chances are they are guests. If they are in more or less nondescript attire, they are probably members.” Also illustrative was the story of a man arriving with some guests at the first tee. Seeing a foursome playing at the 7th hole, he said, “It looks like the course is a trifle crowded, so I suggest we start at the tenth tee.” In the first two decades of the club, women were admitted once. As a Tribune article put it, although “no woman has ever put her foot on the links since it opened in 1913,” “the war is a great leveler.” The board of governors at Old Elm couldn’t refuse the Red Cross, hosting a benefit match in August 1918 during World War I.