Devereux Emmet (December 11, 1861 – December 30, 1934) was a pioneering American golf course architect who designed more than 150 courses worldwide.

Early life Devereux Emmet was born in Pelham, New York, on December 11, 1861, one of eight children of William Jenkins Emmet and Julia Colt Pierson. He was the great-grandson of Thomas Addis Emmet.

College and marriage

Emmet graduated from Columbia University in 1883; in 1889 he married Ella B. Smith in an elaborate wedding at her home in New York City. Miss Smith, born in 1858, was the daughter of Judge J. Lawrence Smith and a niece of Alexander Turney Stewart. Ella's sister Elizabeth "Bessie" Springs Smith was the wife of architect Stanford White. The couple had two children, Richard Smith Emmet (born October 1889) and Devereux Emmet, Jr. (born January 1897).

Golf course design career On a vacation in England he spent time with his friend, Charles B. Macdonald, who was measuring British golf courses in preparation for the design of the National Golf Links of America. Emmet's first design was Island Golf Links, a predecessor of Garden City Golf Club. A friend of his remarked:

In 1924 he hired Alfred H. Tull as a design associate, and in 1929 made him a partner in the firm of Emmet, Emmet and Tull. The Tull-Emmet partnership continued until Emmet's death in 1934.

Amateur golf Emmet was a talented amateur golfer. He made the quarter-finals of the 1904 British Amateur and won the Bahamas Amateur at the age of 66. In 1916, after he won the father-son tournament at Sleepy Hollow Country Club with Devereux Emmet, Jr., the United States Golf Association instituted the so-called architects rule that barred golf course architects from competing as amateurs in tournaments.

Death and legacy Devereux Emmet died in Garden City, New York, on December 30, 1934.

Courses designed

Emmet designed many of his courses in an era of wooden-shafted clubs. Because the holes are often short by current standards many of his designs have since been reworked.

Belmont Hills Country Club, St Clairsville, Ohio, 1924 Bethpage State Park (Green), Farmingdale, New York, 1923 Congressional Country Club (Blue), Bethesda, Maryland, 1924 Congressional Country Club (Gold), Bethesda, Maryland, 1924 (remodeled by George Fazio and Tom Fazio in 1977 and by Arthur Hills in 2000) Hartford Golf Club (Blue, Green), West Hartford, Connecticut, 1914 Bedford Golf and Tennis Club Bedford, New York, 1891 Brentwood Country Club, Brentwood, New York, 1925 Capital Hills at Albany, Albany, New York, 1928 Cherry Valley Club, Garden City, New York, 1916 Coonamessett Country Club Falmouth, Massachusetts (now Cape Cod Country Club) Copake Country Club, Craryville, New York, 1921 (; no evidence has ever been presented showing Devereux Emmet was at Copake Country Club) Dudley Hill Golf Club (9 holes), Dudley, Massachusetts, 1926 Edison Club, Rexford, New York, 1925 Engineers Country Club, Roslyn Harbor, New York, 1921 (originally designed by Herbert Strong, remodeled by Devereux Emmet in 1921) Country Club of Farmington, Farmington, Connecticut, 1924 Garden City Golf Club, Garden City, New York, 1899 (later remodeled by Walter Travis) Leatherstocking Golf Course, Cooperstown, New York, 1909 Mohawk Golf Club (East), Schenectady, New York, 1907 Glen Head Country Club, Glen Head, New York, 1920s Hartford Golf Club (Green, Red), West Hartford, Connecticut, 1914 Greenacres Country Club, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, 1932 Green Meadow Club, Rye, New York, 1917 - known today as Harrison Meadows Country Club. The Green Meadow Golf Club was an offshoot of The Apawamis Club and formed in 1917 directly adjacent to Apawamis but with frontage on North Street. In fact, in 1927 the two clubs considered consolidating. Hampshire Country Club, Mamaroneck, New York, 1927 Huntington Country Club, Huntington, New York, 1910 Huntington Crescent Club, Huntington, New York, 1914 (renovated by Devereux Emmet and Alfred H. Tull in 1931) Keney Park Golf Club, Hartford, Connecticut, 1927 Lake Isle Country Club, Eastchester, 1926 Leewood Golf Club (Eastchester (town), New York) 1922 Long Hill Country Club, East Hartford, Connecticut, 1930 Mahopac Golf Club, Mahopac, New York, 1893 Manchester Country Club, Manchester, Connecticut, 1917 (with Tom Bendelow) McGregor Links Country Club, Saratoga Springs, New York Mechanicville Golf Club, Mechanicville, New York, 1909 Nassau Country Club, Glen Cove, New York, 1896 Oliver D. Appleton Golf Course at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY 1926 (Original 9 holes) Pelham Country Club, Pelham Manor, New York, 1908 Pomonok Country Club, Queens, New York, 1921 – closed in 1949 Powelton Club, Newburgh, New York, 1892 Radisson Cable Beach & Golf Resort, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, 1929 Eisenhower Park Golf Course (Red), East Meadow, New York, 1914 Hartford Golf Club (Red, Blue), West Hartford, Connecticut, 1896 (with Donald Ross) Riddell's Bay Golf and Country Club, The Islands of Bermuda, 1922 Ridgewood Country Club, Danbury, Connecticut, 1927 Rockaway River Country Club, Denville, New Jersey, 1923 Rockville Links Club, Rockville Centre, New York, 1924 Rye Golf Club, Rye, New York, 1921 Salisbury Golf Club, East Meadow, New York Schuyler Meadows Club, Loudonville, New York, 1928 Seawane Country Club, Hewlett Harbor, New York, 1927 St. George's Golf & Country Club, East Setauket, New York, 1917 St. Mary's Country Club, Saint Mary's, Pennsylvania, 1924 Wee Burn Country Club, Darien, Connecticut, 1902 Mohawk Golf Club (West), Schenectady, New York, 1903 Wheatley Hills Golf Club, East Williston, New York, 1913 (remodeled by Devereux Emmet and Alfred Tull in 1931) Wheeling Country Club, Wheeling, West Virginia, 1902 Wheeling Park Golf Course, Wheeling, West Virginia, 1926

References