Timber to Tees
Enterprising timber executives wanted to build something special in Seattle that existed nowhere else on the continent, whether in the United States or Canada. Coming off World War I and a devastating influenza pandemic, these enterprising men made plans to create a private residential community that would wrap itself around 18 high-end fairways and greens, entice interested people to become homeowners and golf club members all at once.
They first called it Union Bay Golf Course. In long-ago correspondence, they next referred to it as Puget Golf and Villa Club. Finally, they settled on the more salient Broadmoor, name that described one of the nations foremost golf resorts in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, strongly suggesting European leisure and comfort, and stood for success.
The lumbermen made private golf and gated housing readily available to all those Seattleites who wanted to feel the resounding heartbeat of a vibrant city up close. They key figures behind the ambitious project worked in San Francisco for the Pope and Talbot Lumber Company, which owned four sawmills, one of which was the Puget Mill Company in Port Gamble, Washington, which had offices in Seattle. These businesses were all interrelated, each responsible for the golf club.
For decades, Pope and Talbot held the deed to thousands of acres of thickly forested land up and down the West Coast, including the exclusive 202 acres that would be set aside to build Broadmoor's houses and golf holes. All these people needed was the nerve to see the project through, beginning with William H. Talbot, who was president for both Pope & Talbot and the Puget Mill Company.
William Andrew Irwin, a Puget Mill Company executive, traveled throughout the United States and into the Canadian provinces examining other private metropolitan courses and made a big discovery: he determined that no other combined golf club and residential park existed in a major city in either country.
The founders next approached reputable East Coast golf architects Herbert Strong and Willie Park about making Broadmoor come to fruition. However, these men were in great demand and busy with other course projects and sent their regrets. The club settled on Canadian designer Arthur Vernon Macan, a Victoria British Columbia, man, and native Irishmen, who earlier designed Northwest courses at Inglewood and Fircrest, while working on three California course near San Francisco at the time.
They first called it Union Bay Golf Course. In long-ago correspondence, they next referred to it as Puget Golf and Villa Club. Finally, they settled on the more salient Broadmoor, name that described one of the nations foremost golf resorts in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, strongly suggesting European leisure and comfort, and stood for success.
The lumbermen made private golf and gated housing readily available to all those Seattleites who wanted to feel the resounding heartbeat of a vibrant city up close. They key figures behind the ambitious project worked in San Francisco for the Pope and Talbot Lumber Company, which owned four sawmills, one of which was the Puget Mill Company in Port Gamble, Washington, which had offices in Seattle. These businesses were all interrelated, each responsible for the golf club.
For decades, Pope and Talbot held the deed to thousands of acres of thickly forested land up and down the West Coast, including the exclusive 202 acres that would be set aside to build Broadmoor's houses and golf holes. All these people needed was the nerve to see the project through, beginning with William H. Talbot, who was president for both Pope & Talbot and the Puget Mill Company.
William Andrew Irwin, a Puget Mill Company executive, traveled throughout the United States and into the Canadian provinces examining other private metropolitan courses and made a big discovery: he determined that no other combined golf club and residential park existed in a major city in either country.
The founders next approached reputable East Coast golf architects Herbert Strong and Willie Park about making Broadmoor come to fruition. However, these men were in great demand and busy with other course projects and sent their regrets. The club settled on Canadian designer Arthur Vernon Macan, a Victoria British Columbia, man, and native Irishmen, who earlier designed Northwest courses at Inglewood and Fircrest, while working on three California course near San Francisco at the time.