It is widely acknowledged that the Beardsley Park Zoo in Bridgeport is the finest zoo in the state of Connecticut. What’s less commonly known is that Beardsley Park once had a nine-hole golf course. There is not a lot of information available about the course, but here’s what I could find.
This is an article from the February 12th, 1913 edition of the Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer. The plan proposed by Charles Canfield was put in place, but the particulars of the timing of the opening and of the layout of the course are unknown.
The Connecticut Historical Society does have a series of postcards with images from the course. Even these are wrapped in mystery as the publisher is unknown and the timeframe is listed as between 1915 and 1930. The first one is the best as it purports to be the first tee with several golfers standing around waiting to play and their automobiles parked off to the side.
The other two postcards provide more scenic views of parkland, although they claim to be the golf course.
Ct. Historical Society
Ct. Historical Society
We do have reports of a tournament that was held at Beardsley Park in 1918 because the winner was Eugenio Saraceni. The son of Italian immigrants who moved to Bridgeport in 1917 to work in the munition factory, Saraceni instead took a liking to golf and under the tutelage of the pro became so proficient he was named the Assistant Pro. When he won the tournament in 1918 and saw his name in the paper, he decided it didn’t look like a golfer’s name so he changed it to Gene Sarazen. Soon he moved on to Brooklawn in Fairfield and golfing greatness. He would win the US Open in 1922 at the age of 20 beating greats like Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones. A storied career that included 7 major championships, Golf Hall of Fame, and probably the most famous golf shot in history, his legendary double eagle, “Albatross” shot on #15 at the 1935 Masters.
For a more thorough account of his career in Bridgeport go here.
Sarazen’s connection with nine-hole courses in Connecticut wasn’t finished. Check out our post on Sunset Hill GC for more.
In 1940 Sarazen would tie a young pro from Green Woods CC by the name of Stan Stazowski for 2nd in the Connecticut PGA Championship.
The early 1900s would be the golden age for Norfolk Downs Golf Links, but trouble was brewing underneath the surface. As golf technology advanced with the elimination of the gutta-percha ball and the introduction of better clubs, the shortness of the links was a problem. Here is an early entry in a USGA guide.
USGA
This was only one of the problems, in addition, as the daughter of Episcopalian, Minister Isabella Eldridge prohibited Sunday play on the links. Since a great many of the golfers traveled to Norfolk just on weekends, this caused additional discontent.
From the 1916 American Annual Golf Guide
In 1912 a group formed the Norfolk Country Club as a place where they could gather for social and recreational activities. It was mostly a tennis club, as members continued to use Norfolk Downs for their golfing pursuits.
The officers of the brand new Country Club of Norfolk leased the old gymnasium and turned it into a sumptuous clubhouse overlooking Haystack Mountain where they enjoyed dinner dances, concerts, plays, lectures; and tennis on two courts fronting Maple Avenue.
Michael Kelly, Club Historian, Norfolk Country Club
CT Historical SocietyCT Historical SocietyCT Historical Society
While the old Eldridge Gymnasium site would host many prestigious tennis events, the members wanted their own property a little more in the country. In 1917 they purchased property adjacent to Norfolk Downs and enlisted famed architect and member Alfredo Taylor to design the new clubhouse. They built new tennis courts to replace those at the gymnasium.
Courtesy National Registry of Historic Places
The members loved this location as they could still pursue their activities and then walk over to the Downs for a round of golf. Still, they wished for their own course. The opportunity presented itself with the death of the two Eldridge sisters, first Isabella in 1919 and then Mary in 1926.
land she owned bordering the Downs and the NCC clubhouse became available. The Club bought the land and hired famed golf course architect, A.W. Tillinghast (Winged Foot, Baltusrol, Newport, etc.) to lay out 9 short but challenging holes on rolling, undulating hills where sheep formerly grazed on the old Curtiss farm.
Michael Kelly, Club Historian, Norfolk Country Club
Photo from the 1934 CT. Aerial Survey courtesy UConn shows Norfolk Downs left and Norfolk Country Club to the right.
With the death of the Eldridge sisters, the operation of Norfolk Downs Golf Links was up in the air. First, it became the property of their nephew Edward Swift but he also died a couple of years later. The Norfolk Downs Association took charge by leasing the property in 1930. However it was not the same, many of the more wealthy patrons left to become members of Norfolk Country Club, and the Eldridge Sisters were not around to make up for the revenue lost. It was becoming harder and harder to keep open. Efforts were made to combine the two nines, but they were to prove unsuccessful. Article from the Hartford Courant.
Norfolk Downs had hosted a Litchfield County Club Championship every year since 1898. In what would turn out to be the final event, the 1941 Tournament was won by Green Woods Country Club for the first time. The September 2, 1941 newspaper article is the last record of any golf being played at Norfolk Downs. The start of World War 2 made golf at Norfolk Downs unsustainable.
The 1951 aerial photo shows parts of the course growing in, but largely the same as when it was open. Someone was doing a little maintenance. Photo courtesy UConn.
But by 1970 it was really starting to become overgrown. You can also see the curling club building close to where the first tee was located.
I am told that if you walk the property, you can see where certain landmarks, tees, greens, or bunkers were located. I may try it one day. The only two items that remain from the course are the original sign in the archives of the Norfolk Historical Society,
and the Norfolk Downs Shelter. The clubhouse was designed by Alfredo Taylor and listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is located just past the Norfolk Curling club building on Golf Drive.
I’d like to thank Author and Golf Historian Anthony Pioppi for providing guidance and some of the resources used in this post. I strongly recommend his two books on nine-hole golf courses, The Finest Nine and To The Nines both available on Amazon with the kindle edition of The Finest Nines on sale for just $1.99.
Note: I am neither an Author nor a Historian, any mistakes made are entirely my own. I hope to provide some appreciation for what we have and what we have lost. I hope you learn something along the way, I know I have. It’s why I do it.
Nine is Fine 