Everything we know about Lauren Balik's death at 35 on a Montauk hiking trail. Plus: An East Hampton garden institution's plight; the U.S. Open invades Shinnecock Hills.
Shinnecock Hills and the Teenagers Who Changed American Golf
In the mid-1890s, America was not a particularly welcoming place for women in sport or for people of color in elite competition. Yet on the windswept dunes of Eastern Long Island, at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, two teenagers flourished in a way that was almost unimaginable for their era.
The first three time major winner in the USA
One was a young woman who would become the first dominant female golfer in America. The other was a Black teenager who nearly won the U.S. Open while facing racial hostility from fellow competitors.
Their names were Beatrix Hoyt and John Shippen. Together, they tell one of the most remarkable stories in early American golf.
Founded in 1891, Shinnecock Hills was progressive almost from the beginning. The club not only welcomed women to play golf, but went even further by building a separate golf course specifically for women in 1893, something virtually unheard of in the United States at the time.
That atmosphere created opportunity.
Beatrix Hoyt arrived at Shinnecock as a teenager. She began playing golf around the age of 14, while spending time around the club. Within two years she had become the best young female golfer in America. At just 16 years old, Hoyt won the 1896 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, becoming one of the youngest champions in the history of the event.
She was no one-hit wonder.
Hoyt proceeded to win the next two U.S. Women’s Amateurs as well, claiming three consecutive national championships from 1896 through 1898. At a time when women’s competitive sports were often dismissed as improper or unfeminine, Hoyt became one of the first true stars of women’s golf in the United States.
Her rise was only possible because Shinnecock Hills treated women golfers seriously at a time when much of society did not.
At nearly the same moment, another teenager was making history just a few fairways away. As a boy, he worked on the construction of the golf course itself and learned the game under club professional Willie Dunn Jr.
By age 16, Shippen had become assistant professional at Shinnecock Hills.
Then came the 1896 U.S. Open.
When Shippen and his friend Oscar Bunn, a Shinnecock Native American golfer, entered the championship, several professionals threatened to boycott the tournament rather than compete against them. The USGA refused to back down. Theodore Havemeyer declared the championship would proceed even if Shippen and Bunn were the only players left in the field.
Shippen in 1925
It was one of the defining moments in the early history of American golf and Shippen responded by nearly winning the championship.
Still only a teenager, he opened with a brilliant 78 beating his playing partner CB Macdonald handedly and was tied for the lead after the morning round. He remained in contention until disaster struck on the 13th hole, where an 11 ended his hopes. Even so, Shippen finished tied for sixth place in one of the most important performances in early golf history.
What makes the stories of Hoyt and Shippen so extraordinary is not simply that they succeeded. It is that they succeeded in the same place, at the same time, while still teenagers.
In an America deeply divided by race and rigid expectations around gender, Shinnecock Hills became an unlikely incubator for inclusion. The club was far from perfect, and history is always more complicated than mythology, but in the 1890s Shinnecock stood apart from many of its contemporaries.
It gave women a place to compete seriously.
It gave a young Black golfer and a Shinnecock Indian golfer a chance to play on the national stage.
And it allowed two teenagers, Beatrix Hoyt and John Shippen, to help shape the future of American golf long before the rest of the country was ready to follow.
Beatrix Hoyt won 3 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships in a row in 1896, 1897 and 1898 and in 1900 she officially retired from competitive golf at the age of 19.
John Shippen after nearly winning a second U.S. Open, went on to play in six U.S. Opens finishing in the Top 5 twice and celebrated his final U.S. Open in 1913, making him one of the competitors who was able to see a young amateur by the name of Francis Ouimet beat the greatest golfer in the world Harry Vardon. John Shippen would serve as a golf professional at Shinnecock Hills, Maidstone and Aronimink before ending his career as the head professional at Shady Rest and Country Club, the first golf club for black golfers.
A Special Thanks to Oak Hill CC
The Society of Golf Historians would like to thank Oak Hill CC, it’s staff and it’s membership for hosting 22 of our members at your historic major championship course. A special thanks to Fred, Kevin and Andrew for your presentations on the club’s history.
Thank you for helping to make a fantastic day of golf and golf history!
Clearly the author is not a golf fan … interesting history — Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in its early history welcomed both women and non-white golfers in competition. In fact, there was a Native American golfer who was in contention to win in more than one tournament. When white golfers protested the participation of a Native American and a black golfer, the club said then they will be the only two people competing if everyone else doesn’t show up …
Randomized deaths keeping investigators busy!
What do you think of a Thursday evening departure from the city to EH to mitigate traffic?
Vs. Friday afternoon? Pro!
Shinnecock Hills and the Teenagers Who Changed American Golf
In the mid-1890s, America was not a particularly welcoming place for women in sport or for people of color in elite competition. Yet on the windswept dunes of Eastern Long Island, at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, two teenagers flourished in a way that was almost unimaginable for their era.
The first three time major winner in the USA
One was a young woman who would become the first dominant female golfer in America. The other was a Black teenager who nearly won the U.S. Open while facing racial hostility from fellow competitors.
Their names were Beatrix Hoyt and John Shippen. Together, they tell one of the most remarkable stories in early American golf.
Founded in 1891, Shinnecock Hills was progressive almost from the beginning. The club not only welcomed women to play golf, but went even further by building a separate golf course specifically for women in 1893, something virtually unheard of in the United States at the time.
That atmosphere created opportunity.
Beatrix Hoyt arrived at Shinnecock as a teenager. She began playing golf around the age of 14, while spending time around the club. Within two years she had become the best young female golfer in America. At just 16 years old, Hoyt won the 1896 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, becoming one of the youngest champions in the history of the event.
She was no one-hit wonder.
Hoyt proceeded to win the next two U.S. Women’s Amateurs as well, claiming three consecutive national championships from 1896 through 1898. At a time when women’s competitive sports were often dismissed as improper or unfeminine, Hoyt became one of the first true stars of women’s golf in the United States.
Her rise was only possible because Shinnecock Hills treated women golfers seriously at a time when much of society did not.
At nearly the same moment, another teenager was making history just a few fairways away. As a boy, he worked on the construction of the golf course itself and learned the game under club professional Willie Dunn Jr.
By age 16, Shippen had become assistant professional at Shinnecock Hills.
Then came the 1896 U.S. Open.
When Shippen and his friend Oscar Bunn, a Shinnecock Native American golfer, entered the championship, several professionals threatened to boycott the tournament rather than compete against them. The USGA refused to back down. Theodore Havemeyer declared the championship would proceed even if Shippen and Bunn were the only players left in the field.
Shippen in 1925
It was one of the defining moments in the early history of American golf and Shippen responded by nearly winning the championship.
Still only a teenager, he opened with a brilliant 78 beating his playing partner CB Macdonald handedly and was tied for the lead after the morning round. He remained in contention until disaster struck on the 13th hole, where an 11 ended his hopes. Even so, Shippen finished tied for sixth place in one of the most important performances in early golf history.
What makes the stories of Hoyt and Shippen so extraordinary is not simply that they succeeded. It is that they succeeded in the same place, at the same time, while still teenagers.
In an America deeply divided by race and rigid expectations around gender, Shinnecock Hills became an unlikely incubator for inclusion. The club was far from perfect, and history is always more complicated than mythology, but in the 1890s Shinnecock stood apart from many of its contemporaries.
It gave women a place to compete seriously.
It gave a young Black golfer and a Shinnecock Indian golfer a chance to play on the national stage.
And it allowed two teenagers, Beatrix Hoyt and John Shippen, to help shape the future of American golf long before the rest of the country was ready to follow.
Beatrix Hoyt won 3 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships in a row in 1896, 1897 and 1898 and in 1900 she officially retired from competitive golf at the age of 19.
John Shippen after nearly winning a second U.S. Open, went on to play in six U.S. Opens finishing in the Top 5 twice and celebrated his final U.S. Open in 1913, making him one of the competitors who was able to see a young amateur by the name of Francis Ouimet beat the greatest golfer in the world Harry Vardon. John Shippen would serve as a golf professional at Shinnecock Hills, Maidstone and Aronimink before ending his career as the head professional at Shady Rest and Country Club, the first golf club for black golfers.
A Special Thanks to Oak Hill CC
The Society of Golf Historians would like to thank Oak Hill CC, it’s staff and it’s membership for hosting 22 of our members at your historic major championship course. A special thanks to Fred, Kevin and Andrew for your presentations on the club’s history.
Thank you for helping to make a fantastic day of golf and golf history!
Clearly the author is not a golf fan … interesting history — Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in its early history welcomed both women and non-white golfers in competition. In fact, there was a Native American golfer who was in contention to win in more than one tournament. When white golfers protested the participation of a Native American and a black golfer, the club said then they will be the only two people competing if everyone else doesn’t show up …