4x2½" folding tan-orange cloth-coated printed card, signed in pencil by John Reid. Provides a schedule of matches and a list of 7 “Rules to be Observed in Competitions.” Also lists Officers: John Reid, President; Wm. D. Baldwin, Vice-President; Wm. R. Innis, Hon. Secretary; W.E. Hodgman, Treasurer; and L.B. Stoddard, Captain. States inside: “For each of the monthly Handicap Matches there will be an entrance fee of $1.00. There will be two prizes in each class, the first of the value of $20.00, and the second of the value of $10.00.” Front cover lettered in black: “St. Andrew’s Golf Club, 1896.”
John Reid (1840-1916) originally from Dunfermline, Scotland, is best known as “the father of American golf.” He moved to Yonkers, New York along with his close friend Robert Lockhart. Reid and a few friends used a few clubs and balls purchased in Scotland to negotiate the rudimentary three holes Reid constructed in a field close to his house. On November 14, 1888, Reid drew up a constitution for a golf club and so the first permanent golf club in the United States was born, with Reid at the helm. They called themselves the St. Andrew's Golf Club, but with an apostrophe inserted to avoid confusion with the original St. Andrews in Scotland. Reid's crew led a nomadic existence, moving from the cow pasture to the north east corner of Broadway, to an orchard on the Weston estate about a quarter of a mile from their old course. They pitched a tent under the shade of an apple tree and called it a clubhouse. Forever more, these men would be known as the Apple Tree Gang, with Reid, of humble Fife stock, to this day being remembered as the father of American golf. Reid was also instrumental in the organization of the United States Golf Association in 1895. “In 1896 the St. Andrew’s Golf Club fostered a tournament on the links at Van Cortlandt Park for players who did not belong to any club in the United States Golf Association. John Reid, president of St. Andrew’s, served in the capacity of referee. The tournament was held in November, this being considered on of the favorable months of the year for golf” – H.B. Martin (Fifty Years of American Golf, p. 224). Today, the John Reid Room at St. Andrew's Golf Club in New York, is surrounded by a priceless collection of early golf clubs and balls, some of which were actually used at Saint Andrew’s by John Reid. John Reid’s autograph is exceedingly rare with none located in auction records for the past twenty-five years and none located elsewhere.
Condition:
Tiny and minor spots to front cover of card, other slight wear; near fine or better. One of only a few copies printed, probably the only one with John Reid's signature. Truly, a remarkable and an important piece of early American golf history and ephemera.