I was in the Chicago History Museum Research Center looking at Polk’s Chicago Directory from 1905. I found the listing for a man named Harry J. Collis, but the street address didn't correspond with my map. A librarian reminded me that in 1909, Chicago street names and numbers were changed for consistency. She then crossed-referenced the address in the 1909 Plan of Re-Numbering City of Chicago Streets. I entered the new address into Google Maps, which pinpointed the location and gave me a street view of a house. It was an exciting discovering, but I felt silly looking up some dead person's house. Then the librarian pointed to others in the room and said, "look at all these people… they're just connecting the dots… that's what it's about."

The entry sign for Glenwoodie, which started my history hunt.

In October 2019 I was invited to play Glenwoodie Golf Course in Glenwood, Illinois. I had played it before and enjoyed it, but I didn't think much of it. But this time, when I turned into the entrance, I noticed something on the sign I hadn’t seen before: "Est. 1926." I knew there was a lot of golf history in the far southern suburbs of Chicago, including country clubs such as Calumet, Ravisloe, Flossmoor, and Olympia Fields. But what was Glenwoodie's history? On that cold and rainy October night, I googled “Glenwoodie Golf Club.” Some of the golf course review sites listed Harry J. Collis (1878-1937) as its course architect. Since that night, my journey has been as much about Harry J. Collis as about “connecting the dots.”

I had no idea where this rabbit hole would lead me, but I was determined to learn more about this course and this architect. So I started researching, contacting a number of people and organizations, and digging in the corners of history, boxes, and databases for any bit of information. And when I found something, I felt satisfied, but that satisfaction was always followed by a desire to find more. The following is my story about connecting the dots; perhaps it’ll help you connect yours.

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One of the first documents I found about Harry Collis was his obituary, which listed Kruger Funeral Home, located about 20 miles south of Chicago. I emailed the current owners for information, and they replied with a copy of their "record of funeral” document, which provided the basic personal details and Collis’s burial at Mount Greenwood Cemetery. So one day, I detoured my travels and stopped by the cemetery; armed with a map and plot location, I set off to find his grave. As I wandered to Lot 296 Sec 29, I stumbled on the grave markers for Harry and his wife, Alice. I said a short prayer for the departed and slowly walked away. I had connected a dot.

Gravesite for Harry and Alice Collis, in Mt. Greenwood Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois.

I wondered if others had wondered who this man was, and I realized I might as well learn from the research that others have already done. I re-discovered the Golf Club Atlas website, where I found an extensive list of Collis-designed golf courses. I began corresponding with a member of the site, and it turned out we were both CBOE market makers. An unintended dot was connected.

I also learned a valuable tip: subscribe to Newspapers.com and Newspaperarchive.com to find old, local articles rich with lost details. One golf course listed on the Golf Club Atlas site—"Normandy CC"—eluded me, until I found a reference in the real estate section of the Chicago Tribune on January 15, 1928. The Collis-designed course was planned next to Flossmoor Country Club, but it was never built.

I contacted local and state historical societies. Members of these historical societies are eager to share their knowledge and findings with fellow searchers. Interestingly, the Homewood Historical Society had no record of the Normandy CC, and I was glad to share my dot with them.

Collis’s 1918 WWI Registrar’s Card, listing him as the Superintendent of Flossmoor CC.

With the information from Collis’s obituary, I contacted a friend who’s a wiz with Ancestry.com. We found Harry's WWI draft card and signature, a dot connected directly to Harry. The site also provided the 1920 and 1930 U.S. Censuses, and ship manifestos, and a link to information about his wife. More dots and connections.

The United States Golf Association has an online library for vintage golf magazines, books, and reports. In addition, their historians were a great source of knowledge and help. And HathiTrust is a great resource to search through books that have been digitized by a consortium of massive libraries around the world.

Only so much exists in digital form, but the internet is still good at finding more offline sources. Worldcat.org is a great site for locating books in libraries across the globe, and I wanted to find any reference books that may help me learn more. I discovered that two copies of The Architects of Golf: A Survey of Golf Course Design from Its Beginnings to the Present were in nearby libraries: one at the University of Chicago and the other in Mount Prospect. I made my way to the U of C Library, completed a form, showed my ID, and passed clearance only to arrive at the now-closed Special Collections Room. I contacted my mother, who had no problem walking into the Mount Prospect Public Library near her, pulling the book from the shelf, and texted pictures of Collis’s info. Thanks to mom, another dot connected.

Pulling on another thread from this research, I contacted the MSU Turfgrass Information Center, where I discovered advertisements and turf articles for “Flossmoor Nurseries, Inc., Harry Collis President,” and patents for “Flossmoor bentgrass.” Knowing Flossmoor Nurseries was located in Illinois, I contacted the State of Illinois Business Division, which provided copies of the Articles of Incorporation of Flossmoor Nurseries and other business entity filings. It felt great to discover an entirely new angle to this mysterious man.

I also learned that between 1929 and 1930, Collis was a consultant to Cook County’s Board of the Forest Preserves. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, when you want to find government information, you can fill out a form to obtain quite a bit of information. Weeks later, I received in the mail the Offical Record of the Proceedings of the Board. A "high-security clearance" dot!

I was starting to wonder what photographs may exist of Collis’s architectural work. Beginning in 1938, the United States government started taking aerial photographs, surveying much of the country. Many states have websites that provide access to these photos, and the commercial website, Historicalaerials.com, is great for looking up old photos of golf courses. More dots connected.

Social media can be a resource as well. Facebook has groups like "You Know You Are From [fill in the town] If You Remember." Some replies produced new information. But more often, posters connect their dots with others in their hometown. In these online communities, it’s always great to help others in their searches as well.

I learned that Collis had designed courses elsewhere, too. I had an Indianapolis Times newspaper article from July 4, 1935 that mentioned Harry Collis as the course architect of Brookwood Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I even found a hole-by-hole description. Looking for historical information, I called the club, but I couldn’t find anyone who knew about Collis. So I emailed it to the club’s head pro, and he set a tee time for me.

I had a similar situation with the Logansport Country Club in Logansport, Indiana. Built in 1903 as a nine-hole golf course, the new owners didn't know, and again, I sent over the information I had to them. When I played the course, the superintendent told me that the day he showed up, the old owners had a “huge bonfire, burning everything they had.” He explained that he rushed in and tried to save as much as he could, but “the damage was done." Losing dots is difficult, but I was starting to learn more about Collis’s design principles, from what I could see in the ground.

The author plays the E6Golf simulator version of Navajo Hills Country Club.

When the pandemic overshadowed much of 2020, I tried to spend my time wisely, outside. I created an itinerary, set up tee times, and set out with my playing partner Rick to play Collis-designed courses, including Lakeside (Chikaming), Brookwood (Fort Wayne), Logansport, Rhinelander, Tribute (Warsaw,) Flossmoor, and Chicago Heights.

In 2021 we played Harlem Golf Course, now Forrest Hills in Rockford.. Navajo Fields Country Club closed in 1956 and is now Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois. E6Golf, a golf simulator software company, created a simulator version using pictures and Chick Evans own description from a Sun-Times, June 10, 1956 newspaper article.

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When you feel like the historical story comes together, it’s time to tell that story and share it with others. All this research fills two 3-inch ring binders and the creation of the Harry Collis Project website (harrycollisproject.golf), to share the history, preservation, and perpetuation of Harry J. Collis's contributions to golf.

I haven’t stopped though … my connecting of the dots continues. There are two golf courses in Arizona to be played. Collis marketed hickory golf clubs stamped with his name; I have three and know more exist. Besides his World War I draft card, I've yet to find any personal notes, plans, or drawings directly related to him.

You don’t need a degree in History to discover the past, just a desire to explore it. A simple internet search will start you down a path of forgotten figures and locations and provide direction and otherwise unknown resources. For me, it started by reading a sign “Established 1926” and wondering what was going on here.

What dots do you have to connect?

Connecting the Dots

Thanks to Golf

Pride