You won’t find anybody on the tee at the Sprain Lake Golf Course these days wearing plus-fours and a necktie, but you might find this tee box if you know where to look. Westchester golfer John Zanzarella asked us to help him figure out which hole it is (or was), and we accepted the challenge.
Though we may not know exactly where this photo was taken, we can make an educated guess about when. The County Parks Commission opened Sprain Lake in 1929, the third of the now six county-operated public golf courses. Given the attire of the players—love those snazzy argyle knee socks, by the way—it can’t be much later than 1939.
But what about where?
I’ve probably played Sprain Lake over a hundred times, but the landscape pictured here looks only vaguely familiar. At first, I thought it was an abandoned tee on the current 14th hole because the bridge over the water in the background looks like the one leading to the green on the par-three 13th. But I realized this tee box would have to be located on the opposite side of the water from the current 14th tee, making the already short hole maybe 165 yards long at the most. Since the player with the two-toned shoes is teeing off with a wood, that’s not likely.
Could it be the tee box on the 15th hole? The elevation would be about right and if you took out some of the trees that line the left side of the 14th fairway…
Help us out here! And, as a bonus, if you can positively identify the photographer, I’ll personally treat you to a round at Sprain Lake.
Do you know where this photo was taken or the photographer’s name? Let us know by emailing davedonelson@yahoo.com or by leaving a comment in the comment section below!
