DuPage County Historical Museum Foundation Announces the Induction of Herbert J. Tweedie into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.
Margie Wilhelmi
Director of Marketing, Wheaton Park District
630.510.4984 | [email protected]
June 14, 2021
Wheaton, IL – Due to Herbert J. Tweedie’s contribution to the growth of the game of golf in the Midwestern United States through his design of 21 golf courses, popularizing golf, and work at Spalding Company, Herbert J. Tweedie is one of six candidates selected for induction into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2021. The induction ceremony will be held Friday, October 1 at The Glen Club in Glenview, IL, home of the Hall of Fame.
Bob Jacobsen, local golf historian, and DuPage County Historical Museum Foundation board member led the team of local historians who nominated Herbert Tweedie for the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was created by the Illinois PGA Foundation “to recognize and honor those individuals who have contributed to the rich history and tradition of the game of golf here in Illinois.”
“Our goal in the submission of Herbert J. Tweedie’s nomination was to continue to research, publish and exhibit the history of golf in DuPage County so that young and old will know and appreciate this beautiful local history,” said Jacobsen.
Jacobsen was joined in his DuPage County golf history research efforts by fellow historians Bill Weber, Nancy Flannery, James Tweedie, Randy Crow, and Dan Cermack.
The DuPage County Historical Museum and Foundation published a golf history book, Wheaton, Illinois: Golf History Starts Here in 2018 which highlighted Tweedie’s story and accomplishments. Jacobsen was instrumental in writing and seeing the completion of this book. This book is now in its second reprint and will be available for sale at Arrowhead Golf Club Pro Shop and the DuPage County Historical Museum in July.
The book is just one documented piece of local golf history. There is a mini-exhibit at Arrowhead Golf Club in Wheaton that chronicles how Wheaton played a pivotal role in the development of Midwestern golf in the late 1800s into the early 20th century. The exhibit brings local golf history to life with the display of early golf artifacts on loan from a local collector.
Tweedie was born in India on July 21, 1864. He spent his youth in Hoylake, England where his father was a founding member of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Herbert was a junior amateur in England, winning the 1870s Hoylake’s Junior Championship. He relocated to Chicago in 1887.
After Tweedie arrived in the United States, he began a career managing livestock. His next profession involved becoming a golf representative with AG Spalding & Brother and managing the Chicago store, which he did for the rest of his life.
Following the early success of the Chicago Golf Club, in Belmont, IL (now Downer’s Grove), Tweedie became Chicago’s preeminent golf course architect, designing 21 courses throughout Illinois and the Midwestern states to include Belmont Golf Club in 1899, Flossmoor Country Club in 1899, Glen View Golf Club in 1897, Rockford Country Club in 1899.
Tweedie encouraged the formation of the Western Golf Association on April 27, 1899, and became the first editor of the Western Golf Association Magazine.
Tweedie passed away on July 9, 1906, in Wheaton, IL at the age of 41. When he died only two years after the death of his wife Mary, his family was left without provisions. Spalding appointed their son, Douglas Herbert Tweedie, to run the sports store in Chicago, which allowed the Tweedie family to remain together in Wheaton.
To purchase the Wheaton, Illinois: Golf History Starts Here book, please visit Arrowhead Pro Shop or DuPage County Historical Museum. The catalogs will be available in July.
For further information on the Wheaton, Illinois: Golf History Starts Here mini-exhibit, visit Arrowhead Golf Club or contact Zach Bishop, Museum Curator at 630.510.4941 or [email protected].
For further information about the Foundation or to get involved, please contact Carey Moreland at 630.510.4961 or [email protected].
Learn more:
Website: dupagemuseum.org
Facebook: facebook/dupagemuseum
