THE TANKARD This particular Pewter mug (tankard), awarded in August 1894, predates the original formation of USGA by over a year and places it at a time in history when the avid golfers in America were a small, tight knit group of men. It has a glass bottom and the real reason they had glass bottoms was likely so that you could judge the clarity of your beer before drinking it. The carved inscription reads "Tuxedo Club, Won By Goold Hoyt, Golf Handicap, August, 1894". The base has a 3" diameter with the rim having a 2" diameter. It predates the USGA and belonged to an entrant in the first sanctioned US Open! A must have for early American golf historians!

GOOLD HOYT was simply the beneficiary of his ultra wealthy grandfather's work, a shipping magnate for the East India Company in Manhattan. Goold Hoyt the golfer was the ultimate man of leisure. He lived most of his life during the height of the gilded age among the wealthy and socially elite of Manhattan. He was a frequent social guest of Lady Astor who famously controlled New York Society during the Gilded Age. Goold Hoyt was one of the very first avid golfers during the late 19th century in America. He was entered as one of the amateur competitors in the very first U.S. Open played at Newport CC. Golfers during that time were very wealthy Americans who had the time and money to build courses and invite their friends like C.B. MacDonald, Winthrop Rutherford, A.L. Livermore, etc. Hoyt's contemporaries and frequent golf partners are a veritable who's who of original American Golfers.

THE TUXEDO CLUB is a private member-owned country club located on West Lake Road in Tuxedo Park, New York in the Ramapo Mountains. Founded in 1886 by Pierre Lorillard IV, The Tuxedo was introduced by Griswold Lorillard at the club's first Autumn ball in 1886. In the late summer of 1894, the Tuxedo Club invited The Country Club, the infamous "Apple Tree Gang" from St. Andrew's, and Shinnecock to play in the first known interclub match in America, at Tuxedo in early October. Goold competed for The Tuxedo Club golf team in the first competitions. The Country Club were victorious and walked away with the trophy, at least that's how they remember it, but that's another story.

Auction Notepad