Bob Pryde

Bob Pryde was born in Scotland but came to the United States in 1892. He attended Harris Academy in Dundee and a technical college in Glasgow, where he qualified as a drawing instructor. In the United State he started out as a contractor. Although he competed in curling at the 1932 Olympic Winter Games he was best known for his contributions to golf and became known as Mr. Golf in his native Connecticut. When New Haven was planning to build a golf course in 1895, a friend found that Pryde had played the game in Scotland and Pryde designed the New Haven Golf Club, later The Club at Yale. He became the pro at the course, a job he would hold for 41 years. He also was the first golf coach at Yale, coaching them to the first NCAA title in 1897, and eventually winning 13 NCAA Championships with them, including nine in a row, 1905-13. Pryde became the Executive Director of the Connecticut State Golf Association, a position he held from 1922-46. He also became a prolific golf course designer, laying out, in addition to the original Yale course, Race Brook Country Club, Alling Memorial Golf Club, Wethersfield Country Club, Wyantenuck Golf Club, and The Montrose Club in Pennsylvania. Pryde was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 1999. The Robert D. Pryde Cup, a team match named in his honor, was inaugurated in 2009 between teams from the Yale Golf Club and Race Brook.