A layout of the first nine holes course at Durand Eastman Park was published in the Democrat and Chronicle on July 14, 1918. The caption read: "You golfers who haven't gone down to Durand Eastman Park to play on the new nine-hole course because you haven't known where to start or what direction to take if you make a start at the first tee you happened upon, here is a map of the course, the first to be published. The few enthusiasts who have played the course say it offers opportunities for all kinds of golf. It hasn't yet all that a golf course should have in the way of finish, but it is well on its way to smoothness of green and fairway, and to play on it is worthwhile. It promises to become as attractive a course as can be found in Western New York." (2) A Times Union clipping of May 21, 1940, stated: "Donald Ross, well-known architect, of Holyoke, Mass., laid out the original nine holes." Donald J. Ross, one of the country's famous golf architects, designed a lot of courses in the pre and post World War I era. Perhaps his most famous being Pinehurst No. 2 at Pine-hurst, North Carolina. Other than the Times Union clipping of May 21, 1940 mentioning Donald Ross, it has not been confirmed that he was involved in the design of the first nine; but it could well be possible.