USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT A TIE IN THE FIRST WOMEN'S OPEN Wide World Pho'o The first USGA Women's Open Championship set a high standard at the Country Club of Rochester, N. Y. Mrs. Jacqueline Pung (left) and Miss Betsy Rawls were tied at 302 after 72 holes, and Miss Rawls won the play-off, 71 io 77. USGA JOURNAL ANO TURF MANAGEMENT PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION PERMISSION TO REPRINT ARTICLES HEREIN IS FREELY GRANTED (UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NOTED OTHERWISE) PROVIDED CREDIT IS GIVEN TO THE USGA JOURNAL VOL VI, No. 4 August, 1953 Through the Green ....................... ................................ ............................... Sportsman’s Corner ....................................................................................... Hogan’s Crowning Glory .............................................................. Sam McKinley The British Walker Cup Side ...................................... ............ John P. English “Readinc” Greens ..................................... Ben Hogan The World’s Largest Sand Bunker ......................................... C. C. McMullen Miss Rawls New Open Champion ....................... Joseph C. Dey, Jr. Tuxedo Gives Way to “Progress” ....................................................................... A Senior Member—Guest Event ............................................................... California Takes Over the Public Links ________ _______ Frederick L. Dold The Last Day at Carnoustie..................................................................John Derr Variety in USGA Golf Museum ........................................ Edtvard S. Knapp, Jr. The Referee: Decisions by the Rules of Golf Committees ...................... ... Turf Management: USGA Green Section The Green Section Research Program ........................... Marvin H. Ferguson Compaction and Aeration of Fairway Turf..... John C. Harper II LSGA Regional Turf Service Now Available in 15 States . From the .Beltsville Office .................................... "X.... M ' n’inwo ..... ’ ........ Green Committee Expenses Near Chicago It’s Your Honor: Letters ..................... " ............................ 1 5 i 11 12 14 16 17 18 20 21 22 25 27 31 32 32 33 Published seven times a year in February. April. June, July, August. September and November by the UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 40 East 38th St., New York 16, N. Y. Subscriptions:. $2 a year. Single copies: 30c. Subscriptions, articles, photographs, and correspondence, except pertaining to Green Section matters, should be sent to the above address. Correspondence pertaining to Green Section matters should be addressed to USGA Green Section, Room 206, South Building, Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Md.; to USGA Green Section Western Office, Box 241, Davis, Cal.; or to USGA Green Section. Southwestern Office, Texas A. and M. College. College Station. Texas Entered as second-class matter March 3, 1950, at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Edited by Joseph C. Dey, Jr., and John P. English. Advisory Committee: John D. Ames, Chairman; Isaac B. Grainger, Curtis W. McGraw and Bernard H. Ridder, Jr. All articles voluntarily contributed. USGA COMPETITIONS FOR 1953 Walker Cup Match—September 4 and 5 at the Kittansett Club, Marion, Mass. Men’s amateur teams, Great Britain vs. United States. (Dates entries close mean last dates for applications to reach USGA office. For possible exceptions in dates o' Sectional Qualifying Rounds, see entry forms.) Championshin Entries Close Sectional Qualifying Hounds Championship Dates Venue Girls* Junior August 7 none August 17-21 Women's Amateur August 10 none August 24-29 Amateur August 17 Sept. 1 Sept. 14-19 The Country Club. Brookline. Ma-s. Rhode Island C. C., W. Barrington, R. 1. Oklahoma City G.&C.C Oklahoma City. Okla. USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 1 Ben Hogan Philosophizes Ben Hogan, who represents the tri­ umph of mind over matter, revealed just an inkling of his approach to golf when he visited “Golf House” in the course of his welcome to New York to present the ball he used on the last hole at Carnoustie to the USGA Museum. “Golf is a game of mistakes,' he said. “You don’t hit more than one or two shots perfectly in a whole round, and there are many other factors you cannot con­ trol. The ball may come out of its lie differently than you expect. The wind conditions may deceive you or change while the ball is in flight. The ball may take a weird bounce when it lands. “For any one of these reasons, a ball can wind up in a bunker or off the fair­ way. You have to expect that will happen a certain number of times. “A ‘mistake’ in the real sense of the word is a shot that wouldn’t have been any good if you had hit it perfectly and if you had correctly anticipated all those other factors you cannot always control. “You can eliminate stupidity out there on the course.” This provides one clue, and certainly an important one, to his formula foi making a Champion. He did not set down the formula in detail, but at another point he said: “Ten years ago. I was hitting shots well enough to be leading money winner three years in a row. But making a Champion is like making a Mulligan stew. You have to have all the ingredients to make it right. At that time, I was still lacking three or four of the most important in­ gredients.’ The Girls Visit New England Two of New England s finest old Clubs will open their gates hospitably to the women golfers of America this month. The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass., will entertain the Girls' Junior Champion­ ship, and a week later the Rhode Island Country Club, in West Barrington, R. I., will be host to the Women’s Amateur Championship. The girls will find The Country Club much the same as it was when Miss Genevieve Hecker won the Women’s Amateur Championship there in 1902, and this will be its eighth USGA Champion­ ship or International Match. The compe­ tition bids fair to sparkle, for Miss Ber- ridge Long, of Huntington, W. Va., and Miss Ann Quast, of Everett, Wash., al­ ready are entrants. Entries close August 7. The women, however, will find the Rhode Island Country Club considerably changed since Mrs. Dorothy Campbell Hurd won her third and last Women’s Amateur Championship there in 1924, de­ feating Miss Mary K. Browne, the ten­ nis plaver, in the final. The hurricanes of 1938 and 1944 levelled many trees and exposed the Donald Ross course more to 2 USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 the winds off Narragansett Bay, and the handsome old clubhouse burned in Sep­ tember, 1950, to be replaced a year later by an equally handsome and more mod­ ern version. Mrs. Jacqueline Pung, now a professional, cannot enter a defense of the title she now holds, but the field is certain to be loaded with talent, and will include Mrs. Edwin H. Vare, Jr., the six-time champion, who is a mem­ ber of the Club. Entries close August 10. A Canadian Breaks Through Our congratulations to our young neighbor, Miss Marlene Stewart, of Font­ hill, Ontario, on her stunning victory in the British Women’s Championship. Al­ though she is only 19, she can no longer be considered a “comer.” She has ar­ rived. Miss Stewart, a sophomore at Rollins College, in Florida, is the first Canadian to win a British Championship, and she made her victory the more convincing by beating two members of the 1952 British Curtis Cup Team in the semi-finals and final. She defeated Miss Jean Donald, 1 up, and then Miss Philomena Garvey, 7 and 6. Miss Marlene Stewart Acme Photo Miss Mary Lena Faulk, of Thomas­ ville, Ga., the only United States entrant, lost to Miss Garvey, 2 and 1, in the other semi-final. Successive Birdies Again Our item in the September, 1952 issue regarding the eight successive birdies made by Jack Hesler, of Crawfordsville, Ind., in 1949, drew a worth-while re­ sponse. Hesler’s achievement, although one we would like to duplicate someday, is no record. Claude Harmon, professional at the Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, N. Y., ran off a string of eight birdies and an eagle in succession last May 19 on the East Course at his home club. The run of eight birdies started at the fourth hole and was climaxed at the 540-yard twelfth when he put his ball a foot from the hole with two driver shots and made an eagle 3. His score of 61, eleven under par, equalled his own record. The card: Par Harmon Par Harmon Out 45354345 4—37 44343234 3—30 In 44534443 4—35—72 33344442 4—31—61 George Rowbotham, of the Llanerch Country Club, Manoa, Pa., made nine successive birdies and scored a 62 in the semi-final round of his club championship in July, 1948. The unfortunate victim of eleven birdies, all told, was Lester Rollins. Rowbotham’s card read: Out 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 5—36 Par Rowbotham 54434332 4—32 In 4 4 3 4 5 4 5 3 4-36—72 Par Rowbotham 3323 5 452 3—30—62 Has anyone ever made ten birdies in a row? Two Champions It is pretty hard for a champion to gain much recognition in this, a Hogan year, but the feats of Walter Burkemo, of Detroit, and Frank D. Ross, of Hartford, Conn., by no means passed unnoticed. USGA Journal and Turf Mxnagement: August, 1953 3 Burkemo, an amazingly straight shot­ maker, finally won the PGA Champion­ ship at the Birmingham Country Club, in his home town, by defeating Felice Torza, 2 and 1, in a surprise final. Ross, who is 59, won his first United States Seniors’ Golf Association Cham­ pionship, with a score 73-69—142 at the Apawamis Club, Rye, N. Y. A former New England Amateur Champion, Ross started his final round with four birdies and had used only eleven strokes when he reached the fifth tee. Jerry Schramm The Association has no more devoted friends than those who work in behalf of the Amateur Public Links Championship, and the sudden passing of Gerald J. Schramm, of Milwaukee, Wis., is there­ fore a source of deepest regret. Jerry was a loyal and active supporter of public links golf and one of the most popular members of the Public Links Committee. His loss leaves a conspicuous void in the public links of Milwaukee and in the Public Links Committee. A New Half-Century The Middle Atlantic Golf Association is away a-winging on its second half- century of service to the game. Its 51st Women’s Amateur Championship and its 51st Amateur Championship were held in June at the Ingleside Country Club, Staunton, Va., and the Farmington Coun­ try Club, Charlottesville, Va., respec­ tively. WGA Sponsors Four-Ball The Western Golf Association will step forth with a new major competition next year with the presentation of an Amateur Four-Ball Championship at the Highland Golf and Country Club, Indianapolis, Ind., pitting two-man teams in 36-hole qualifying and a 64-team bracket of match play from June 25 through July 1, 1954. The Championship will feature High­ land’s semi-centennial, and will be re­ stricted to low-handicap teams. According to present plans, players must have hand­ icaps of five or less. SPORTSMAN'S CORNER Joseph B. Breckel Bill Parker, of Tulsa. Okla., was play­ ing Joseph B. Breckel, of Louisville, Ky., in the fourth round of the 1951 Junior Amateur Championship at the University of Illinois Golf Course. The match was all even after 17 holes, and Bill had the honor on the 18th tee. This tee is unusually long, and the tee markers were at least 20 yards farther back than they had been on the previous day. In youthful excitement. Bill walked rapidly to the tee, teed his ball where the markers had been the day before and hit a low, smothered hook into deep rough. He probably would not have been able to make better than a 5 on the par-4 hole from that position. This had taken place too quickly for intervention, but Joe knew a Rule had been violated. He turned to the referee and asked: "What do I do now?" The referee explained that Joe had the option, under Rule 13-1, of recalling Bill's drive or letting it stand as played. Since Bill's ball lay in an unfavorable position, Joe would benefit most by requiring his opponent to leave the ball where it was. Without hesitation, however, Joe said, "Let's give him another crack at it." The hole was halved and Bill eventu­ ally won on the 22nd hole. 4 USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 Helms Hall Golf Hall of Fame The Helms Hall Board, in Los Angeles, has added Robert A. Gardner, Miss Bea­ trix Hoyt and the late Willie Anderson to its Golf Hall of Fame, and it would take a good deal of imagination to fault these selections. Gardner won the Ama­ teur Championship twice and captained the Walker Cup Team three times. In­ cidentally, he also set the world pole-vault­ ing record at 13 feet 1 inch while at Yale and later shared a national doubles cham­ pionship in racquets. Miss Hoyt won the Women’s Amateur Championship three years in succession, and Anderson won the Open Championship four times, three in succession. Already named to this Golf Hall of Fame in previous years have been H. Chandler Egan, Charles Evans, Jr., Robert T. Jones, Jr., Lawson Little, Francis Oui­ met, Jerome D. Travers, Walter J. Travis, Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen, Alex Smith, Jim Barnes, Mrs. Edwin H Vare, Jr., Mrs. Dorothy Campbell Hurd Howe, Mrs. William G. Fraser, Mrs George Zaharias and Miss Virginia Van Wie. It takes one minute to replace sod but four years to grow it. A Junior Publication The Junior Golf Association of South­ ern California, one of the exemplary or­ ganizations of golf, has strengthened its good influence over junior boys and girls in its area by instituting a periodical, the first we have seen devoted to the interesis of junior golf. It contains news of particular in­ terest to the juniors and also to their parents, and most of the material is provided by junior correspondents at the various clubs. PGA professionals of the area offer hints on playing the game, and Brig. Gen. Stanley Ridderhof conducts contests on the Rules and Etiquette of the game. An item from the first issue: “Courtesy is always noticed. So is dis­ courtesy.” The Gentle Prod Miss Margaret Curtis gave each player in last summer’s Ladies’ Invitation Four- Ball at the Essex County Club, in Man­ chester, Mass., a small card on which was printed: “Please tee off promptly at ever)* hole. As there is no penalty for playing out of turn in a four-ball, let whoever gets to her ball first play at once, without the usually unimportant decision as to who is away. “When you can no longer be of help to your partner, pick up, saving the de­ lay of everyone holing out at every hole. “Tend to hole out rather than to mark your ball on the green. “Write your scores en route to the tee, not on the green. “If you are sharing a caddie and are not certain what club you may need, take two to choose from. “When possible, decide on your club as you approach your ball. “Walk as briskly as you do in a singles match. “Please don’t take more than five min­ utes between your two nines. “We plan to have a traffic man on the course. If there is a free hole ahead of you, you will be asked to speed up or allow the next set to go through. “It would be pleasant if no one were asked to give away! “Are you making it in four hours flat? “IT CAN BE DONE.” In reporting on the success of the in­ novation, Miss Curtis says: “By heaven, it worked. “The sets got around in three hours and forty minutes and were delighted to feel decidedly fresher than usual. “The draws were all made and posted by the time we finished lunch. “The rejoicers included the chef.” USGA Journal .and Turf Management: August, 1953 5 Hogan’s Crowning Glory By SAM McKINLAY Sports Writer, Glasgow Herald, Glasgow, Scotland It was appropriate that Ben Hogan should win the British Open Champion­ ship at Carnoustie in Coronation year for he is to all golfers, in the words of the crowning service, “your undoubted King”. We in Britain had been prepared to do him honor and give him allegiance, for his record in the United States was known and admired, but we insisted that he must prove himself under our condi­ tions before he could properly be regard­ ed as King of the Links. Well, he submitted his great reputation to the test and all the world of golf knows how signally he triumphed. Not only did he win, and at the first time of asking, but he won handsomely on what is the most severe golfing test in our islands in weather which was exacting though it lacked what Carnoustie folk prayed for— the ultimate hazard of a strong East wind. In truih, the course was at its easiest on the final day, but no one having seen Hogan in action was prepared to argue that he would not have won just as con­ vincingly in any weather. He might not have finished with a record 68, but equal­ ly, if his putts had dropped, he might have done almost anything. In short, he gave one of the most impressive displays of golf ever seen in Britain and, what was equally pleasing to a critical Scottish crowd of many thousands, he comported himself from first to last with dignity and modesty. He was respected before he came, he won admiration during his visit, and he took back with him to his own countrv as much of our affection as ever we gave to Bob Jones and Charlie Yates. If ever he should return he will have the freedom of our hearts as well as of our courses. From the beginning it was Hogan’s championship. His first hole in the qual­ ifying round was a portent. He hit a long, straight drive, a firm approach to within a few feet of the flag, and holed the putt without fuss or fear. His 70 on the Burn­ side course was followed by a 75 on the championship circuit, a rather spotty 75, too, in that he took 41 to go out for no real reason except that he found the greens too slow7 for his liking and could not get the ball up to the hole. In the championship proper he played beautifully, making fewer errors than any other competitor except on the greens, where he was safe rather than brilliant. For the record, he did 73, 71, 70 and 68 on a course 7,200 yards long with a strict par of 70, and he gave at least one ob­ server the feeling that if the tournament had lasted a day longer he would have scored in the middle or even low 60’s. As the old caddie said, “it’s no’ possible, but it’s a fact”—and the fact was that he hit the ball straighter from tee to green than anyone else. His driving in particular was glorious —always straight and, when the hole de­ manded it, very long indeed. He made an occasional error, usually of judgment of distance, through the green, and once, at the seventeenth hole in the third round, he cut a spoon shot into a bunker and then took three putts for his only 6 of the championship; but these were minor lapses compared with his major virtues of keeping the ball in play and avoiding destructive shots. He will, I am sure, despite his many experiences of marching to triumph, not easily forget the final scene of all. The last fairway was lined along its 450 yards with spectators seven to ten deep. The championship was in Hogan’s pocket, for he needed a 4 for his 68 and an aggregate of 282 and the best that had been done, or was likely to be done, was 286 bv Dai Rees. Peter Thomson. Frank Stranahan, and (later) Antonio Cerda. Hogan’s drive was perfect, his iron, was true to the heart of the green, some 20 feet from the flag. Everyone was praying that he would finish with a grand flour­ ish. but then he wobbled slightly and his 6 USGA Journal ano Turf Management: August, 1953 Broadway Becomes "Hogan's Alley" Wide World Photo The City of New York pulled all the stops in welcoming Ben Hogan after he had completed his "slam" by adding the British Open to the USGA Open which he won in June. He was driven up Broadway in showers of ticker tape, received the greetings of the Mayor, was honored at a luncheon, presented the ball he used on the last hole at Carnoustie to "Golf House" and later was honored again at a dinner by the USGA. putt was the kind of nervous poke that any golfer may hit under stress. The ball finished at least 30 inches short and for a moment there was the horrid fear of anti-climax. But the great man took a grip of himself and holed the short one crisply, and there hurst upon his now bared head such a roar of warm congrat­ ulation as was at once a tribute to him and a proof of British generosity of spirit. I make no apology for dealing with the championship as though it had been a one-man affair. In the end it was, but for a time it was not. Stranahan led after one round with a 70, with Eric Brown al his heels and then an international cluster at 72—Rees, Thomson, Locke and de Vicenzo, with Hogan and former champion Fred Daly at 73. After two rounds Brown and Rees were leading at 142, with de Vicenzo a stroke behind and Hogan. Stranahan and Thomson at 144. After three rounds Hogan had moved up to equal first with de Vicenzo, with Rees, Thomson and Cerda a stroke behind at 215, but although all the leaders played very well in the fourth round and no one c racked, only Hogan was able to increase the pressure and he finished in splendid isolation four strokes ahead to take his place in golfing history alongside Vardon, Hagen, Sarazen and R. T. Jones. USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 7 The British Walker Cup Side By JOHN P. ENGLISH USGA Assistant Executive Director Four Englishmen, two Scots, two Irish­ men and two Welshmen will play under the standard of Great Britain in the four­ teenth Match for the Walker Cup at the Kittansett Club, Marion, Mass., over La­ bor Day week-end. The Team will con­ sist of: Joseph B. Carr, Ireland Norman V. Drew, Ireland John D. A. Langley, England Roy C. MacGregor, Scotland Gerald H. Micklem, England John L. Morgan, Wales Arthur H. Perowne, England Ronald J. White, England James C. Wilson, Scotland Lt. Col. A. A. (Tony) Duncan, a Vi elshman who now lives in England, will be the Captain. Li. Col. A. A. Duncan The Captain This selection represents a weighting on the side of experience in Walker Cup play, for seven of the ten players have participated in previous Matches. These are Carr. Langley, Micklem, Morgan, Perowne, White and Wilson. Only Dun­ can. MacGregor and the youthful Drew are untried in this international compe­ tition. Carr and White, mainstays of the last three Teams, will represent Great Britain for the fourth time, the second time in this country. Three others also have played here—Langley, a veteran of two Matches, in 1936; Micklem, also a veteran of two Matches, in 1949; and Perowne, too, in 1949. Wilson was a member of the 1947 Team; and Morgan, a profes­ sional for four years, played only in 1951. Veteran teams are, of course, not young teams; and most of the British players are in their thirties. There are, however, two notable exceptions. Drew’ is only 21, and Perowne is 23. The British side is therefore, on the average, slightly older and more experi­ enced than the United States side. Five of the players were selected by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, last winter — Duncan, Carr, Langley, Morgan and White. Carr sup­ ported the validity of the choices by win­ ning the British Amateur Championship last May. The remainder were selected after that Championship, in which Per­ owne reached the semi-finals and Mac­ Gregor gained the round of sixteen. The British Team will fly to this con­ tinent and land at Montreal, Canada, on Friday morning. August 21. The players will go immediately to the Kanawaki Golf Club, where the Canadian Amateur Cham­ pionship will start on Monday, August 24, and they will participate in that event. As they are eliminated, they will be driv­ en to the Kittansett Club in private cars, so that they will have about a week to get acquainted with that course on the shore of Buzzards Bay. Members of the British team have been invited to compete also in the USGA Amateur Championship, which will be played at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club. Oklahoma City, Okla., from September 14 through 19, and ar­ rangements have been made to fly them there and return them. 8 USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 Joseph B. Carr Norman V. Drew Sporting Chronicle John D. A. Langley The Captain of the British Team, Dun­ can, has not previously participated in Walker Cup Matches, but he was runner- up to Alex T. Kyle in the 1939 British Amateur Championship and has won the Army Championship four times and the Welsh Amateur three times. His father, his mother and his aunt all won Welsh Championships, too. Col. Duncan is a graduate of Balliol College, Oxford, was commissioned into the Welsh Guard and is now an instructor in the Army Staff College at Camberley. He is 38, married and has a 3-year-old son. Sketches of the others follow: Joseph B. Carr Mr. Carr, the British Amateur Champion, is a veteran of the last three British Teams and played in the 1949 Match at the Winged Foot Golf Club. Mamaroneck. N. Y., and in the subsequent Amateur Championship at the Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, N. Y. He is a clothing manufacturer, aged 31 and lives in Dublin, Ireland. In the recent British Amateur, he de­ feated Harvie Ward, 2 up. in the final and beat William C. Campbell in an earlier round. He was a semi-finalist in each of the two previous Championships, losing to Richard D. Chapman in 1951 and to Ward in 1952. In our 1949 Amateur Champion­ ship, he lost to James B. McHale, Jr., in the third round. Mr. Carr has won twice and lost once in Walker Cup singles play. He defeated Ted Bishop, 5 and 4. in 1947; lost to John W. Dawson, 5 and 3, in 1949; and defeated Frank R. Stranahan. 2 and 1, in 1951. Hi-, record in foursomes shows one victory. one tie and one defeat. He and Ronald J. White played in the No. 1 match in each of the last two series, defeating Raymond E. Bil­ lows and William P. Turnesa. 3 and 2. in 1949 and halving Messrs. Campbell and Stranahan in 1951. He is married. Norman V. Drew Mr. Drew is the youngest member of the British Team and is appearing for the first time in Walker Cup play. He has just turned 21 and lives in Belfast, County Down. Northern Ireland. In 1949 he won the Ulster Boys’ Cham­ pionship and was runner-up in the British Boys’ Championship, and the following year he took the North of Ireland Amateur. John D. A. Langley Mr. Langley took his first golf lesson from his father at the age of 3, won the British Boys’ Championship in 1935 and was a member of the Walker Cup Team which played at the Pine Valley Golf Club. Clementon. N. J., in 1936. He was again selected for the Team in 1951; and so, al­ though he is only 35, he will be playing USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 9 Roy C. MacGregor Gerald H. Micklem John L. Morgan Arthur H. Perowne Ronald J. White James C. Wilson in his third Match over a span of seventeen years. He attended Trinity College. Cam­ bridge; lives in London, and is a director of a building trades firm. He lost in the second round of this year’s British Amateur. In the 1936 Match, Mr. Langley lost to Ed \X hite in singles, 6 and 5. and he ami Jack McLean lost to Mr. White and Rey­ nolds Smith in foursomes. 8 and 7. During the subsequent Amateur Championship, he won four matches and then lost to John Goodman. After service as a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force in the Pacific area during the war. he resumed golf and won the English Amateur in 1950. In the 1951 Walker Cup Match, he dropped his singles match to Mr. McHale. 2 down; but he and R. Cecil Ewing halved with Mr. McHale and Charles R. Coe in foursomes. He is active in cricket and squash rac­ quets and is married. 10 USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 Roy C. MacGregor Mr. MacGregor is the third newcomer to the Team, but he has become one of Scot­ land’s foremost players in recent years. He is 39, an iron and steel merchant and lives in Glasgow, Scotland. In the British Amateur last spring, he reached the round of sixteen for the second time, but he lost there to Mr. Perowne. He was a semi-finalist in the Scottish Amateur two years ago. He is married and has two children. Mrs. MacGregor also is a golfer of some renown. Gerald H. Micklem Mr. Micklem won the English Amateur Championship for the second time this year, defeating Mr. White in the final, 5 and 3, and he played with the 1947 and 1949 Teams. A member of the London Stock Exchange, he attended Oxford, lives in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England, and will turn 43 this month. Following war service as a major with the Grenadier Guards in North Africa and Italy, he went to the semi-final of the Brit­ ish Amateur in 1946 and won the English Amateur in 1947. He lost in the second round of the recent British Amateur. In previous Walker Cup appearances, Mr. Micklem has lost singles matches suc­ cessively to Robert H. (Skee) Riegel and to Mr. McHale, and he and Mr. Ewing dropped their foursome to Messrs. Bishop and Riegel in 1949. While here with the 1949 Team, he was beaten by MacGregor Hunter in the first round of our Amateur Championship. John L. Morgan This will be Mr. Morgan’s second appear­ ance with a Walker Cup Team, and his first in this country. He is 35 and a sales engineer in Walsall, Staffordshire, although he was born in Wales. Mr. Morgan’s golf career was interrupted by five years of Army service but he has won the Midlands Amateur in three of the last four years and the Welsh Amateur in two of the last three years. In the 1951 Walker Cup Match, he lost to Mr. Chapman in singles, 7 and 6; and he and James Bruen bowed to Mr. Turnesa and Sam Urzetta in foursomes, 5 and 4. He is married. Arthur H. Perowne Mr. Perowne was the youthful sensation of the British Team which played here in 1949. He went to the fourth round of our Amateur Championship at the Oak Hill Country Club, outlasting all his teammates, before bowing to Mr. Campbell. Now 23, he is a farmer and lives in Norwich, Nor­ folk, England. In the British Amateur last spring, he lost to Harvie Ward in the semi-finals. He won the Swedish Amateur in 1947 and the Norfolk Amateur in 1948, 1951 and 1952. Mr. Perowne lost his singles match to Charles R. Kocsis and he and Kenneth G. Thom dropped their foursome to John W. Dawson and Bruce McCormick here in the 1949 Match. Ronald J. White Mr. White has never been defeated in three Walker Cup Matches, and in spite of his rare appearances in competition he is often rated Great Britain’s best amateur. He is a 32-year-old solicitor and lives in Birkdale, England. Legal responsibilities prevented him from competing in the 1951 and 1952 Brit­ ish Amateur Championships, and he ne­ glected to file his entry in time for the 1953 Championship. He lost to Mr. Mick­ lem in the final of the recent English Ama­ teur, an event which he won in 1949. He was defeated by P. J. Boatwright in the second round of the USGA Amateur in 1949. The list of Mr. White’s victims in Walker Cup singles play is impressive. He beat A. Frederick Kammer, Jr., 4 and 3, in 1947: Mr. Turnesa, 4 and 3, in 1949; and Mr. Coe, 2 and 1, in 1951. He also won his foursomes in 1947 and 1949, but he and Mr. Carr had to settle for a half with Mr. Campbell and Mr. Stranahan in the No. 1 foursome in 1951. He is married and was an RAF pilot dur­ ing the war, retiring with the rank of flight lieutenant. Janies C. Wilson Mr. Wilson is a veteran of the 1947 Team and has represented Scotland four times in the home internationals. He lives in Wes- terton, Dumbarton, Scotland. In the match six years ago at St. Andrews, Scotland, he lost his singles match to Smiley L. Quick and he and Alexander T. Kyle bowed to Messrs. Kammer and Turnesa in foursomes. Two years ago he was runner-up in the Scottish Amateur. USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1933 11 “Reading” Greens By BEN HOGAN USGA Open Champion 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953; British Open Champion 1953 Much to my surprise recently I dis­ covered that most duffers are amazed by the ability of the tournament profession­ als to “read the greens” on strange courses so quickly. By “reading the greens,” of course, I mean the ability of looking over the undulations, slopes and the grass on the putting greens and then deciding how the ball is going to travel after you stroke it. Naturally, this ability is developed only by experience, but there are certain little hints which I will give you which will help you to become proficient at it. If the tournament-playing professionals are more proficient at reading the greens than the ordinary player, it is only be­ cause they have to play on so many dif­ ferent types of greens in the course of a year. On almost all oceanside-course greens everything breaks toward the ocean. When playing mountain courses, putts will always break away from the moun­ tain. This is true even if, in “reading the greens,” it doesn’t look that way to you. Putting greens always slope away from the mountains because of the weather and erosion. What you will have to guard against in reading greens on mountain courses, however, is little things which your knowledge of golf will tell you can’t be true, although they appear to be so to the* naked eye. If you can locate the direction the grain of the green runs, you have won half the battle in your effort to get your putt down. One way of doing it is to look for the shine on the greens as you read them. If you can see a shine on the green when you are lining up your putt, it means that you are putting down the grain of the green. The ball is going to travel very fast. You will have to make allowances for the speed of the ball down the grain. Otherwise, you will be sure to run by the hole several feet and will have another and even more difficult putt coming back against the grain. When I see a shine on the grass on the right side in lining up a putt, I play to the right even if I don’t see a break in the green in that direction because I know the grain is running from right to left. The reverse is true if you see the shine on the left, and you must then make your allowance accordingly. If you are on the other side of the hole looking back toward your ball while trying to line up and see the shine, you will have to putt against the grain. When jou putt against the grain, it stands to reason you have to hit the ball a little harder to reach the hole. Sometimes on a green you will find that the grain of the green breaks to the right while the roll and undulation of the green break to the left. When that hap­ pens, you will have to decide whether you are going to play the grain or the roll. Occasionally in this situation it is a good idea to play the ball straight in the hope that one will offset the other. That is something you must learn for vourself via the trial-and-error method. You should also develop your ability to tell the kinds of grasses on the greens and their consistency through the feel of your feet on them as you walk around. Get so you know the feel of the various grasses used on the greens and their re­ lation to the speed of the ball. That knowledge will be very helpful to you in learning how to putt. Remember in putting that the stroke can’t do it all. You have to know how hard to hit the ball and where to aim it. From Power Golf by Ben Hogan, copy­ right 1948, A. S. Barnes & Company, Inc., i\ ew YorA. 12 USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 The World’s Largest Sand Bunker By c. c. McMullen Cha rman of the Board, Dhahran Golf Association, Saudi Arabia W ith a lusty swing and a conventional divot, the newcomer to golf at the Roll­ ing Hills Country Club in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, may gain ten yards per stroke. Picture, if you will, a sand bunker roughly 100 yards wide and 5,310 yards long, with occasional breaks where the hands of time dumped a few acres ol boulders and hillocks. Greens? Well, maybe not. They are black oiled sand, swept smooth after play by our green-sweepers. Grass is only a memory, and there isn’t a tree in the area. What looks like an easy course from the clubhouse is a nightmare, made no less harrowing by the 120-degree heat and the strong dry winds. Drives are exactly the length of the carry, and any “fairway” stroke not picked clean is probably a hole in your opponent’s favor. A sand-bunker wizard might dote on our approaches, but we have no sand-bunker wizards. The yel- low-and-black out-of-bounds stakes aren’t helpful either. Why try to play? That’s a question best answered by saying, “Once a golfer, always a golfer, regardless of circum­ stances”. . tt — . j.. r. rr alters u: y- ?rtewaSt a Past president of the Dhahran Golf Association, holds the flagstick while Mrs. Mary Scholl and Mrs. Peggy Owen putt on the black, oiled-sand "areens" at the Rolling Hills Country Club. * USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 13 C. C. McMullen, Chairman of the Board of the Dhahran Golf Association, in Saudi Arabia, stands ankle deep in sand to play a "routine" stroke from a sloping lie at the Rolling Hills Country Club. Golf has been played in Saudi Arabia for approximately fifteen years, but it wasn't until November, 1948, that a half dozen enterprisers organized what is now the Dhahran Golf Association. This group has grown from the original six to nearly three hundred, and membership is restrict­ ed to those who own clubs and use them. The purpose of organizing was to con­ struct and maintain an eighteen-hole course, to establish USGA Rules of Golf and to build a clubhouse. The course has been constructed. We subscribe to the foreign services of the USGA and USGA Rules apply. Now that the first objectives have been or soon will be attained, the Board if Directors is looking to the furtherance )f golf. With the blessing of the Arabian- American Oil Company, the main em- pl< yer in this area, a Middle East Golf Association has been formed. Associations in Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been accepted for membership, and the first competition was held on the Ras Tanura course, in Saudi Arabia. An interesting development is the Sau­ di Arab caddies’ penchant for swinging golf clubs. At first, they obviously thought we weren’t quite bright. There was much laughing and posturing at our antics. Now it is considered a caddie’s right to swing a club. We are furthering this in­ terest and intend to hold caddie tourna­ ments. They are a naturally graceful peo­ ple, and we anticipate that some will be­ come quite good. In any event, when they say, Wajid zane’, we feel assured we have completed a really good golf shot. 14 USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 Miss Rawls New Open Champion By JOSEPH C. DEY, JR. USGA Executive Director Seven annual tournaments are now con­ ducted by the United States Golf Associa­ tion, and it is questionable whether any had as fine an inauguration as did the Women’s Open Championship in late June. Actually it was the eighth time a Wo­ men’s Open was held on a national scale, but it was the first under USGA auspices. The USGA assumed sponsorship at the request of the Ladies’ Professional Golf­ ers’ Association. The Country Club of Rochester, N. Y., was the host, and a more favorable home for the tournament would be difficult to imagine. This is an old-line club, found­ ed in 1895. Its members took the 38 en­ trants to their hearts, and it worked the other way, too. The course, playing 6,417 yards in length, was in fine condition and afforded an excellent test for the ladies. The Club provided outstanding commit­ tees under the direction of Otto A. Shults, General Chairman, and Dr. George M. Trainor, Co-Chairman, both of whom had previous experience in planning the 1949 Amateur at nearby Oak Hill. The galleries were large and enthusias­ tic. the play of the game first class, and it was an altogether splendid first Wo­ men’s Open under the USGA banner. Miss Betsy Rawls emerged as Cham­ pion after a playoff. For a young lady of 25, Miss Rawls has a number of real ac­ complishments to her credit. While a stu­ dent at the University of Texas, she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, national hon­ orary scholastic society. In the last four Women’s Open Championships, she has twice won and once been runner-up. In 1950 as an amateur she was runner-up, and she won in 1951 as a professional. This event was conducted on exactly the same lines as the men’s Open—one round Thursday, one round Friday, two rounds Saturday. After 36 holes Miss Pat­ ty Berg held an eight-stroke lead with 144. Her closest rivals were Mrs. Jacque­ line Pung and Miss Mariiynn Smith, each CLIVE HELFERICH Here are his prizes and here his rewards. Just look them over. The best life affords. Gathered to honor him—friends of the years. Nothing to equal them ever appears. Friends who have worked with him, friends who have payed. Add them up—the best score ever made. Proof of man's triumph which better imparts, Name stamped on silver or name stamped on hearts? Here in our district forever his name Is linked with what's known as "the good of the game." Playing to win, but perhaps at the end Losing a golf match, but never a friend. Time was I shared with him many a game. Grateful and glad when those afternoons came. Now only backward I'm able to look But scanning the pages of memory's book Nothing but friendship comes into my mind, Nothing of Clive but is gracious I find. Ours is a debt we can never repay Save by a dinner and words that we say. Still better by far than the fortunes men get Are friends who acknowledge this kind of a debt. So we're gathered tonight in his honor to show How much to Clive Helferich for service we owe. Edgar A. Guest Delivered at the Detroit Golf Club, May 15, 1953 during, a testimonial for Mr. Helferich, prominent Detroit golf official. with 152. Next at 153 came Miss Rawls and Miss Peggy Kirk. But the strokes began to slip away from Miss Berg in the 36-hole closing day, which she played in 80-79 for a 72-hole total of 303. She came to the final hole needing a birdie 3 to win, but her approach was a bit strong and she took 5. Mrs. Pung meanwhile had posted 302, with a closing round of par 74. Miss Rawls, who had 74 in her third round, produced a 75 next and so tied Mrs. Pung. The 18-hole playoff the next dav found Miss Rawls building an early lead, with some brilliant birdies. She played well every stroke the course demanded, went out in 34, and surpassed par by three strokes with 71. Mrs. Pung strove to the USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 15 end, even holing a chip shot on the final hole, but needed 77. everything possible to avoid taking unfair advantage. And so the new USGA trophy went to Spartanburg, S. C., where Miss Rawls was born and where she recently returned after having lived most of her life in Austin, Texas. For Mrs. Pung, it was a remarkably fine performance in her first year as a professional. The jolly Hawaiian matron, mother of two children, won the USGA Women’s Amateur Championship in 1952 and turned professional during the winter. The victory was worth $2,000 to Miss Rawls. Mrs. Pung’s cash prize was $1,250. A total of $7,500 in money was divided among the 12 leading professionals. Six of them are former USGA Women’s Ama­ teur Champions, and it was rather like old times to receive them again in a USGA competition. Miss Patricia Ann Lesser, of Seattle, indicated once more that she is a most promising young amateur with her score of 315, which won a gold pin symbolic of first amateur prize. She was low amateur also in 1951. There is obviously a somewhat restrict­ ed field for women professional golfers. Their opportunities apparently lie mainly with educational institutions, as represent­ atives of golf equipment manufacturers, and as competitors in a growing number of open tournaments. They certainly hon­ ored the game in their first USGA Wo­ men’s Open. In an early round Miss Berg’s approach shot to the home green stopped some five feet from the hole. Her fellow competitor, Miss Patricia Devany, an amateur, played a stroke from perhaps 50 yards off the green which struck Miss Berg’s ball and moved it an appreciable distance. Luder the Rules of Golf. Miss Berg was obliged to replace her ball as near as possible to the spot from which the ball was moved. Miss Berg was not cer­ tain of the precise place where her ball had lain. She first placed the ball several feet farther away than its original lie. When told that was not the proper spot, she did inch it up a bit, but an official had a difficult time trying to persuade her that the ball had been much nearer the hole than she wanted to place it. She did It is pleasant to record that she holed the putt for a birdie 3. USGA PUBLICATIONS OF GENERAL INTEREST THE RULES OF GOLF, as approved by the United States Golf Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, effective January 1, 1952 (1953 edition). Booklet, 25 cents (special rates for quantity orders). ARE YOUR LOCAL RULES NECESSARY?, a reprint of a USGA Journal article containing recom­ mendations regarding local rules. No charge. THE RULE ABOUT OBSTRUCTIONS, a reprint of a USGA Journal article. No charge. USGA GOLF HANDICAP SYSTEM FOR MEN, containing recommendations for computing Basic and Current Handicaps and for rating courses. Booklet, 25 cents. Poster, 10 cents. HANDICAPPING THE UNHANDICAPPED, a re­ print of a USGA Journal article explaining the Callaway system of automatic handicap­ ping for occasional players in a single tourna­ ment. No charge. TOURNAMENTS FOR YOUR CLUB, a reprint of a USGA Journal article detailing various types of competitions. No charge. PROTECTION OF PERSONS AGAINST LIGHTNING ON GOLF COURSES, a poster. No charge. MOTION PICTURES ON GOLF (list). No charge. HOLE-IN-ONE AWARDS. No charge. GLOSSARY OF GOLF TERMS. No charge. AMATEURISM IS IN THE HEART, a reprint of a USGA Journal article by E. G. Grace. No charge. THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION, a pamphlet describing its origin and activities. No charge. BETTER LAWNS TO COME, a reprint of a USGA Journal article. No charge. TURF MANAGEMENT, by H. B. Musser (McGraw- Hill Book Co., Inc.), the authoritative book on greenkeeping. $7. USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT, a 33- page magazine published seven times a year and containing authoritative information on the Rules of Golf, USGA championships, handicapping, amateur status, greenkeeping methods, clubs and ball, new trends and the play of the game. $2 a year. These publications are available on request to the United States Golf Association, 40 East 38th Street, New York 16, N. Y. 16 USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 Tuxedo Gives Way to “Progress” The Tuxedo Club, in Tuxedo Park, N. Y., ancient as golfing life goes in this country, seems about to have its golf course overrun by highspeed automobiles and trucks, and another landmark of golf history will thereby disappear. Tuxedo is, of course, not the first to lose its golf course to a super-highway and it will not be the last. Yet Tuxedo oc­ cupies a unique position in golf history. The Club was founded in the Ramapo hills of Orange County in the early Eighties as a hunting and fishing lodge and community convenient to New York City. One of the early residents there, Dr. E. C. Rushmore, added golf to the facilities by laying out a six-hole course in 1889, on what is now the property of J. Insley Blair. Tuxedo thus had, to the best of our present knowledge, the second course in the New York area, the original St. Andrew’s course having been laid out in Yonkers a year earlier. Philip Allen, Gould Hoyt, Richard Hunt, Jr., William and Edward Kent, Alfred Seton, Norman Simpkins and Walker B. Smith were among those who helped Dr. Rushmore organize the game at Tuxedo. Clubs and balls were provided from Montreal, and the game caught on quickly. Within three years there was a nine hole course at the north gate of the Park, on the land which, as of this writ­ ing, is still in use as the Tuxedo golf course. Only the first hole, however, re­ mains as .it was in 1892. The present 18 holes did not come into existence until 1934. The nine-hole course of the early days lay entirely west of the Ramapo River. The Erie Rail Road tracks and the old Orange turnpike divided the course as they do today. The second hole once crossed the turnpike and the tracks, some­ thing which has been rendered impossible by the modern volume of vehicular traffic on Route 17, the Orange turnpike’s pres­ ent counterpart. In recent years, players have used a tunnel under the highway TURF MANAGEMENT The book "Turf Management," sponsored by the United States Golf Association and edited by Prof. H. B. Musser, is a com­ plete and authoritative guide in the prac­ tical development of golf-course turfs. This 354-page volume is available through USGA, 40 East 38th Street, New York 16, N. Y., the USGA Green Section, Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Md.; the USGA Green Section Western Office, Box 241, Davis, Cal., or the McGraw-Hill Book Co., 330 West 42nd Street, New York 36, N. Y. The cost is $7. and tracks to reach the eastern part of the course. In 1894, Tuxedo invited St. Andrew’s Golf Club, the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and The Country Club, Brookl'ne, Mas.-., to send four-man teams to compete in a match on October 9. Thus Tuxedo be­ came the first club to entertain teams from other clubs. Conflicting reports state that the match W’as won by St. Andrew's and that it was won by The Country Club after a controversial tie w’hich the St. Andrew’s team wras unable to play off. In view of these notable beginnings, it w’as unfortunate that, through inadvert­ ence, the Tuxedo Club w’as not among those invited to become founders of the USGA in December, 1894. However, Tuxedo was one of the first Clubs to join the original five founders in the USGA. In September, 1953, the New’ York S'ate Highway Commission plans to start building a section of the new Thru-way from New York to Buffalo and the West through the middle of the course. It will not be feasible to continue play on the two separate segments which will remain, and the Club already is studying new sites. USGA Journal and Turf Management: August, 1953 17 A Senior Member-Guest Event One of the problems of club tourna­ ment committees is to find competitive events which will attract the senior golfer as more and more members reach the senior class. Most member-guest four-ball tourna­ ments are played over one week-end. This usually necessitates thirty-six holes on at least one day, which discourages many seniors. To provide competitions for seniors, the Seawane Harbor Club, on Long Is­ land, inaugurated a few years ago a Senior Member-Guest Four-Ball Invita­ tion to be played on a nine-hole basis. Mr. C. E. Murray has been kind enough to describe this tournament for us. Ail regular rules of play obtain with the fol­ lowing exceptions: Players must be 53 years or more. On the first day the first and second rounds and first round of the beaten eights are played, all on a nine-hole basis. On the second day, semi-final and final rounds, again on a nine-hole basis, are held. No qualifying round is held, but entries announcing each guest’s name and handicap must be in by the Wednesday preceding the event. Entries are taken in order of their receipt. At the tenth tee, the first winning team awaits the second winning team. Teams change accordingly and start the second . round. Similarly at the tenth tee, the first losers meet the second losers, thus starting the first round of the beaten eights. In case of a halved match at the ninth, the match continues as started but changes at the first winning hole of the second nine. The other winning team of the first nine continues play with its opponents, keeps its score and matches cards from the tenth tee on with the new opponents when change is made in teams. The semi-final and final rounds on the second day follow the same procedure. Teams are drawn by the committee to establish order of play. Owing to the nature of the tournament, it is absolutely necessary that all players be ready