Bulletin of the Green Section of the U. S. Golf Association Vol. Ill Washington, D, C., February 23, 1923 No. 2 A MONTHLY PERIODICAL TO PROMOTE THE BETTERMENT OF GOLF COURSES CONTENTS Applying Corrosive Sublimate and Liquid Manure with Watering Cart. W. R. Hurd, 2d ................................ -................. ’...................................................... 26 Furthering Public Golf. James D. Standish, Jr................................................. 26 What Organization Can Accomplish for Public Golf. James D. Standish, Jr. 32 The Emphatic Need of Public Golf. Sylvanus P. Jermain................................. 34 Public Golf at the Capital of the Nation. Col. C. O. Sherrill.......................... 37 Notes on Public Links Golf..................................................................................... 39 Why Publid Links Players Should Organize Clubs. W. G. Curtis.................. 40 How Deep Should the Cup be Placed Below Surface of Green? J. J. Mc­ Namara ....................... ..... ................ ............................ -................................ 42 Golf Architecture on Public Links................................................................. 43 New Member Clubs of the Green Section... ...... 43 Some U. S. Golf Association Decisions on the Rules of Golf.... ....... 44 Second Amateur Public Links Championships of U. S. Golf Association........... 44 Questions and Answers_______________________________ ...______ _______ 45 Proceedings of the Twenty-Ninth Annual Meeting of U. S. Golf Association... 48 Meditations of a Peripatetic Golfer.__________________________ :_______ 68 MEMBERS OF THE GREEN COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED *Dr. C. V. Piper, Chairman Dr. R. A. Oakley, Vice-Chairman *E. J. Marshall, Vice-Chairman W. A. Alexander Frank B. Barrett A. C. U. Berry J. K. Bole Wm. F. Brooks C. B. Buxton A. H. Campbell N. Stuart Campbell W. C. Ferguson Wm. C. Fownes, Jr. *Dr. Walter S. Harban Dr. Thos. p. Hinman A. J. Hood Frederic C. Hood Norman Macbeth L. C. Menager Sherrill Sherman James L. Taylor *Wynant D. Vanderpool *Alan D. Wilson Frank L. Woodward nverness Club Old Elm Club Hollywood Golf Club Waverly Country Club Mayfield Country Club Minikahda Club Dallas Country Club Toronto Golf Club Agawam Hunt Club Glen Echo Country Club Oakmont Country Club Columbia Country Club Druid Hills Golf Club Detroit Golf Club The Country Club Wilshire Country Club Florida Country Club Yahnundasis Golf Club Ekwanok Country Club Morris County Golf Club Pine Valley Golf Club Denver Country Club STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION Washington, D. C. Washington, D. C. Toledo, Ohio Fort Sheridan, Ill. Deal, N. J. Portland, Oreg. South Euclid, Ohio. Minneapolis, Minn. Dallas, Tex. Toronto, Ont. Providence, R. I. Normandy, Mo. Pittsburgh, Pa. Washington, D. C. Atlanta, Ga. Detroit, Mich. Brookline, Mass. Los Angeles, Cal. Ortega, Fla. Utica, N. Y. Manchester, Vt. Convent Station, N. J. Clementon, N. J. Denver, Colo. * Executive Committee member. PERMANENT MEMBERS Hugh I. Wilson, Merion Cricket Club. Haverford, Pa. W. R. Walton, Washington, D. C Lyman Carrier, Washington, D. C. F. H. Hillman, Washington, D. C. Published by the Green Committee of the United States Golf Association, 456 Louisiana Ave­ nue, Washington, D. C. Subscription price: To golf clubs that are members of the Green Section of the U. S. Golf Association, {4.00 per year (included in membership fee). Entered as second-class matter December 16, 1921, at the post office at Washington, D. under the Act of March 3. 1«79. Copyright, 1923, by the Green Committee of the U. S. Golf Association. 26 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. Hi, No. a An Expression of Appreciation The Public Links Section of the United States Golf Association ex­ tends its sincere thanks to the Green Section for their splendid co­ operation in devoting this issue of The Bulletin in the interests of spread­ ing the doctrine of golf at a lower cost. We hope that much benefit will result from the statistics and articles, and that we may be of increasing service to the game in 1923. James D. Standish, Jr., Chairman, Public Links Committee, United States Golf Association Applying corrosive sublimate and liquid manure with a -watering cart.—By the old method of applying worm eradicator, when watering a green 70 feet square it takes six men four hours to cover the green and remove the worms after making the application. With a 50-gallon water­ ing cart such as we use it takes four men an hour and a half to apply the worm eradicator. We haye one of these men sweep the greens with a green sweeper, removing the worms much more satisfactorily, and, as far as we can see, doing no damage to the greens although they are wet. The chief advantages of the watering-cart method over the old method are more direct applications and more worms secured; also a reduction in cost namely, the difference in cost of six men working four hours against four men working an hoilr and a half. We use corrosive sublimate, in the pro­ portion of 2 ounces to 50 gallons of water.-—Mr. W. R. Hurd, 2d, Golf Di­ vision, United Shoe Machinery Athletic Association, Beverly, Mass. Does your greenkeeper get The Bulletin? He is the man upon whom you are depending for the success of your One of the two copies of The Bulletin sent to each club is intended for turf. the greenkqeppr. Additional copips may be obtained at the regular subscription rate. Furthering Publip Golf James D. Standish, Jr. The first Public and Municipal Links Committee of the United States Golf Association was appointed by President J. F. Byers on February 1, 1922, as a result of the rapidly increasing public interest in golf and. in the hope that such a eommitttee would prove useful to individuals or communities interested in making golf possible at a minimum expense. This committee as originally constituted, consisted of Albert D. Locke of Boston, Robert W. MpKinlay of Chicago, Grant­ land Rice of New York, S. P. Jermain of Toledo, Malcolm McGregor of Detroit, and the writer as chairman. With no experience on which to base their activities, this committee undertook as its first enterprise the establishment of an amateur Championship for Public Links Golfers. After considerable thought, it was decided that the event should be open to amateurs who were not members nor had the privileges of any club Feb. n, iws UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 27 jn-aiatainiug and supporting its own golf course. This championship, which was. held at Toledo, Ohio, brought forth an entry which far exceeded expectations, and it became at once apparent that the con­ templated scope of activities of the Public Links Committee would have to be eoaasiderably broadened. Letters of inquiry were received from all sections of the United States requesting data on the development of public courses, cost of construction, costs of upkeep, etc., so the committee decided to gather such information as it thought would be useful to new golfiing enter­ prises. The information in this number of The BxjlIiEtin records the results of this attempt to secure such data. It must be realized that all the figures can not be absolutely accurate, but they may serve as a useful guide for any community attempting the establishment of a pub­ lic golf course, without any previous experience in this line. There are so many different types of so-called public courses that no definite opinion can be offered as to which produces the best results and is most desirable. The most pronounced example, however, of how a course can pay dividends, is the Harlem. Golf Course in Chicago. This course consists of eighteen holes, not bunkered or trapped in any way, yet the individuals who own this course cleared $43,000 in 1921 and in the neighborhood of $75,000 in 1922 by throwing it open to the public and selling daily tickets at $2 each. This simply shows how successful a omirse for profit can be made in a golfing community. Another ex­ treme exists in Toledo, Ohio, a city with a population of 243,000, which maintains three courses, no fee being charged for their use. These are constantly kept up to a playing standard very little behind that of the better private courses in the country. The players at the National Pub­ lic Links Championship held there in-August were astonished at the condition and quality of the links, and many went home to their re­ spective cities filled with enthusiasm over the possibilities of public course play. That the object-lesson taught at Toledo has borne fruit, is evident from information received from various cities that many im­ provements are being made in public courses and new standards of play established as a result of Toledo’s example—all credit to Mr. S. P. Jer- main, who has given much of his time for years to the betterment of Toledo parks, and as long ago as 1898 built the first municipal golf course in the United States at Ottawa Park. Statistics show, however, that there are courses which increase a municipality’s revenues, courses which break even, and courses which cost the city varying amounts. The chart which is appended seems to show that most public courses are actually earning money for their pro­ prietors, a condition which is not desirable, for by the judicious use of these profits the quality of the course can be greatly improved and the landscape of the park can be much beautified; better still, a fund can be established for the development of additional facilities which it seems desirable to add as the demand for golf increases. The situation in Detroit is a particularly interesting one. Certainly one would expect that the fourth city in the United States would extend to its citizens adequate golfing facilities, but on the other hand, it was only with great difficulty that permission was secured last April from the City Council to build a short nine-hole course in Belle Isle Park, 28 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE v< in, w s This course was opened May 30, 1922, and from then until December 1,” over 56,000 rounds have been played. As the charge has been 25 cents a round or $3. a month, it seems fair to estimate the revenues from playing fees alone at $12,000. Thus a considerable surplus was left over from construction expense during the first six months and will be turned into a fund for the development of a second course. It is per­ tinent to note that the maintainenee force consisted of only one manager, one clerk, one starter, one ranger, one grounds foreman, and three laborers. There also was a professional, who, however, did not receive a salary but gained his remuneration from lessons which he gave for $1 per half hour. In Philadelphia also there is only one course open to the public, but that is a fine one. It is located in Cobbs Creek Park. 20 minutes’ ride from the city, and the demand for more adequate facilities was demon­ strated by the fact that 80,045 rounds of 18 holes were played there between May, 1921, and May, 1922. This experience is not extraordinary. It is simply typical of the fact that, in every ease reported, public courses have been filled to capacity and without exception have been considered complete successes by their proprietors. The most striking example of progressiveness in number of courses is Chicago, where there are today located 12 courses of 18 Wes each and six of 9 holes'each. Surely this would seem sufficient to care for all public links players; but the Forest Preserve Commissioners are fully alive to the drawing value of golf in the preserves and are planning at least two new 18-hole courses at present. In addition, there are more than twenty-five good locations in the preserves which will probably be developed in the next few years. The most numerously attended course in Chicago is Lincoln Park, a- course of 9 holes, where 107,624 tickets for rounds were sold in 1921, a truly wonderful record. Of the smaller cities, which offer golfing facilities to the public, Springfield, III, stands as a good example. ’With a population of 75.000, two courses are kept busy during the playing season and no charge is made for playing. At Bunn Park there is an 18-hole course, two miles and a half from the center of the city, accessible by trolley and with pavement direct to it. The Park Board estimates that $14,000 is spent yearly on this course, which indicates that it is kept up in good shape. The other course, one of 9 holes, is located at Bergen Park, still closer to the city and the cost of upkeep there amounts to about $5,000 a year. Surely this establishes the fact that Springfield is one of the most pro­ gressive of the smaller cities in the United States in respect to golf. Statistics have been gathered from as many cities as possible and show a great variation, particularly in cost, of upkeep. It must be borne in mind that these figures vary, because of different methods of book­ keeping; and in some eases no figures can be given, because the cost of the golf is included in the cost of the upkeep of the entire park where the course is located. Surely this must be the case in San Francisco, where the estimated cost of the 18-hole courses amounts to the excessive figure of $22,000 a year. Other cities also show discrepancies attributa­ ble directly to accounting methods. Here, following this article, is a tabulation of the data gathered by the Public Links Committee, which it is hoped will be of use to anyone eontempalting the development of a golf course for the public. Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLD ASSOCIATION 29 A List of Public Courses in the United States, with Information Concern­ ing Each. City Population Name of Park where located No. of holes Chai rge per day per year Players during 1922 Upkeep and operating expense For further information address New York City 5,621,000 Van Cortland Chicago, Ill. Masholu Pelham Bay 2,700,000 Glencoe Forest Highland Park Skokie Playfield Green View Evanston Playmore Golf Budlong Woods Big Oaks Edgewood Forest Lincoln Columbus Garfield Harlem Green Valley Jackson Marquette Palos Hills Jackson 18 18 18 18 9 18 9 18 18 18 18 18 9 9 9 18 18 18 18 18 9 M $1 $10 $10 not 2000 Permits yet comple $45,000 For all ;ed C. H. M. Atherton 347 East 74th St. i-public cou i-public cou -public cou -public cou Sem Sem Sem Bern $30 rse rse rse rse Ready in Ready in Ready in i-public cou May, 1923 May, 1923 May, 1923 rse Sem A. T. Packard care Chicago Evening Post or Robert McKinlay 537 County Bldg Sem i-public cou rse SI 15 eta 15 cts 15cts $2 25 cts 20 cts 50 cts 15 cts Philadelphia, Pa. 2,000,000 Cobb’s Creek 18 50 cts $10 80.045 $12,000 E. D. Mendell Detroit, Mich. 1,000,000 Belle Ide 9 25 cts 57,000 Cleveland, Ohio 900,000 Highland 18 75 cts $25 205 South 9th St. self sus­ taining W. G. Curtis care National Casualty Co. $21,000 H. H. Bandy Hippodrome Bldg $18,719 Bonner Miller 1000 N. 22nd St. 500 season 48000 daily not counted St. Louis, Mo. 773,000 Boston, Mass. 750,000 Forest Forest Franklin Franklin 18 9 18 9 No c harge No c harge 30,000 $6,000 Albert D. Locke 179 Lincoln St. Los Angeles, Cal. 750,000 Griffith 18 50 cts $10 100,288 $2,000 per month Mrs. A. E. Trabue 4432 Franklin Ave. Baltimore, Md. 734,000 Clifton 18 No c harge 600 per day No record M. Mel. Dukehart McComas and Race Sts. Pittsburg, Pa. 588,000 Schenley Buffalo, N. Y. . 592,000 Delaware South San Francisco, Cal. 550,000 Lincoln 18 18 9 18 $3 3147 permits $10,428 John J. Burke care Internal Revenue Service No harge 95,450 48,400 $14,000 $6,000 Thomas. P. McAuliffe Main St. 50 cts $7 85,800 $22,000 R. D. Lapham 503 Market St. 30 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. in, No. 2 City Population Name of Park where located No. of holes Charge per day per year Players during 1522 Upkeep and operating expense For further information address Minneapolis, Minn. 500,000 Columbia Glenwood Milwaukee. Wis. 500,000 Lincoln Lake County Cincinnati, Ohio 500.000 Avon Short Woods 9 18 9 6 18 18 9 15ctsa 25ctsa round round No c No c 35etsa large large round 97,986 *4,615 40,000 $2,000 $2,000 $10,000 E; O. G. Head So. Milwaukee 50cts $10 23,750 $10,370 Thos. Craighead care Craighead Elec­ trical Engineers New Orleans, La. 450,000 City 6 25 cts Washington, D. C. 438,000 E. Potomac W. Potomac 25cts iso 18 9 63,000 24,000 self sus­ taining Henry.L. West 2659 Connecticut Ave. Newark, N. J. 414,000 Weequanic 9 25 cts SI 1832 Kansas City, Mo. 400,000 Swope 18 50ets *10 self sus­ taining J. E. Daly 1108 Salem St. G. E. Martin 407 West 8th St. Seattle, Wash. 315,500 Jefferson Indianapolis, Ind. 315.000 Riverside South Grove Pleasant Run C.E. Coffin St. Paul, Minn. 313,000 Phalen Rochester, N. Y. 296,000 Genesse Durand Eastman Denver, Col. 265,000 City Toledo, Ohio 243,000 Ottawa Jermain Bay View Louisville, Ky. 236,000 Cherokee Omaha, Neb. 200,000 Miller Atlanta, Ga. 200,000 Elmwood Fonterelle Piedmont Jas. L. Key Worcester, Mass. 180,000 Lincoln Syracuse, N. Y. 180.000 Burnet 18 18 18 9 18 18 18 9 18 18 9 9 18 9 18 9 9 9 9 9 50 cts $10 73,442 $15,090 75 cts 25 cts 50 cts 75 cts 65,120 80,657 $11,500 $10,629 Just opened 35,820 $3,900 Harry Schopp South Grove Golf Links 10 cts $5 Noc harge 50 cts $6 60,000 No 0 barge 75,240 self sus­ taining $15,000 total S. P. Jermain P.O. Box 362 No c harge 40,282 $4,000 W. I. Hunt No c harge 25 eta 25 cts 50,000 5,000 care Cherokee Golf Club Thos. B, Paine care Trust Co. of Georgia SI S7 400 $5,231 Dr. T. C. McSheehy No c harge 86 Vernon St. 1 Feb. 28, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 31 City Population Name of Park where located No. of holes Charge per day per year Players during 1922 Upkeep and operating expense For further information address San Antonio, Tex. 163,000 Brackenridge 18 No c barge $7,800 J. H. Lapham Dayton, Ohio 153,000 Hills-Dales 18 50 cts $10 250 Brahan Blvd. 1,005 members $15,000 G. W. Klockson 113 East 3rd St. Bridgeport, Conn. 143,000 Beardsley 9 No c harge 70,000 $3,700 P. V. Gahan Room 502, 1st Nat'l Bank Bldg George Smart 80 Pearl St. Hartford, Conn. 135,000 Goodwin 18 No c harge Des Moines, Iowa 126,500 Grandview Waveland Spokane, Wash. 125,000 Down River South Bend. Ind. 85,000 Studebaker V 18 18 9 9 50 cts $5 40,000 50,000 $5,000 $5,000 50 cts $10 15 cts 25,172 $4,500 Ralph J. Keltner St. Joseph, Mo. 80,000 18 No c harge Long Beach, Cal. 75,000 Anaheim 18 50 cts $20 Springfield, III. 75,000 Bunn Bergen No c harge 18 9 City Hall J. W. Mytton . Forsee Bldg 2'400 a month $565 a month S. F. DuRee Dept. Public Recrea­ tion $14,000 $5,000 James Abels care Franklin Life Ins. Co. Racine, Wis. 59,000 City 9 10 cts 22,000 $5,000 E. C. Billings 310 10th St. O. W. Allen 1st National Bank Springfield, Ohio 40,000 City Sioux Falls, S. D. 27,000 Sherman Sherman Wilmington, Del. 110,168 Delaware 9 6 9 10 cts 15,700 $1,000 City Auditor 18 50 cts $25 19,000 $6,500 H. L. Tatnall 1500 Rodney St. Lancaster, Pa. 53,150 i 9 9 This list does not claim to be absolutely complete, and any' additional data which will add to its usefulness will be" much appreciated. ’ Sueh information should be sent to the chairman of the Public Links Com­ mittee, the personnel of which is given elsewhere in this number of The Bulletin. Any member of this committee will be glad to assist the pro­ moters of a public course at any time, and solicits inquiries concerning any particular point which may not be covered in these statistics. We want to be of assistance in spreading and popularizing the game of golf in every desirable way. So please call on us. 32 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. in. No. 2 What Organization Can Accomplish for Public Golf James D. Standish, Je. One of the most common complaints which comes to the Public Links Committee of the United States Golf Association is that public links are not kept in proper playing condition, and that the money received by the proprietors as fees is not expended for the betterment of the golf areas but is turned to other channels not of direct benefit to the golf players. A most glaring example of this condition has existed in New York City for some time, but recently through the efforts of Mr. C. M. H. Atherton, who is a member of the United States Golf Association Com­ mittee, the New York Municipal Golf Association has been formed, the principal object of which is to bring about better public links conditions in New York City. In reply to a letter requesting information on the subject of this newly-formed association, *Mr. Atherton wrote the fol­ lowing letter, which may suggest a method of procedure to other com­ munities which are experiencing difficulty in convincing local authorities that golf links should be kept up to a certain standard of condition to render a maximum of service to the golfing public: New York, N. Y., January 28, 1923. Dear Mr. Standish:— In answer to your letter of the 23d asking for an article on the formation of the New York Municipal Golf Association, I must tell you that I am no writer, hut I will tell you how the Association was formed, and, as far as I am able, what are its objects. The Van Cortlandt Park golf course, which is the one most heavily patronized by the golfers of New York, because of its accessibility, was in’ terrible shape in the summer of 1921. Individual protests were continual, but nothing was done to improve conditions on the course, and it looked as if the same condi­ tions would prevail during the following year. In the winter of 1921-1922 it was announced that the permit fee would be raised from $5 to $10. This an­ nouncement was received with indignation by the New York golfers, for it was well known that of the $65,000 paid into the municipal treasury by them dur­ ing 1921 for permits, about $40,000 had been appropriated to park uses, and of this $40,000 only $15,000 was spent directly on the upkeep of the golf courses, three in number, or about $5,000 to each course, the remainder having been used for baseball diamonds, tennis courts, etc. Shortly after hearing this news, I asked a representative from each of the five clubs using the public links to go with me, as a committee, to have a conference with the Commissioner of Parks. At this conference we said to him, “We come here as a committee representing about 500 golfers to inquire why the permit fee has been raised, and also to find out whether there will be a proportionate increase in the amount appropriated directly to the public courses,” or words to that effect. We were made to under­ stand that the commissioner had no interest in golf. We said to him, “There will be a big kick from the golfers if this raise goes into effect, and no improve­ ment in the courses is made.” He replied, “Let them kick.” Thereupon we de­ cided that the only way to effect any improvement in conditions was to rouse the great body of golfers to such a point that an association would be formed, with enough voting power to compel the city authorities to sit up and take notice. Accordingly I wrote an explanatory pamphlet, and it was spread broadcast over the three public courses. The five clubs using the public links then voted to become members of the proposed association, giving us a membership at the start of about 500. The summer of 1922 found the courses in far worse con­ dition than in 1921, although the permit fee had been doubled, and, although protests were numerous, nothing was done in the way of improvement, and the golfers decided that if anything was ever to be done to make the courses play­ Feb. 23, 1S23 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 33 able they themselves would have to see that it was done. Accordingly a meeting was held recently, at which the association was formally inaugurated, officers elected, and plans made for the summer of 1923, which we hope will bear fruit. The chairman of our green committee is, we believe, a most efficient man; and prominent men in various walks of life have been appointed to other com­ mittees. We hope to bring such pressure to bear on the city authorities that they will come to understand that the golfers of New York form a very sub­ stantial part of its voting population and that what they are legitimately en­ titled to must be accorded them. Very truly yours, Chas. M. H. Atherton. The New York Municipal Golf Association has the assurance of the backing of the Metropolitan Golf Association, and it will indeed be a surprise if this great body of golfers can not bring about a change in conditions at Van Cortlandt Park which will thoroughly satisfy the golfers playing there. This movement endorses the article on the ad­ vantages of organization by Mr. W. G. Curtis, which is published else­ where in this number of The Bulletin, and is a matter which should be given careful attention in all golfing centers. The Public Links Commit­ tee of the United States Golf Association is most anxious to be of as­ sistance to any groups planning organization, and any advice as to details of management that can be given will receive the closest attention. In Chicago, the Cook County Municipal Golf Association has been in existence some years, and the fact that public links golf is more ad­ vanced there than in any other city in the United States bears testimony to the value of that association of public spirited individuals. Mr. Robert W. McKinlay, who is president of this organization, writes in a most instructive manner of the way they do things in the middle west: Chicago, Ill., January 28, 1923. Dear Mr. Standish:— Chicago is today unquestionably the center of the public course movement in America. During this year there will be twelve public courses open to the general public, where the game of golf can be enjoyed at a very nominal fee. In addition there will be in the neighborhood of ten semi-public courses, which also will be available to the public upon payment of a fee averaging $1 week­ days except Saturdays and holidays, on the latter days, with Sunday included, a fee of $1.50 to $2. Notwithstanding all of these courses already referred to there will be literally thousands of men and women whose only chance to play is on Saturday, Sunday and holidays, who will be barred because of the con­ gestion. Some idea may be had of the condition when it is known that at Jackson Park, on an 18-hole course, 124,584 golfers teed off between March 25 and December 15, 1922. Contrast with this the fact that at Olympia Fields, with three 18-hole courses in operation, only 60,000 teed off, this being a private club. Notwithstanding that we are far from realizing the number of courses which are needed in Chicago and Cook County, I have taken an interest in the pub­ lic course movement in other portions of our country, having received and an­ swered many letters of inquiry as to how to proceed to secure a course. Re­ cently I was invited to Jacksonville, III., and addressed a large and enthusiastic gathering of men and women golfers. Steps were taken at this meeting to form a central Illinois municipal association composed of public course clubs in cities such as Springfield, Peoria, and others. At Jacksonville there is at pres­ ent a 9-hole course, and the players there are bringing pressure to bear on the Park Board to extend the same into an 18-hole course. In order to help them I have secured a promise from “Chick” Evans to play an exhibition match on Sunday, June 3, with some other well-known player. This event will attract hundreds of people from Jacksonville and surrounding towns and cities and 34 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE Vol. in, No. 2 the effect undoubtedly will be to clear the way for the 18-hole course by making an impression upon the minds of the members of the Park Board. It is my ambition to see the movement grow (and it is rapidly growing) to the end that every town of 2,500 or more population in the State of Illinois can boast of its municipal golf course. Golf is unquestionably destined to be the national game of America, and if the friends of the movement will organize in their respective communities they can secure favorable action from park boards, city councils, and other govern­ mental agencies. President, Cook County Municipal Golf Association. Robert W. McKinlay, Much enthusiasm can always be aroused by exhibition matches, and leading players throughout the country are always glad to help along the growth of the game of golf by lending their services. Especially in smaller communities is this method of value in stimulating interest, and a large number of converts to the game generally results. The United States Golf Association Executive Committee hopes that the organization of a national municipal association under its jurisdic­ tion will not be long delayed, but until such time as smaller units are formed and functioning, it does not seem feasible to proceed with the project of an all-inclusive association. With municipal golf proceeding as rapidly as it is at present, however, the day of such a national organi­ zation does not seem far away. The Emphatic Need of Public Golf1 Sylvanus Pierson Jermain President of the Toledo District Golf Association Every city or community planning a movement for public golf should first make a comprehensive survey of all possible golf course sites in its public parks. If there be a Forest Preserve Commission, or if the county commissioners have under their control tracts of available and suitable land, these should be included in such survey and its specific report. Having determined these facts, a definite “starting base” and “talking point” is established. Generally speaking, any such move­ ment will occur in a city district having a number of (or possibly many) country clubs. From these a local committee should be formed, of pub­ lic-spirited men, to take the matter actively in hand. What golf has done for them it will do for “the other fellow.” If a district golf association exists, a public golf committee from its organization is very effective. These committees may find that none of the public officials ever played golf and hence it does not appeal to them. It may even have their active hostility. They need to be converted to the idea by being introduced to, and converted to the game itself. A visit to any of the country clubs and an afternoon or two upon the beau­ tiful courses will prove a revelation and delight to them. It will open to them a new life of the best kind of happiness. It will bring a return of their boyhood days. To many it will be a genuine emancipation and rebirth of youth. In no other way can anyone really understand the appeal of golf, its real meaning and need in a mature man’s life. This 1 Reprinted from “Golf Illustrated.” Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 35 ‘‘missionary work” is therefore very fruitful in results highly to the benefit of the public. It leads directly to official action. In many com­ munities the commissioners referred to have all necessary legal powers to set aside such specific park sites or public lands for golf courses—also to supply the funds for construction and maintenance. Ordinarily no elaborate legislation or ordinances are necessary. The official approval of a brief resolution “to establish a public golf course” in any park designated, is sufficient. No matter where the public authority is vested, it is also necessary, early in the propaganda, to make clear to the public mind that the establishing of playgrounds of that character is one of the best expressions of democracy. Many of our American cities are wisely giving heed to the demand for public golf. It makes a common privilege of an otherwise especial privilege. It is a wisely established “social safety valve” and reaches deep into fundamental things concerning equality of opportunity. It “gives the lie direct” to the demagogue when he yelps that “golf is a rich man’s game.” It absolutely removes one of the sharpest contrasts that create social discontent and turmoil. In the local educational work the press is a powerful ally. All over the country, newspaper men are playing golf in ever increasing numbers. 'This is because of the golf courses in the parks. They are its ardent and able champions. The editorial rooms of all of our Toledo papers have their golf teams and annual team championships. A “call” to them at any time will bring convincing messages of help. As to the amount of money needed, that cannot be determined definitely at first. The begin­ ning can be a modest one—a nine-hole course with very little bunkering. In most city parks considerable open spaces will be found. In others sparse growths of underbush can be cheaply cleared away. In these cases the cost of laying out the course will be comparatively small. Conditions vary so much in different locations that no “hard and fast rule” of either cost or maintenance can be laid down at first. Experience, however, has proven so many times that whatever a public golf course costs it is worth it many times over. That is the acid test of anything. To give public golf a first foothold in any community is therefore the thing of vital importance. All that depends upon the initial support won over to it. If such support justifies the building of an eighteen-hole course “right off the bat,” do it by all means. Each community can alone judge best the local situation. No community should begin with the policy of “revenue producing” or “profit earning” golf. It has led to even the existence of wringing a large profit from the public golfer. It has re­ sulted in that being exploited by the authorities as an official achieve­ ment, whereas it was a conspicuous failure in the true science of gov­ ernment. It should always be borne in mind that “it is not how much a city expends upon its public works or its public service, but whether it is wisely spent and so as to produce continuously satisfactory results in the conditions of the people.” In this their health and happiness are major factors and public golf is one of the chief promoters of them both. Naturally enough, some of those who start a public golf course movement think it necessary to say to the authorities “if you will build the course it will be self-sustaining by means of the fees you can collect.” This has led in many quarters, to the idea that public golf cannot be in­ 36 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. in, No. s augurated in any other way. In the final analysis this is “getting away to the wrong kind of start.” Mature consideration and experience will therefore reveal that it is a fundamental error to make a charge for the playing of any game ordinarly suitable in a public park. If any one game is selected for such charge and the rest are free, that is discrimination. If they are all in­ cluded the basic freedom of the parks, in their various recreational ac­ tivities, is lost. They become places of special privileges as a fee is ex­ acted for their use and enjoyment, and those who either cannot or do not pay are excluded from such use or enjoyment. Individual permits should be required and registration, but without charge. Thus the play can be systematically and strictly regulated and the rules more readily enforced. Properly handled this can always be done. It often happens where an individual has paid for such a privilege he selfishly takes more liberty with the rules and rights of others than if the permit were free. Paying for a permit does not necessarily make a player more orderly in his conduct. The governing of the game under a free permit can always be made thoroughly effective by the authorities. As a matter of fact, a public official has a far more drastic power in controlling the con­ duct of a player upon a public golf course by punishing him for wilful infraction of rules and the rights of others, than any official in a country club has or ever can have. He can arrest such an offender. To thousands of people these games are the entire reason for going to the parks. The playground activities of our parks have a tremendous power for the health and happiness of the rank and file of the people. If the public golf courses or the tennis courts or the baseball diamonds are inadequate, then more should be provided. To any city with its accumulated wealth, both municipally and individually, adequate play­ ground facilities, of all kinds, should be no problem at all. Public golf is the pioneer publicly played game, from the free land or park standpoint. It had its birth upon the community lands of Scot­ land—the free lands along the ocean-side—and among the very first public parks. Its annals are replete with all that is best in the demo­ cratic and common fellowship of man. It appeals very powerfully to me that our American cities, and especially those in leadership, should see to it that they do not fall short. The absolutely free opportunity to play golf in our beautiful parks marshals the most inspiring pageant of pub­ lic recreation. One afternoon at any tee upon a popular public course of any American city, “watching the parade go by,” is a revelation. I sincerely hope that a nation-wide movement may be inaugurated for free public golf. It is the grand old game’s time honored heritage which we are in honor bound to realize and to fulfill. Professional Golfers’ Register.—A register of professional golfers is main­ tained by the Professional Golfers’ Association. Clubs desiring the services of a competent professional are invited to make their wants known to the Secretary, Professional Golfers’ Association, 366 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y* BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN Volume I (1921) has been reprinted and may be obtained in one cover for §2*25. Feb. 28, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 37 Public Golf at the Capital of the Nation Col. C. O. Sherrill The public golf links at Washington are not, as might naturally be supposed, operated by the municipal authorities, but are located in the city’s public parks, which are owned and operated by the Federal Gov­ ernment and administered by the Chief of Engineers of the Army through an officer of that corps whose official title is the Officer in Charge of Public Buildings and Grounds. The second largest area in this park system, known as Potomac Park, contains about 739 acres, which have been built up by the deposit upon what was known as the “Potomac Flats,” of material dredged from the river in the process of improving the navigable channel of the stream. These flats were noisome marshes bare at low tide, and the dredged material has covered these with a rich deposit of alluvial soil capable of producing a spontaneous rich growth of vegetation. The work of improving this park was commenced in 1902 and consisted of grading, constructing roads and lawn surfaces, planting, etc.; but nothing was done in the way of supplying facilities for golf until 1914, when a three-hole practice course was constructed in West Potomac Park. This course, however, was not much used until 1919, when from 8,000 to 10,000 players availed themselves of its privileges during the course oi the year, while in 1920 it was used by over 11,000 players. The enlargement of this course to nine holes was completed in Septem­ ber, 1921, and it is now used by beginners who are not qualified to play on the East Potomac Park course. The plan favored by the Federal authorities for the improvement of Potomac Park contemplates the development of its eastern section, which embraces nearly half the area of the entire park, as a vast recrea­ tion ground provided with a stadium, a large field house, baseball fields, tennis courts, golf courses, etc. Thus far, however, these recreation facilities, because of limited funds, have been confined to the construc­ tion of golf links, of which there are now two nine-hole courses, and the erection of the two wings of the field club house. The construction of the first of the nine-hole courses in this eastern section was commenced in 1918 and completed in 1920. In laying out and building this course the advice of prominent golf architects and ex­ pert players was freely availed of, with the result that a course has been produced which, while only slightly undulating owing to the na­ tural topography of the ground, is pronounced to be one of the best in this vicinity. The course was opened to the public in July, 1920. The completion of the two wings of the field house, for which special funds had been provided, was coincident with the completion of the course. One of these wings is used by men and one by women. Each wing is provided with lockers and showers, and the use of these by patrons of the course is included in the nominal sum charged for games. The wings are provided at the ends with porches, glass-inclosed in cold weather. The porch of the men’s wing opens out almost directly on the starting tee. From this porch a most delightful view of the first portion of the course is obtained. §8 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. nt, No. » Work on the second nine-hole course was commenced in the latter part of 1920, and on August 1, 1922, four holes of the course were opened to players. It is expected that the remaining five holes will be ready for use in May, 1923. The length of each of these nine-hole courses is about 3,300 yards. The close proximity of Potomac Park to the city, lying as it does almost within a stone’s throw of the business section, makes the golf links easily accessible and very popular, as evidenced by the attendance dur­ ing the calendar year 1922, which, on the completed nine-hole course in East Potomac Park, was 80,420, on the four-hole course nearly 17,000, and on the practice course in West Potomac Park over 58.000, or a total of more than 155,000 players on the three courses. There is a fourth course under Governmental supervision. This is in Rock Creek Park, an area of great natural beauty located in the val­ ley of Rock Creek which runs through it from end to end. The park contains about 1,600 acres and is situated in a rapidly growing resi­ dential section in the northwest part of the city. The following beauti­ ful description of this park was given in a report made in 1867 by the Officer in Charge of Public Buildings and Grounds in obedience to a Senate resolution providing for the selection of a suitable site for a public park: “In no place has nature been more bountiful of her charms than in the vicinity of this city, and all can be found so near and ac­ cessible; the valley of Rock Creek and its tributaries, the Broad and Piney Branches and several minor rivulets, with the adjoining hills over­ looking these beautiful streams, presents to the Capital of the nation ad­ vantages not to be lightly disregarded in providing a park worthy of a great people. All the elements which constitute a public resort of the kind can be found in this wild and romantic tract of country. With its charming drives and walks, its hills and dales, its pleasant valleys and deep ravines, its primeval forests and cultivated fields, its running waters, its rocks clothed with rich fern and mosses, its repose and tran­ quillity, its light and shade, its ever-varying shrubbery, its beautiful and extensive views, the locality is already possessed with all the features necessary for the object in view.” When the land embraced in this park was acquired in 1894 t>y a commission created by Congress for the purpose, it was placed for ad­ ministrative purposes under a board of control of which the Chief of Engineers was a member. In September, 1918, however, exclusive juris­ diction over the park was transferred by Congress to the Chief of En­ gineers, who placed it in the immediate charge of the Officer in Charge of Public Buildings and Grounds as part of the park system under the Federal Government, but no special work for the preparation of areas for athletic purposes was inaugurated until October, 1921, when the construction of a nine-hole golf course was commenced. This was com­ pleted in September, 1922, and it will be opened to the public during the spring of 1923. It is located in about the center of the park west of Sixteenth Street. This course is a notable one and compares favorably with the best in this section of the country. It has been constructed with the same care and attention to detail as that which characterized the building of the courses in East Potomac Park, but surpasses those both in appearance Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 39 and playing advantages because of the natural undulating surfaces of the ground and the beautiful views which are unflolded along the entire course. The physical comfort of players will also, be cared for, as it is proposed to fit up as a club house an old dwelling house within the golf course area, by remodelling it so as to provide a reading and rest room, locker rooms, showers, and other conveniences which are now considered essential to the successful operation of athletic grounds. These will no doubt be appreciated by the patrons of this course. The opening of this latest addition to the public golf playing facilities of the National Capital is being looked forward to with the greatest interest by the lovers of the sport, and it is believed that the course will prove to be immensely _________________ __ popular. Notes on Public Links Golf The second annual Public Links Championship tournament was awarded to Washington, D. C., at a recent meeting of the Executive Com­ mittee of the United States Golf Association. The date will be an­ nounced later, but the plan is to hold it either just before or just after the Open Championship. The East Potomac Park course, where the event is to be held, is being increased to eighteen holes and will offer a most satisfactory test, while the pledged cooperation of the District Park Department insures a successful event. The Public Links Section of the United States Golf Association for the year 1923 will be composed of 14 members, 3 of whom will con­ stitute an executive committee, to handle all routine business. This com­ mittee is representative of all sections of the country, and each man is thoroughly interested in developing the game of golf, and especially in spreading knowledge of the traditions, etiquette, and rules of the game. The personnel of the 1923 committee follows: James D. Standish, Jr. (Chairman Executive Committee), 314 Ford Bldg., Sylvanus P. Jermain (member Executive Committee), P. 0; Box 362, Toledo, A. T. Packard (member Executive Committee), Care Chicago Evening Post, Detroit, Mich. Ohio. Chicago, Ill. Roger D. Lapham, 603 Market St., San Francisco, Calif. Chas. M. H. Atherton, 347 East 47th St., New York, N. Y. T. C. McSheehy, M. D., 86 Burnham St., Worcester, Mass. Henry L. West, 2659 Connecticut Ave., Washington, D. C. Malcolm McGregor, Dime Bank Bldg., Detroit, Mich. George E. Kreidler, Newark, N. J. O. B. Keeler, The Atlanta Star, Atlanta, Ga. Bonner Miller, 1000 North 22d St., St. Louis, Mo-. E. D. Mendell, 205 South 9th St., Philadelphia, Pa. J. J. Burke, Internal Revenue Service, Pittsburgh, Pa. Robert W. McKinlay, 537 County Bldg., Chicago, Ill. It seems probable that some method of limiting the number of en­ tries for the 1923 Public Links Championship will be necessary and that sectional qualifying rounds will be adopted as the elimination process. It is most unfortunate that an 18-hole course can not accommodate more than 150 players under present conditions of playing this championship, as we would like to have all the public links golfers in the United States gather in Washington if it were possible, 40 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE v«i. in, No. 2 Why Public Links Players Should Organize Clubs W. G. Curtis, Municipal Course Committee, Detroit District Golf Association As one studies the growth and development of golf in this country, the advantages to accrue from organization are in evidence on all sides. Organization was, of course, preliminary to play with all private clubs, simply because no headway could be made and play could not proceed without organization. When, however, in due time, there were clubs scattered over the country and they desired to pit their best players against one another in tournament, it was found that understanding was lacking, due largely to lack of national or sectional organization. The formation of the United States Golf Association and the Western Golf Association, and their united efforts, have brought complete under­ standing and easy control in all country-wide contests, and in addition have brought into existence many important committees that study and deal with nation-wide golf problems. The newest of these com­ mittees is the Committee on Public Links. Subsequent to founding the United States Golf Association and the Western Golf Association, it was found advisable if not absolutely necessary to introduce a third type of organization, the district golf association. Large metropolitian districts now having, as they do, from twenty to sixty private golf clubs, are finding it advantageous to organize, because the local problems are suf­ ficient in number and magnitude to justify district associations. There remains, however, one type of organization that has not come into gen­ eral existence, although in the future of golf it will prove more useful and more beneficial than any of the others, and that is the municipal links club. Play upon any private club links is a matter of selected mem­ bership and the problems arising all come within well defined limits. Not so, however, with public links. Elegibility on public links is not a matter controlled by sex, age, color, education, religion, nationality, social position, or business integrity. Public links are subject to use by practically the entire public over fourteen years of age, and as a result the public links problems cover a much wider range than do those of any private clubs. A very large percentage of public links players have never belonged to any kind of a club, and therefore, are ignorant of the ethics which form the backbone of private clubs. The original idea of many beginners is to go golfing as they would to a picnic—set the lunch basket down and begin play, making their own rules, and extend about the same courtesies as obtain among crowds in parks o.n holidays. Without the definite standards set up by organizing a club, their progress is slow, but with a public links club, the complexion of play changes very rapidly, and many public links clubs deserve the compliment that their members assimilate more of the rules, observe the etiquette of the game and render more cooperation to the management than obtains in many private clubs. Ignorance of the rules becomes an embarrassment to public links players, because congestion compels foursome play and strangers are thrown together. That same condition also results in quick understanding and close observance of the ethics of play. A public links club is the natural exponent and developer of both rules and ethies Feb. S3, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 41 and in addition it is in position of private clubs also to promote, control and assist in the direction of tournaments. By the organization of clubs on public links the standards of play are elevated and all the best that the sport can give, can be developed. All this can be accomplished with a very minimum of cost. With dues not to' exceed $10.00 per year every public links club is in position to cover all incidental expenses, finance three or four tournaments and send one or more of its players to com­ pete in the National Public Links Annual Tournament, which before long will hold place in importance and popularity with the National Open and National Amateur. The United States Golf Association, district golf associations, park boards, recreation commissions, and city councils are doing much for public golf, and players on public links can by organiz­ ing do much in cooperation. A workable plan of organization can be found by the adoption of articles and by-laws, somewhat as follows: ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION Article I We, the undersigned, being of full age and desiring to become associated together in a club for mutual benefit, do hereby make, execute and adopt the following Articles of Association to wit: First: The name or title by which such club shall be known is the ................................................................... Golf Club. Second: The purpose for which such club is formed is the playing of golf, learning the rules and etiquette of the game, and practicing its highest standards, to promote the development of public links and to support the United States Golf Association (and the District Association, where there is one). Third: The number of directors or trustees shall be..................................... Fourth: The qualifications of officers and members, the number of mem­ bers, the method of election, and the terms and conditions which shall attach to membership therein shall be prescribed by the By-laws and rules which shall be adopted from time to time. BY-LAWS Article I.—Membership Section 1. Membership in this club shall be divided into two classes, Active Sec. 2. The active membership shall be limited to .......................................... The honorary membership shall be limited to ........................................................ Sec. 3. Any person over 16 years of age shall be eligible to active member­ and Honorary. ship. Sec. 4. Honorary membership shall entitle the holder to all privileges of the club, and shall exempt him from all dues and assessments. Sec. 5. (a) Each candidate for membership shall make application over his own signature and be seconded by two members. Such application shall be noticed to members at least two weeks before being acted upon by the Board of Directors. (6) Applications shall be acted upon by the Board of Directors by secret ballot and two negative votes shall reject such applicant. (c) Any member may resign from the club by giving notice in writing to the Secretary and paying all dues which have accrued to date of resignation. Article II.—Officers Section 1. The officers of the club shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer and a Board of Directors. At the first annual meet­ ing a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer shall be elected for one year, and one-half the directors shall be elected for one year and one-half for two years; thereafter at each annual meeting the officers shall be elected for one year and one-half the directors shall be elected for two years. All elections shall be by secret ballot, 42 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE Vol. m, No. 2 SEC. 2. Said officers shall be ex-officio members of the Board of Directors with full power to vote. Article III.—Duties of Officers The President shall preside at all meetings and in his absence the Vice- President shall preside. The Secretary shall keep all the records of meetings, send out all calls for dues and all notices of meetings or other club events. The Treasurer shall receive all funds and shall open an account in the name of the club in such bank as shall be designated by the Board of Directors. All disbursements shall be by order of the Board of Directors and shall be properly vouchered. Article IV.—Initiation Fees and Dues Section 1. The initiation fee shall be $....................... Sec. 2. The active membership dues shall be $.......................... per year, payable ..................................................... Article V.—Annual Meeting Section 1. The annual meeting shall be held on the ..................................... day of................................................... in each year at the time and place fixed by the Board. Two weeks’ notice of same shall be mailed to each member. Special meetings may be called by the Board of their own volition and may be called by them whenever requested in writing by two members, said request to state the object thereof. Five days’ notice in writing of special meetings shall be given all members, stating object thereof. Thirty members shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of members. Sec. 2. The fiscal year shall end........................................................................ Article VI.—Order of Business The order of business at the meetings of the club shall be as follows: 1. Reading of minutes of previous meeting. 2. Report of Board of Directors. 3. Report of Treasurer. 4. Reports of committees. 5. Election of officers. 6. New business. Article VII.—Committees The Board of Directors shall at the first meeting after their election ap­ point the following committees to serve for one year. 2. 3........................................... 4............................... 5.................................................................... .................... Article VIII.—Expenditures No indebtedness or liability shall be incurred by the Board of Directors in any year exceeding in amount the funds on hand. Article IX.—Amendments No amendment of these By-laws shall be made unless the same be pro­ posed in writing by at least ten members and notice in writing given to each member at least two weeks before the regular or special meeting. How deep should the cup be placed below the surface of the green?— Some golf cranks blame the cup when they putt the ball too strongly and it hits the back of the cup and jumps out. A cup may be placed lower on a clay soil than in a sandy soil where the edges soon get ragged and broken. I noticed in one of the biggest golf matches of this year that the cups were placed from 1 inch to iy4 inches below the level of the surface of the green. I would say that the top of the cup should be not less than 1 inch, nor more than 1% inches, below the level of the surface of the green.—J. J McNamara, Pittsburgh Field Club, Aspinwall, Pa. Feb. 23, 1023 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 43 Golf Architecture on Public Links Should the architecture of a public course be different from that of a private club ? This question is suggested by the very wide differences in type of municipal courses as they now exist. There are two factors which make the query of interest. First, simple courses can be built much more cheaply. Second, the more difficult a course is made, the fewer players will it accommodate, as every bunker or other difficulty tends to slow up. the play. We may assume that a fundamental con­ sideration in building municipal courses is to provide the greatest good to the greatest number of people. It is reasonable to believe that both low cost of construction and upkeep will contribute to this end. If a town builds a course that is unduly expensive, it will be difficult to get the people to consider a second one, whereas if the cost is low it should be relatively easy to secure as many courses as the public desires. All of these considerations point to the conclusion that in the beginning at least public courses should be simple in type, to ensure both low costs of construction and of upkeep. Specifically this involves (1) tees on the ground, really the most desirable type unless elevation is needed to se­ cure visibility; (2) wide fairways with little or no rough; (3) few or no bunkers, and any such as are necessary should be simple; (4) greens of standard size, most of them on the natural ground surface, each with a mound or low ridge near the back to increase visibility. From such a basis the course may be improved from time to time as public sentiment may indicate. In the beginning at least there will be no criticism that the course is too easy. Most important, however, is that modest cost and upkeep will make public golf courses popular with the tax payers, whereas expensiveness in either cost or upkeep will create popular opposition. It is to be hoped that both park commissioners or other city officials, golf architects, and indeed all amateurs interested in golf progress, will consider carefully the matters here discussed. All are interested in pro­ viding golf for as many as possible, and to secure this means careful heed to every factor that makes for low cost to the public. NEW MEMBER CLUBS OF THE GREEN SECTION Commonwealth Country Club, Chestnut Hill, Mass. Kishawana Country Club, Brewster, N. Y. Athletic Assn, of the Philadelphia Electric Co., Philadelphia, Pa. Thornburg Country Club, Thornburg, Pa. Kanawha Country Club, Charleston, W. Va. Alladin Country Club, Columbus, Ohio. Fort Harrison Country Club, Terre Haute, Ind. Country Club of Terre Haute, Terre Haute, Ind. Big Oaks Golf Club, Chicago, Ill. Beverly Gardens Golf Club, Evergreen Park, Ill. Monroe Country Club, Monroe, Mich. Wichita Country Club, Wichita, Kans. Lingan Country Club, Sydney, Nova Scotia. Uplands Golf and Country Club, Toronto, Ontario. 44 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE Vol. in. No. 2 Some IL S. Golf Association Decisions on the Rules of Golf Question.—What is the rule covering movable and fixed steps in a bunker? If a ball is under the steps in an unplayable position, what is the rule? Answer.—Fixed steps in a bunker should be covered by a local rule; mov­ able steps may be moved under the rule. (See Rule 25.) Question.—In a handicap tournament match play, is not the winner of a hole entitled to the honor at the next tee even though the win was made with a handicap stroke allowance? Answer.'—The winner of a hole, irrespective of whether it was won with a handicap or not, has the honor at the next tee. Question.—In match play both players have reached the green. One player putts his opponent’s ball toward the cup and his opponent then putts the other ball left on the green, which he thought was his, and after making the putt dis­ covers that both players played the wrong ball. What is your ruling on this case? Answer.—The hole stands as played out. Rule 20 covers the point. SECOND AMATEUR PUBLIC LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION, JUNE 26, 27, 28, 29, 1923 The competition for the Amateur Public Links Championship of the United States will be played on the municipal course at East Potomac Park, Washing­ ton, D. C., beginning Tuesday, June 26, when the Standish cup and four medals will be competed for under the Rules of the United States Golf Association. The winner of the competition shall be the champion public links golfer for the year, and the cup shall be held for that year in the city from which the winner shall have entered. The winner shall receive a gold medal, the runner-up a silver medal, the semi-finalists bronze medals, and a special prize will be given for the lowest score in the qualifying round. This event is open to all amateur players who are not members of nor enjoy the privileges of a private club maintaining and supporting its own golf course, and who fulfill eligibility requirements. Entrants in this championship may accept their traveling expenses to and from Washington plus $5 a day for expenses while in Washington without violat­ ing the amateur definition. Program Tuesday, June 26.—Qualifying Round, 36-Hole Medal Play. Lowest 32 scores to qualify. Wednesday, June 27.—9 a. m., First Round, 18-Hole Match Play. 2 p. m., Second Round, 18-Hole Match Play. Thursday, June 28.—9 a. m., Third Round, 18-Hole Match Play. 2 p. m., Semi-Finals, 18-Hole Match Play. Friday, June 29.—9.30 a. m., Final Match, 36 Holes. Details of requirements for eligibility to compete will be published in the daily press at a later date. An intersectional team match will be arranged for Monday preceding the tournament. Further details will be announced at a later date. Secretary, United States Golf Association. CORNELIUS S. LEE, Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 4“——<•—»—- ■■ >■ ■■ ............ „ Questions and Answers 45 ...—,4, All questions sent to the Green Committee will be answered as promptly as possible in a letter to the writer. The more interesting of these ques­ tions, with concise answers, will appear in this column each month. If your experience leads you to disagree with any answer given in this column, it is your privilege and duty to write to the Green Committee. While most of the answers are of general application, please bear in mind that each recommendation is intended specifically for the locality designated at the end of the question. 1. Leaching of compost piles.—We are getting at the rate of 100 tons of manure a week from our local stock yards, and when the weather permits we are putting the manure into compost piles. The question has arisen as to whether it is safe to leave these compost piles in the open or whether they should be covered with lumber. If not covered with lumber, should the compost pile come to a point at the top or should it be flat? We are told that the compost pile should take in the water. We might add that the piles are all covered with top soil.—(Indiana.) We think that under your conditions it is entirely safe to leave the compost piles in the open, as the leaching will he relatively insignificant, especially if the top is covered with soil or sod. It is, of course, a good idea always to make these compost piles in localities where whatever leaching occurs is not entirely lost but is confined to the soil in the im­ mediate area of the stack. 2. Steaming compost.—The farmers in this vicinity thoroughly steam their soil before sowing tobacco seed. They claim the steaming of the soil kills all germs and that during the season they have no weeds in their tobacco beds. They also claim that the soil becomes absorbent—that is, it is more porous and will absorb more water. The steaming also adds to the fertility of the soil. You understand, there is quite a lot of tobacco grown in this country and the seed is sown in small beds for the growing of the plants, which are later planted out in the fields. It occurred to us that by steaming the compost a great many weeds would be eliminated, and it may be practical where new greens are built to steam the soil covering, say, three or four inches from the top. What has been your experience with regard to steaming compost before applying it as a top-dressing on a green?—(Pennsylvania.) We know of no attempts to steam top-dressing for putting greens. We are familiar with the method of sterilizing soils for tobacco beds but the conditions are a little different. Young tobacco plants are very susceptible to fungous diseases, and it is impossible to grow them on beds which have been used before for that purpose without sterilization. While sterilizing the top-dressings for putting greens might kill some of the fungous diseases as well as the weed seeds that might be in the top­ dressings, yet the turf where it would be applied would be probably infested, so that no great good could be expected. We have in mind starting some experiments with top-dressings this year bearing on this matter. 3. Money value of mushroom soil; soil tests.—I am sending you a sample of mushroom soil offered for sale by * * * . It is priced at ?2 per ton f. o. b. shipping point. How does it compare with other mushroom soil? Also will you please have it tested?—(New Jersey.) The sample is a good one, and at $2 per ton is very much the cheap­ est and most effective fertilizer you can secure. As regards specific 46 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE - vol. m. No. 2 tests, there is no laboratory analytic method which is entirely satisfac­ tory. The only tests that are of real value are the comparative plot tests, which require time. 4. Planting crops to be turned under for soil improvement.—I would like to have some information on green manuring of fairways. Our soil is rather thin and in some places the gravel or sand comes close to the surface with al­ most no loam on top. We haven’t sufficient funds to enrich these fairways quickly and propose to plow up the rough adjacent to the portions we desire to improve and sow a manuring crop which can in turn be plowed under in two successive crops and the enriched soil obtained in this way could be dragged over the adjacent fairway at slight expense. What crops would you suggest sowing for this purpose?—(New York.) We would recommend seeding the rough land to oats and Canada field peas, using about a bushel of each to the acre, as soon as the land can be prepared this spring. This could be plowed under about the first of July. A fairly good crop of buckwheat could be grown if planted immediately thereafter, and we are inclined to think it would be ad­ visable to use that crop also and then plow the buckwheat under and seed to rye about the last of September. The rye could be plowed under in May, and the soil should then be sufficiently enriched so that it would help-much in fertilizing your fairways in the manner you describe or in composting with manure for top-dressing the putting greens. 5. Depth at which tile should be laid.—We are now getting ready to lay our tile and water mains. It has been suggested to us that we should go below a 30-inch level with our tile on account of freezing and drainage, also moisture. In this section of the country farmers usually lay to a depth of from 30 to 36 inches. What would your suggestion be as to the proper depth of golf course tiling with a clay soil such as we have?—(Indiana.) We believe that a depth of 30 inches will be entirely satisfactory. The tiles must necessarily be placed below the frost line, as otherwise there is serious danger of breakage. Even in heavy clay soils satisfactory drainage, is secured at a depth of 30 inches. 6. Renovating northern putting green turf; seed for northern fairways.— Would you advise our sowing on our greens this spring as soon as the frost leaves the ground, a mixture of creeping bent and Colonial bent, and on our fairways a mixture of fescue, bluegrass, and redtop, and if so in what propor­ tions?— (Rhode Island.) We would recommend nothing but bent grass for greens in your locality. Rhode Island bent, German mixed bent, and Colonial bent are all good. The only difference between them is that the German mixed bent contains some velvet bent, which is not found with Rhode Island bent or Colonial bent seed. We consider it best to apply a very light seeding on established greens that have a pretty good stand o’f turf; in fact, an application of ammonium sulfate as a fertilizer at the rate of 20 to 25 pounds to a 6,000-foot green will usually thicken up the stand of grass better than spending the same money for seed. For your fairways we would recommend a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and redtop at the rate of 4 pounds of the bluegrass to 1 pound of the redtop. You may moreover have a good deal of bent in your fairways, and it would be well to encourage the spread' of that. ' We would advise you to place more dependence on top-dressings and ferti­ lizers than on additional seeding to put your turf in good condition. Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 47 7. Rolling putting greens.—An inspection now (February) of six greens which we planted last October by the vegetative method indicates that they are apparently coining along in excellent condition, but the ground is quite soft, and' we have thought that as soon as the frost is out of the ground and it be­ comes dry it might be a help to roll the greens. What would you think of a light rolling first and a somewhat heavier one a little later if conditions warrant it? What weight of roller should we use? We have hand rollers of two weights, and also power walking machines, which are fairly heavy’—(Pennsylvania.) We would advise you by all means to roll your greens as soon as the soil becomes dry enough so that it will be safe to go on them. We do not believe you can injure them by hand rolling, no matter how heavily, pro­ vided the men do not scrub the roller about on the grass. The green should be rolled straight across and the roller turned after it is entirely off of the green. We have noticed a border effect on greens where the grass is killed for a foot or two around the edges of the green. It has been our observa­ tion that most of this damage is clone by the turning of the rollers and lawn mowers on that strip. If it is not possible to take the roller off of the green for turning, it should start back in the same track and gradually creep out on the unrolled part. A little care in this detail will prevent considerable injury. 8. How soon after planting can vegetative greens be played on?—We are n&w (February) contemplating the replanting of several of our greens with bent stolons from our nursery with a view to having them ready for play by the time of our spring tournament, which will be held May 10 to 12. The top soil of the greens was prepared fox* that purpose, late last fall. Do you think we would be safe in undertaking this?—(Pennsylvania.) You. will not be able to plant greens this spring and have them in shape to play on by May 10. We have frequently made turf suitable for putting in forty days of good growing weather, by the vegetative method, but we do not get good growing weather, as a rule, in April. If your tournament were a month later we would say there would be no risk in planting the greens this spring and having them ready for play. We would advise you to begin mowing the newly planted greens just as soon as the groumfis sufficiently firm and growth starts, keeping them, from the start, just as you would greens in play. 9. Weed seeds from creek water; controlling chickweed.—We are troubled considerably with chiekweed on our putting greens, both the mouse-ear and the common varieties. This condition we think is largely due to the water we are using for irrigation. Ota water is pumped from a creek which is really a coun­ try drain and is by no means clean, and by the time it has reached our course it has gathered weed seeds and debris from, surrounding land. Can you sug­ gest some means by which we could filter or clear this water?.—(Michigan.) So far as we know there has never been any satisfactory method dis­ covered for screening weed seeds out of irrigation water. A great many devices have been tried in the west, but none of them have proved of value. A screen with mesh small enough to remove the weed seeds would soon clog. While chiekweed is very troublesome when it gets all over a green, if it is once weeded out it can be kept out without much trouble, provided it is recognized when it first starts and the plants are removed. The chief trouble comes from allowing it to grow and seed until the whole green is badly infested. 48 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE Vol. m, No. 2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY-NINTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION, HELD AT THE PITTSBURGH CLUB, PITTSBURG, PA., SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 1923, 3 O’CLOCK P. M. PRESIDENT BYERS: Gentlemen, will you please come to order? I first wish to apologize for the delay in calling the meeting to order, but the delay was caused by the fact that we were waiting to be sure that we had a quorum pres­ ent. I think now we have, and I will ask the Secretary if he will kindly call the roll. (The roll was thereupon called by Secretary Lee, showing the following clubs represented by delegate or by proxy:). 3:00 o’clock P. M. Name Delegate Proxy Heights, Pa....................................................... Jas. P. Piper Algonquin Golf Club, Webster Groves, Mo........ Allegheny Country Club, Sewickley, Pa........... Americus Golf Club, Americus, Ga.................... Apawamis Club (The), Rye, N. Y....... -......-...... Arcola Country Club, Arcola, N. J... ............... Aronimink Golf Club (The), Drexel Hill, Pa.. Atlanta Athletic Club, Atlanta, Ga............... Audubon Golf Club, Audubon Park, N. Or., La. Bala Golf Club, Bala, Pa............................. ..... Baltimore Country Club, Baltimore, Md... .... Baltusrol Golf Club, Baltusrol, N. J... ........... Beacon Hill Golf Club, Atlantic Highlands, N. J. Beaver Valley Country Club, Patterson Belleair Country Club, Belleair Heights, Pa.... Belleclaire Golf and C. C., Bayside, L. L.......... Belle Meade Country Club, Nashville, Tenn.... Bellerive Country Club, Normandy, Mo........... Bellevue Country Club, Inc., Syracuse, N. Y.... Belmont Springs Country Club, Waverly, Mass. Beresford Country Club, San Mateo, Calif........ Beverly Country Club, Chicago, Ill...... ............. Blind Brook Club, Portchester, N. Y............... Bloomfield Hills Country Club, Birmingham, Mich.. .................................-....-..................... Blue Mound Country Club, Wauwastosa, Wis.... Bob O’Link Golf Club, Highland Park, Ill........ Brae-Burn Country Club, West Newton, Mass. Broadmoor Golf Club, Colorado Springs, Colo. Brooklawn Country Club, Inc., Bridgeport, Conn. Brookside Country Club (The), Pottstown, Pa. California Golf Club of San Francisco, Calif.... Calumet Country Club, Homewood, Ill............. Canoe Brook Country Club, Summit, N. J........ Cedarbrook Country Club, Montgomery Co., Pa. Charles River Country Club, Newton Centre, Mass................................................................... Charleston Country Club, Charleston, S. C....... Cherry Valley Club, Inc., Garden City, L. I.... Chestnut Hill Golf Club (The), Chestnut Hill, Mass......................................... _.. Chevy Chase Club, Chevy Chase, Md............... Chicago Golf Club (The), Wheaton, Ill........... City Park Golf Club, Denver, Colo.................. Claremont Country Club, Oakland, Calif........... W. H. Brooks R. Nichols R. D. Lapham J. D. Lyon F. S. Douglas H. R. Winthrop G. H. Walker T. B. Paine G. H. Walker T. J. McMahon T. B. Paine W.D. Vanderpool H. R. Winthrop J. D. Standish,Jr. R. A. Gardner H. H. Wilder J. F. Byers J. F. Burke C. V. Piper H. R. Winthrop J. D. Lyon J. L. Taylor H. W. Perrin ....................... -.... G. H. Chasmar J. F. Byers Feb. 28, 1»2S UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 49 Name Columbia Country Club, Chevy Chase, Md........ CnliiTnhTiR Country' Cluhr Columbus, Ohio.......... Commonwealth Country Club, Chestnut Hill, Country Club of Atlantic City, Northfield, N. J. Country Club of Fairfield, Fairfield, Conn....... Country Club (The), Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.............. ........ -.......-........-..... . .............. Country Club of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Pa.... Country Club of Indianapolis (The), Indianopo- ........ ....................... Country Club of Springfield, West Springfield, _______ _____ _ __ _ __ li«5 Ind Mass. Delegate G. H. Chasmar Proxy ............................. H. H. Wilder H. H. Wilder J. H. Whigham J. D. Standish ... ................. ......... H. W. Perrin J. F. Burke T. J. McMahon ............. .............. G. H. Chasmar Crawford County Country Club, Robinson, Ill. Deal Golf Club Deal, N. J................................. Dedham Country and Polo Club, Dedham, M;vc- Delavan Country Club, Delavan, Wis... Denver Country Club (The), Denver, Colo Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Mich....... - Dornich Hills Country Club, Ardmore, Okia.... P- B Maxwell H, W. Perrin Dutchess Golf & Country Club, Poughkeepsie, N Y. ............... .... ................. Horatio Nelson Edgewater Golf Club, Chicago, Ill....... ............. Ekwanok Country Club (The), Manchester, Vt. Engineers’ Country Club, Roslyn, L. I., N. Y.... Englewood Golf Club (The), Englewood, N. J. Essex County Club, Manchester, Mass.............. Essex County Country Club, West Orange, N. J. J. L. Taylor F. H. Hoyt ............. ... --- ----- J. L. Taylor J. L. Taylor J. F. Byers J. D. Standish R. A. Gardner W.D. V anderpool W.D. Vanderpool J. L. Taylor F. B. Barrett F. H. Hoyt R. D. Lapham F. H. Hoyt Exmoor Country Club, Highland Park, Ill-...... Fairmont Country Club, Fairmont, W. Va....... Fairview Country Club, Elmsford, N. Y........... Fall River Country Club, Fall River, Mass... Fenimore Country Club, White Plains, N. Y.... Flintridge Country Club, Pasadena, Calif....... Ft. Leavenworth Officers’ Club, Ft. Leaven- Fox Hills Golf Club, Clifton, Staten Isl’d, N. Y. Friendship Golf Club, Washington, D. C.........— Garden City Country Club, Garden City, L. I... VTiXLU-tJlI VTUil ViUU; Kiaiuvn Glen Echo Country Club, Normandy, Mo......... Genundawah Golf Club, East Rochester, N. Y. GUn Vipw Club Golf. ............................................... Golf and Country Club, Des Moines, Iowa.---- Grassy Sprain Golf Club, Bronxville, N. Y....... Greenbrier Golf Club (The), White Sulphur , •*-*’ ...... N y Green Meadow Country Club, Inc., Harrison .................................. Green Valley Country Club, Roxborough, Phil- adelphia, Pa......—......... -.......................;.... Greenwich Country Club (The), Greenwich, Gulph Mills Golf Club, Gulph Mills, Pa-....—. ............ —*”• - H. L. West ........... ....... .... .... C. S. Lee J. F. Byers G. H. Chasmar ..............-.... — W. C. Fownes, Jr. G. H. Walker G. H. Walker J. F. Byers J. D. Lyon 50 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. hi, no. 2 Name Hampton Roads Golf and C. C., Hampton, Va. Delegate Proxy F. B. Barrett A. F. Steiner Highlands Country Club, Grand Rapids, Mich. Highland Country Club (Inc.), Meriden, Conn. Hillcrest Country Club, Kansas City, Mo........ Hinsdale Golf Club, Hinsdale, Ill...................... Hudson River Country C’b, Inc., Yonkers, N. Y. Huntingdon Valley Country Club (The), Noble, Pa.. ................ -............................................... Hyannisport Club, Hyannisport, Mass............ — Idlewild Country Club, Flossmoor, Ill....... ........ Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio............................... Inwood Country Club......................... Kent Country Club, Grand Rapids, Mich.. ........ Kernwood Country Club, Salem, Mass..... ........ La Grange Country Club, La Grange, III......... Lake Shore Country Club, Glencoe, Ill............... Lakewood Country Club, Lakewood, N. J....... Lochmoor Club, Grosse Pointe, Mich............ Lido Country Club, Long Beach, L. I., N. Y... Tanks Gnlf Chib (The), Searinffton. L. I.« N. Y. Llanereh Country Club, Manoa, Del. Co., Pa... Losantiville Country Club, Cincinnati, Ohio— McGregor Links, Inc. (The), Saratoga Springs. ..................... -............................ NY J. F. Burke J. D. Lyon R. A. Gardner F. H. Hoyt G. H. Walker W.D. Vanderpool C. V. Piper E. J. Marshall H. H. Wilder C. V. Piper F. S. Douglas J. D. Standish T. J. McMahon J. D. Lyon Mayfield Country Club (The), S. Euclid, Ohio... Merion Cricket Club (The), Haverford, Pa..... Midland Valley Country Club, Overland, Mo. Chester C. Bolton H. W. Perrin Midlothian Country Club, Blue Island, Ill......... Milburn C’try Club, Inc., Baldwin, L. L, N. Y... Milwaukee Country Club, No. Milwaukee, Wis. Minikahda Club, Minneapolis, Minn.................. Misquamicut Golf Club, Watch Hill, K. I....... Mohawk Golf Club, Schenectady, N. Y........... Monongahela Valley Country Club, Dinora, Pa. Montour Heights Country Club, Coraopolis, Pa. Morris County Golf Club, Convent Sta., N. J._ Myopia Hunt Club, Hamilton, Mass.................. Nashua Country Club, Nashua, N. H.............. Nassau Country Club, Glen Cove, L. I., N. Y. National Golf Links of America, Southampton. L. I., N. Y........................................................ Nemacolin Country Club, Beallsville, Pa........... New Haven Country Club, New Haven, Conn. New Orleans Country Club, New Orleans, La. Newport Country Club, Newport, R. I............. No. Hempstead Country Club, Pt. Wash., L. I, North Hills Country Club, Glenside, Pa........... North Shore Country Club, Inc., Glen Head. 1.. L, N. Y........................................................ Oak Hills Country Club, Rochester, N. Y....... Oakland Golf Club (The), Bayside, L. I., N. Y. Oakl’d Hills Country Club, Birmingham, Mich. R. A. Gardner F. B. Barrett W. C. Fownes, Jr. A. F. Knight Charles Yon R. D. Lapham W. D. Vanderpool G. H. Walker T. H. Whigham W. C. Fownes, Jr. C. S. Lee W. C. Fownes, Jr. F. L. Crocker John C. Wright R. D. Lapham J. D. Standish Feb. S3, 15)23 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 51 Name Oakley Country Club (The), Watertown, Mass. Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa... :........... Oak Park Country Club (The), Oak Park,.Ill. Oak Ridge Country Club, Minneapolis, Minn. Oak Ridge Golf Club, Tuckahoe, N. Y............. Old Elm Club, Fort Sheridan, III------ ----—.... Old York Road Country Club, Jenkintown, Pa. Olympia Fields Country Club, Matteson, Ill.... Onwentsia Club, Lake Forest, Ill................. •.... Orlando Country Club, Orlando, Fla................ Quid Newbury Golf Club, Newburyport, Mass. Overbrook Golf Club, Overbrook, Pa.-------- --- Clnh Aiken S. C. ... . .......... Palmo-Hrt Park Club of Buffalo, Buffalo, N. Y— — Pelham Country Club, Pelham_Manor,_N. Y.... Philadelphia Country Club, Philadelphia, Pa— Philadelphia Cricket Club, Philadelphia, Pa... Phoenixville Country Club, Phoenixville, Pa... Pinehurst Country Club, Pinehurst, N. C......... Pine Valley Golf Club, Pine Valley, N. J.....—. Piping Rock Club, Locust Valley, L. I., N. X- Plainfield Country Club, Plainfield, N. J—... - Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Inc., Mamaroneck jq- y .................. ....... .......... Race Brook Country Club, Orange, Conn. ... Raritan Valley Country Club, Somerville, N. J Kavisloe Country vluu, xiomcwuuti, xu*.— - - Redford Country Club, Redford, Mich....—- Richmond County Country Club, Dougan Hills Riverhead Country Club, Inc., Riverhead, N. Y Rock Island Arsenal Golf Club, Rock Isld, Il Rockaway Hunting Club (The), Cedarhurst Roxborough Country Club (The), Philadel- Rumson Country Club, Rumson, N. J.--........... St. Albans Golf Club, St. Albans, N. Y ......- St. Andrews Golf Club, Mount Hope, N. x... St. Louis Amateur Ath. Assn., St. Louis, mo... St. Louis Country Ciuo, ciaj lvh, mu- ...... ....... Sandv Burr Country Club, Wayland, Mass..... San Francisco Golf and C. C., Ingleside, Sar Scarsdale Golf & C’try Club, Hartsdale, N. Y... Scioto Country Club Co., Columbus, Ohio...... Seattle Golf Club, Seattle, Wash— -......... Shackamaxon Country Club, Westfield, N. J. Shaker Heights Country Club (The), Warrens- Shawnee Country Club, Shawnee-on-Del., Pa... Shenescossett Country Club, Groton, Conn,.... Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, L —.................... ..... m-nH T.oVa Rhifir TH. I N Y Delegate W. C. Fownes, Jr. Proxy J. F. Burke S. H. Strawn R. A. Gardner ... .......... ...... J. F. Byers H. W. Perrin H. R. Winthrop ........... ............... F. L Crocker J. H. Whigham R. A. Gardner H. L. West F. L. Crocker J. F. Burke ...... F. L. Crocker R.H. Williams, Jr, H L West C. S. Lee F. B. Barrett H. R. Winthrop C. V. Piper R. D. Lapham R.H. Williams,Jr. W.D.Vanderpool T. J. McMahon R.H.Williams,Jr. .... -—..... F. S. Douglas WJD.Vanderpool ...........-...-■....... R. D. Lapham F. B. Barrett —........ . l.H. Whigham F. W. Smith E.H, Worthington F. IT, Hovt F. H. Hoyt ............. C. V. Piper J. H. Whigham 52 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. m, No. 2 ough-on-Hudson, N. Y........................... -..... H. H. Albright Name Shreveport Country Club, Shreveport, La....... Siwanoy Country Club, Mount Vernon, N. Y... Skokie Country Club, Glencoe, Ill..................... Sleepy Hollow Country Club (The), Scarbor- Somerset Hills C’try Club, Bernardsville, N. J. Soundview Golf C’b, Inc., G’t Neck, L. L, N. Y. Stenton Country Club, Philadelphia, Pa........... Sunnybrook Golf Club, Flourtown, Pa............... Sunset Hill Country Club, Sappington, Mo........ Tavistock Country Club, Haddonfield, N. J.... Tedesco Country Club, Swampscott, Mass........ Town & C’try Club of St. Paul, St. Paul, Minn. TupdyfFrin Crmniry Club, Paoli, Pa..................... Tuxedo Golf Club, Tuxedo Park, N. Y............... Upper Montclair Country Club, Upper Mont- clair, N. J. ................................................. Wanango Country Club, Reno, Pa.................... Wannamoisett Country Club, Providence, R. I. Wee Burn Golf Club, Noroton, Conn................. Westchester-Biltmore Country Club, Rye, N. Y. Westchester Hills Golf Club, White Plains, N. Y. Westmoreland Country Club, Glenview, Til....... West Okoboji Golf & Country Club, Milford Iowa ................................................................ Westward-Ho Golf Club, Chicago, III............... White Bear Yacht Club, Dellwood, Minn......... Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, Phila., Pa. Winchester Country Club, Winchester, Mass... Wilmington Country Club, Wilmington, Del... Wolleston Golf Club, Montclair, Mass............... Woodland Golf Club, Auburndale, Mass........... Woodway Country Club, Inc. (The), Stamford. Conn........................... ....................................... Wykagyl Country Club (The), New Rochelle N. Y.............................................................. Yahnundasis Golf Club, Utica, N. Y... ............. Youngstown Country Club (The), Youngstown. Ohio .................................................................. Yountakah Country Club, Inc., Nutley, N. J.... Wheeling Country Club, Wheeling, W. Va....... Delegate Proxy Chas. M. Miller T. B. Paine F. Johnston F. Johnston S. H. Strawn C. S. Lee J. L. Taylor F. Johnston F. S. Douglas W. C. Fownes, Jr. F. S. Douglas S. H. Strawn S. H. Strawn H. W. Perrin H. L. West H. H. Wilder H. H. Wilder T. B. Paine - H. L. West C. S. Lee C. H. Lehman .... . ....................... Herman M. Hurd Total number active clubs...................................................................................... 232 Necessary for quorum............................................................................................. 117 Present .................................................................................................................... 156 PRESIDENT BYERS: Gentlemen, from the roll call and the report of the Secretary, there being a quorum present, we will proceed with the regular business. The first order of business is the reading of the minutes of the last annual meeting. (On motion, duly made, seconded and carried, the reading of the minutes of the last annual meeting was dispensed with.) PRESIDENT BYERS: The next order of business is the report of the Executive Committee. I think each delegate has a copy of this report at his place. MR. DOUGLAS: Mr. President, I move that, since this report, as well as the Treasurer’s report, is printed, we dispense with the reading of the Executive Committee’s report and also the Treasurer’s report. PRESIDENT BYERS: Mr. Douglas has moved that the reading of the Feb. 2«, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 53 report of the Executive Committee and the report of the Treasurer, who un­ fortunately is absent, be dispensed with, and that the report be placed on the table for the benefit of any delegate who would like to peruse it. (The motion was duly seconded and carried.) PRESIDENT BYERS: The next order of business, I think, is the election of officers and committees. I would like to ask Mr. Gardner if he will take the Chair. (Mr. Gardner presiding.) MR. GARDNER: You all have the report of the Nominating Committee before you, showing the officers on the regular ticket, as follows: UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION Report of the Nominating Committee Cornelius S. Lee, Esq., Secretary, United States Golf Association, 55 John St., New York, N. Y. Dear Sir:— New York, N. Y., Nov. 1, 1922. As Chairman of the Nominating Committee of the United States Golf Asso­ ciation for the year 1923, I am sending you the ticket as selected unanimously by this Committee. According to the Constitution of the United States Golf Association, each member of the Executive Committee must be a member of an Active Member Club of the Association, also six out of the thirteen members of the Executive Committee must be a member of the Executive Committee or a Director of some State, Sectoinal or recognized Golf Association. The following is the ticket: Officers President J. Frederic Byers...................................................... Allegheny Country Club Vice-Presidents Robert A. Gardner............................................................................. Onwentsia Club Wynant D. Vanderpool.......................................................Morris County Golf Club Secretary Cornelius S. Lee............................................................................. Tuxedo Golf Club Treasurer Edward S. Moore..........................................................................National Golf Links Executive Committee ......................... San Francisco Golf and Country Club Rodger D. Lapham..... John R. Lemist............ ...Denver Country Club Thomas B. Paine......... .......................... Atlanta Athletic Club C. 0. Pfeil................... Memphis Country Club James D. Standish, Jr ............Lochmoor Club ....................... Kansas City Country Club James C. Ward............ ......................................The Country Club Henry H. Wilder......... Alan D. Wilson............................................................................Merion Cricket Club Six Sectional, State or recognized Golf Associations are on the ticket as follows: Rodger D. Lapham......................................................... California Golf Association John R. Lemist....................................................Trans-Mississippi Golf Association C. O. Pfeil............................................. Western Golf Association James D. Standish, Jr.................................................Public Links Golf Association James C. Ward....................................................... Inter-Collegiate Golf Association Alan D. Wilson.......................................................... Pennsylvania Golf Association Thomas B. Paine.................................. Southern Golf Association 54 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. in. No. 2 Nominating Committee 1924 Findlay S. Douglas.............................................................................. Apawamis Club Cameron B. Buxton.....................................................................Dallas Country Club Albert R. Gates............................................................................ Skokie Country Club Harry Potter........ ....................................................................St. Louis Country Club James W. Wheeler.................................................................. ..........The Country Club Respectfully submitted, James Francis Burke, Chairman, David H. McAlpin, II, Walter L. Ross, H. Chandler Egan, William E. Stauffer. MR. GARDNER: Are there any other nominations? A DELEGATE: I move the nominations close, and the Secretary be in­ structed to cast one ballot for the ticket as read. (The motion, having been duly seconded, was unanimously carried.) MR. GARDNER: I now announce Mr. Byers elected as President, and the officers and directors and the Executive Committee as on the ticket. (Ap­ plause.) PRESIDENT BYERS: Gentlemen, I wish to thank you, first of all, for the honor conferred on me in electing me again to this office, President of the United States Golf Association. I would like to say a little more farther on, but first I wish to welcome the delegates and the out-of-town visitors to Pitts­ burgh. On behalf of the golfers of this district, I wish to say we appreciate the honor you have conferred on Pittsburgh in coming here, and having the meet­ ing of the United States Golf Association here. We at Pittsburgh have for a period of twenty-five years endeavored to do what we could in the game of golf, and if you will pardon me and bear with me for a little civic pride and a little, perhaps, provincialism, I would just like to mention a few things that Pittsburgh has done for the game of golf. We are proud to have amongst our citizens three ex-amateur champions,—my brother, E. M. Byers, Mr. Fownes and Daye Herron. We also have the honor of having the open champion of 'the United States being connected with the Pittsburgh club, Gene Sarazen. We also have the captain of two victorious American International Teams—Bill Fownes. I think I might also add that we have the general counsel of the United. States Golf Association, Mr. James Francis Burke. (Applause.) I do want to say that we greatly appreciate the honor the Association has conferred on Pittsburgh in having its meeting here. It is going to mean, a great deal to golf in this district. And I want to thank you again for coming and for what this meeting will mean to the golfers in this section. Personally, I wish to thank the Association for the great honor it has con­ ferred upon me in electing me President of the Association for another year. It is a great honor, gentlemen, and it is one that carries with it responsibilities which, having served a year, are fully realized and appreciated. I should hesi­ tate greatly to assume these responsibilities, were it not for the fact of the support and backing of the Association in the past year. It has been splendid, as has also been the support which the Executive Committee has accorded me. It has been a pleasant job and an easy one, thanks to the coordination and co­ operation of our Executive Committee, most of whom are to carry on another year. The work of the Association has so broadened and developed that the Execu­ tive Committee decided—or rather, requested me, beginning last year—to appoint committees to carry on or specialize in the various details of the work of the Association. I think we have now, Mr. Secretary, ten sub-committees or more7 SECRETARY LEE: Ten. PRESIDENT BYERS: Were it not for the way these committees have functioned and the work they have done, I doubt if we could have carried on as well during the past year as we have. In another year we hope to do better, as we are getting more organized, and the machine is getting better oiled and working better. Right here, I would like to thank the chairmen and the mem­ bers of those sub-committees for their excellent work during the past year; it Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 55 has been invaluable. The reports of those committees, gentlemen, you will find embodied in the report of the Executive Committee, briefly; and if there are any suggestions later as to additional committees, or anything, we will be very glad to hear them. I would like just briefly to review the past year, 1922, and together with that, state what our policies and ambitions, and so forth, are for the future. Just a year ago, when the Association met in Chicago, there existed rather an unfortunate and disagreeable misunderstanding among the golfers of the country, particularly between the United States Golf Association and the Western Golf Association. This disagreement—or misunderstanding, rather—threatened to disrupt the unity of golf in this country and was a most serious situation. I am most happy, gentlemen, to say that today the golfers of the country and the sectional associations are in absolute accord; and I wish to thank, on behalf of our Committee of the United States Golf Association, Mr. Gates, the Presi­ dent of the Western Golf Association, Mr. Pfeil, Vice-President—and to be elected President of the Western—and their committee for their cooperation and the efforts they made to bring about harmony in golf in this country. We have always stood for unity and uniformity in the game, and I am most happy to state the condition of affairs today with regard to the administration and politics and policies of golf. I can say, gentlemen, we are together absolutely, and I again want to thank the governing body of the Western Association for their cooperation. (Applause.) It is most desirable, and is the hope and wish of your committee, that some day it will be possible to have a universal and international code of rules for the game of golf. We are working along those lines. In fact, two years ago, when your committee went abroad to confer with the Royal and Ancient, Mr. Burke drafted a new code of rules, which we hoped to have adopted by the R. & A. in making a universal code. That is still under consideration, and this past year was to be taken up again when Mr. Hambro, the Chairman of Rules of the Royal and Ancient, was to come over with the British team. Unfortunately he was unable to do so, and the matter had to be deferred temporarily. Mr. Hambro has written he hopes to make a special visit to this country to take this matter up. If he is unable to do so, and in the event of our sending a team abroad this year, he hopes to take the matter up again, and ultimately adopt or compile and adopt a universal set of rules—which I think is most desirable. We all think so. Right there I would just like to say for the gentlemen of the press particu­ larly: At times there have been statements made and there has been an infer­ ence that perhaps the United States Golf Association has been too close or leaned over toward the golfing bodies of Great Britain rather than looking after their affairs at home. I think that criticism, gentlemen, is due to a lack of knowledge of affairs. We realize—our committee do—that it is most essential primarily to legislate for golf in this country, but we do believe—and we sincerely believe— that it is most essential, for the best of the game of golf, to preserve the fun­ damentals of golf which were laid down and built up by our cousins overseas for the past four hundred years. While we are progressing, yet I think we can still learn something about the game from the men who made it. And I want our position thoroughly understood in that respect, that we are not ultra pro­ British or anything of that sort, which at times the impression has been con­ veyed we might be. We are trying to work, gentlemen, for this country first, last and all the time, but we want to go along with the other great English- spreaking nation, Great Britain. That is what we are endeavoring to do. I would just like to add to that that the relations today between the Royal and Ancient Rules Committee of Great Britain and the United States Golf Association, and the golfers of this country, are most fortunate, and we are working in per­ fect harmony and accord. I think the visit of the British golfers this past year has been of great value in bringing this cooperation and harmony about, and we feel that the international competition with Great Britain is not only of inestimable value to golf, but is of great value in bringing together the two countries in a more understanding and friendly, way. The British team came over. They were defeated, and great credit is due to Captain Fownes and members of the American team who held up the honor of golf for this country. 56 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. hi, No. 2 The British team, while defeated, made a splendid impression, not only by their skill in the game but their sportsmanship and their individual charm. I would just like to mention this fact: We hope to continue international golf. I think it is one of our greatest assets, and one of the finest ways to develop it in this country that we can have. We won this year, we won a year ago, and two years ago. I think we can win again, if we can put our best team in the field. But, gentlemen, we must hear in mind that Great Britain suffered greatly during the war. They could not develop younger players. They were in this great Wond War for five years. Of course, we suffered also, but we must not sit back and think we can control these matches every year. Bill, am I right (addressing Mr. Fownes) ? They are coming back, and we have to be on our toes to maintain our supremacy. I think the whole result of the British visit was most successful and one of the best things we have had, and we are hoping, and it is the desire of our committee, to accept the invitation of the Royal and Ancient Committee, which reads—I don’t know whether we have that here today or not, Their invitation says: “We will be most glad at any time to welcome the American team to com­ pete against the British team in this country”—which we have agreed should be done. In another year we should go there and play over there. We hope we will be able to put a team in the field this spring. It is going to be difficult, because three of our best players—Mr. “Bobby” Jones, Mr. Knepper and Mr. Sweetser—are still in college and probably could not go in May. Captain Fownes has advised the committee he will be unable to go. Mr. Gardner also states that it will be quite impossible for him to go this spring. But it is a question with us whether it isn’t better to send the best team we have over—maybe it will be; we hope so—rather than let the thing drop at this time. We feel we want to carry on this competition—international competition—and if it is the wish of the Association, your committee will endeavor to select a team and send them over—the best we can get. If they win, all the better; if they lose, they will lose well. That is our feeling in the matter. During the past year we tried the experiment of charging gate admission fee for the amateur championships, excepting the ladies. This was done for sev­ eral reasons. One was the necessity of raising funds. The Association has grown to such an extent that we need funds. Our dues from the member clubs are not sufficient to properly finance the administration of the Association. One thing is the Green Section, which I think is one of the finest things that the Association offers to the golf of the country. That requires money, gentlemen, and it doesn’t have enough. We would like to have field men to go about the country. Mr. Piper—many of you heard him this morning—tells the needs of the Green Section. Then there is the possible sending of a team abroad, which will require approximately $10,000; the expenses of entertaining a visiting team; and further, the question of municipal golf, which we have taken up this last year, that requires money to carry on. Another reason for putting this gate into effect was to reduce the galleries, so that the players would not be bothered and the competition could be better handled. As the results of putting this gate in—I mean, the results have not been quite up to expectation. We have not acquired the revenue we thought we might. We think in another year we will gradually build up that fund, but during the past year our receipts, I thinks amounted at Chicago to $15,000 and at Brookline to $8,000—that is, gross. Then we had to pay out of that the clubs’ expenses, certain expenses to take care of other matters, that reduced the net amount to a very small figure. I think another year we will have learned a lesson and we can do better. But, gentlemen, I would like to say here that the majority of the committee feels that these championships—the clubs holding these championships must confine their expenses to a minimum, because the Asso­ ciation is not in position, owing to the demands upon it, to give large amounts to the clubs holding the tourneys. Just to illustrate that, the Treasurer, Mr. Moore—who, unfortunately, is absent, unavoidably—drew up a budget for the expenses and the revenue for the coming year. The expenses, in case we send a team abroad, amount to, roughly, $35,000; the revenue about the same. That is, we might make $500, Feb. 23, 1023 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 57 I think it was—providing we send a team abroad. If we do not, that money can be very well spent in developing the Green Section and in other ways. I think one of the greatest steps forward that the Association has made in the past year is the introduction of municipal golf under the auspices of the Association. This was taken up when we organized last year, and a committee was appointed to take care of this matter. Mr. James D. Standish was chair­ man. It has proven a great success, and gentlemen of the Association and the golf of the country, particularly municipal golfing, owe a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Standish for the work he has done in bringing about the development in municipal golf. I think it is the only means of developing golf in this country, and golfers, the value of which cannot be estimated, and I personally would like to give Mr. Standish all the credit for bringing about the splendid results. The Green Section I have mentioned before, and many of you probably were present this morning at the meeting at the William Penn Hotel. I think Mr. Piper, Mr. Oakley and Mr. Carrier are of so much value to the golfers and golf clubs in the communities in the country that this particular work must be carried on. It is of vital importance in an economical and scientific way. We are deeply indebted to Mr. Piper, to Mr. Oakley and to Mr. Carrier, of the De­ partment of Agriculture, and to Messrs. Harban, Alan Wilson, and Mr. Marshall, of Toledo. They have cooperated and accomplished a great deal in this work. Another matter that has come up during the past year, and which will come up every year as long as golf is in existence, is the question of amateuring. It is a big question and one that must be dealt with very carefully and very decisively. Your committee feels that there is a place for the amateur and there is a place for the professional. We, as trustees of the game of golf, feel in duty bound to strictly enforce the amateur definition—in other words, that a man may not be a quasi-amateur or a semi-pro, and play amateur golf under the auspices of this Association. There are times when players have trans­ gressed the rule through ignorance, or perhaps through poor advice by other older people. Ignorance, gentlemen, is not an excuse. Your committee feels that this game must be kept clean to prosper, that commercialism must be kept out of it, and if it meets with the approval of the Association, that is the policy that your committee is going to pursue. I think—we all think in our committee that probably the most important thing we have to deal with today is the question of the club and the ball. The control and the rulings of the club and the ball deal with the fundamentals of the game. I would just like to quote a statement that was made by Mr."John L. Low two years ago, when our committee conferred with the committee of the Royal and Ancient on the question of the ball and the clubs. Mr. Low, hav­ ing been chairman of the Rules Committee of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club for twenty-two years, makes this statement: “After twenty-two years’ work on the Rules of Golf Committee, I can say without a glimpse of doubt, that the limitation of the club and the limitation of the ball are the greatest services, we have rendered the same, services which have made her secure from all future attack.” That was after we had arrived at the conclusion to limit the ball to 1.62-1.62—“In these two defensive measures we have had the full cooperation of the United States Golf Association.” A premium must be placed upon skill; the game should not be made easy, and a player should not be able to pur­ chase his shots in a shop. One of the greatest charms of the game of golf is the pleasure and satis­ faction of overcoming obstacles by reason of one’s skill. If the game is made easy, if mechanical devices of the clubs produce what one’s skill cannot pro­ duce, if the ball may be driven a mile, and so forth, it detracts, takes away from the skill and the pleasure of the game. And it is our opinion that the control of the ball and the club must be given most careful and serious consideration. We look with alarm upon the increasing power and carrying distance of the ball. While we legislated two years ago on the weight and the size of the ball, the inventor and the manufacturer have, developed a ball today which goes a great deal farther than the ball which we hoped we had standardized; and we feel that unless this distance can be controlled, your association, in cooperation with the committee abroad, must take very drastic steps to control the length of the ball. The Committee on Implements and the Ball, of which Mr. Vander­ 58 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE Vol. in, No. 2 pool is chairman, has given it most careful thought. We have ordered, on the suggestion of Mr. Fownes, through the Department of Standards in Washing­ ton, a driving machine whereby we can test the power of the ball. It may be that in future championships all balls will be tested; it may develop that the Association will have to furnish the balls; but on these two points, the club and the ball, I would like to say, on behalf of the committee, that we feel those matters must be controlled by your committee, by the Association. We feel, if the manufacturer or inventor is given too much license, that the game is going to be defeated, and we feel that those matters must be controlled by the Association and not given into the hands of the inventor or the dealer or the manufacturer. That is our policy. If anyone has any remarks on it, we will be glad to hear from them later. During the past year our championship events, we think, have perhaps been the most successful we ever had. The Open Championship at Skokie, won by Gene Sarazen, I think developed the greatest exhibition of golf we have ever had in the country. Sarazen, a practically unknown player, with great courage and consummate skill and disregard for reputations of the great players that he had to contend with, “went to it” and won a magnificent victory. He further won the Professional Golf Association Tournament, and later defeated Walter Hagen, and stands without question as the greatest golfer of the year, today. I said “professional golfer,” because semi-amateur golfers did not compete against him in that tournamnt. In the Amateur Championship, Mr. Sweetser I think probably displayed the finest, most consistent golf that has ever been produced in a championship, and defeated in turn “Willie” Hunter, Mr. Guilford, and in the semi-finals defeated a man whom many think'—and it is almost universal—the gratest golfer today, in the world, “Bobby” Jones; and in the finals beat “Chick” Evans, who has been for years and still is one of the best golfers in the world. In the Ladies’ Championship, Miss Collett won a notable victory, but not without considerable trouble. She had very keen competition, and thoroughly deserved her victory. I want, right here, to. thank, on behalf of the Association, the management of the Skokie Country Club, of the Country Club of Brookline, and of the club at White Sulphur Springs—the Greenbrier Club, I think it is called—for the wonderful way in which they conducted these championships. The year has been a most notable one, I think, because of the international match and the success of the tourneys. I would like to say one word, gentlemen, in closing, to convey the thanks of the Association to the golfers of the country for their splendid support during the past year, and we appeal to them and request their support for the coming year. Your committee is not always right; we welcome criticism of a construc­ tive nature, and we hope, if there is anything at any time, any suggestions any of you gentlemen have, or any of the golfers of the country have, you will come to us and help us. We ask your cooperation and support. I wish to say identically the same thing to the gentlemen of the press. We realize the power of the press, how much good or how much ill the press may do to the game of golf. For the most part, I will say that they have been fair- minded, broad-minded, kindly, and have given us splendid support. At times statements have been made, issued and printed in the papers, which have per­ haps been misleading and have given a wrong impression—we think that is due to lack of knowledge of the facts. We ask the support of the press. We do not ask eternal praise, but we ask justness and fair criticism of a constructive nature, and we are at all times glad to give to the press any information at our dis­ posal; we would like to work with the press, and we ask their cooperation. I should also like to say a word of appreciation to the manufacturers and dealers in implements, paraphernalia, and all that has to do with the game of golf, particularly along the lines of reducing the cost. We have been working with them, and they have cooperated with us in bringing down the cost of play­ ing the game of golf. The cost at one time got so high that the poor man couldn’t afford to play golf. It is gradually coming down, and I will say for the manufacturers that the big concerns, such as Spalding and Mr. McGregor and Mr. Curtis, and other gentlemen of other firms, have absolutely assured Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 59 us of their support and cooperation. Our desire is to have the game, as far as cost goes, in a position where everyone can play and enjoy the benefits of golf. Finally, gentlemen, I want to thank you all again for the great honor you have conferred upon me, and in closing, I would like to state to you, tell you what a splendid executive committee you have had during the past year and what wonderful support they have given me in endeavoring to administer the affairs of the organization. I personally want to thank each member of the Executive Committee for what they have done. They have been untiring, un­ selfish. Not one member of the committee has ever accepted one cent of ex­ penses. They have made sacrifices of money and time, to give what they had to the best interests of the development of the game of golf, and I cannot tell you gentlemen how much I appreciate what they have done to help. (Applause.) MR. DOUGLAS: Mr. President, just before you gave your very fine and illuminating remarks on the Executive Committee report, I had previously moved that it be accepted as printed, but on looking it over a second time, I find that the Executive Committee is guilty of a breach of the rules of the game. MR. GARDNER: We accept the criticism. MR. DOUGLAS: If you will revert to the International Matches and Re­ lations Committee report, the Walker International Cup Matches, you will find “Singles,” and then turn over on the next page, you will find “Scotch Foursomes.” Now, gentlemen, being a Scotchman, I accept the compliment. It is a form of competition in which you give Scotland all the credit; but your first rules in the game of golf are definitions; they define singles, two-ball matches, three- ball matches, and so on. Therefore, after having moved that this report be adopted as printed, I want to amend that motion of mine, that you strike out the word “Scotch,” and just leave “Foursomes.” (Applause and laughter.) PRESIDENT BYERS: Gentlemen, you have heard the very pertinent and very proper correction that Mr. Douglas has made in the wording of the report of the Executive Committee, particularly as it pertains to the International Match. I think it is in order to accept that correction. We have already adopted this, but would you like a motion or not? A VOICE: Is Mr. Douglas a prohibition agent? PRESIDENT BYERS: I really didn’t understand whether he wanted to strike out the word “Scotch” or “Foursomes,” or substitute for “Foursomes” “Hig-h- ball,” but I don’t think a motion is necessary,—unless you would like one, Mr. Douglas. That should be and will be corrected, Mr. Douglas. The next order of business is General Business. Under that comes amend­ ments to the constitution. We have two amendments we would like to submit for your consideration. Will you read those, Mr. Secretary? (Secretary Lee then read the proposed amendments, as follows:) December 4th, 1922. At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the United States Golf Associa­ tion held Friday, November 24th, the following amendments to the Constitution were unproved to be presented at the Annual Meeting on .January 13th. 1923. ARTICLE V of the Constitution, entitled “EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE,” shall be amended to read as follows: “Section 2. POWERS AND DUTIES.—Subject only to the provisions of this Constitution and to such action as may be taken from time to time bv the Association itself at an Annual or Special meeting, the Executive Committee shall have entire control and management of the affairs, property and policy of this Association. They may delegate any of their powers or duties to a sub­ committee composed of three or more of their own number; except that no sub­ committee shall have power to adopt or modify rules for the plaving of the game, or to adopt or modify any rule or test of amateur standing or to elect any Club to Active Membership, or to expel or suspend anv Club belonging to the Association. The Executive Committee mav appoint other committees, of their number or otherwise, with such duties as they may prescribe, subiect onlv to the limitations herein contained. They mav appoint and in their discretion remove such managers, clerks and agents as they deem necessary: and mav fix their duties and compensation. They may make and alter any By-Laws or other Rules not inconsistent with this Constitution. The Executive Committee shall 60 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. in. No. 2 have power from year to year to elect as an honorary member of said Committee any person ivho, in its opinion, by reason of his interest in or service to the game of golf, may be entitled to such recognition.” ARTICLE VI of the Constitution, entitled, “OFFICERS,” shall be amended to read as follows: “Section 1. ELECTION.—The officers of this Association shall be a Presi­ dent, two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary and a Treasurer, who shall be elected and hold office as provided in Section 1 of Article V. No person shall hold more than one office. There shall also be a General Counsel. Vacancies shall be filled by the Executive Committee. “Section 2. (e) GENERAL COUNSEL.—The General Counsel shall con­ fer with, and submit advice to any officer or Committee whenever called upon, and. shall act as counsel of record for the Association in any matter entrusted to him by the Executive Committee.” BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Cornelius S. Lee, Secretary. (Matter in italics new amendments.) MR. PAINE: Mr. President, is it in order to elect the counsel? PRESIDENT BYERS: Mr. Paine, I think you are out of order. We have here the question of acting on these amendments. You have heard the pro­ posed amendments, gentlemen. What is your pleasure? (Motion duly made and seconded that the amendments be adopted.) PRESIDENT BYERS: It is moved and seconded that the amendments as proposed be adopted by the Association and embodied in the Constitution of the Association. Are there any remarks? If not, those in favor say “aye”; con­ trary, “no.” Carried. MR. PAINE: Mr. President, may I nominate Mr. James Francis Burke as general counsel? I think it is in order to elect one at this time, is it not? PRESIDENT BYERS: I am not sure, Mr. Paine, whether that is not a matter for the Executive Committee to act upon. No; under this amendment I think the selection should properly come before the delegates. Gentlemen, Mr. Paine has nominated Mr. James Francis Burke to be general counsel of the Association for the coming year, or until his successor is ap­ pointed. Is that motion seconded? (The motion was thereupon duly seconded and unanimously carried.) MR. DOUGLAS: One point, Mr. President. Does that mean that the general counsel is to be nominated by a nominating committee, as usual ? MR. BURKE: Yes, that is correct. PRESIDENT BYERS: Yes, in the future. I might add to that, that the general counsel in the past, and I assume in the future, will act without com­ pensation. That is not embodied in this, but I take it that is the idea of the present general counsel. (Laughter.) Gentlemen, we have had an application—in fact, a very strong appeal— from the National Amateur Athletic Federation of America, which is a body of which His Excellency Mr. Harding is honorary president, Mr. Henry Brecken­ ridge of New York is active president, to join their Federation. This organi­ zation has to do with the development of sport in general, and of all kinds, and observing of the amateur status, and so forth, and when we were first appealed to we replied—the Executive Committee replied—we did not think it was within our power to accept or decline, but we would present it to the delegates at the annual meeting. There are a great many ramifications of this ‘organization. It is affiliated with the Amateur Athletic - Union, has to do with the Olympic Games—or is affiliated with them—and I think in many ways is a very good thing. The United States Lawn Tennis Association, for instance, is a member. To be a member, your Association would commit itself to abide-by certain articles of their Constitution, which I am not sure you are ready to do. If anyone would like to see their Constitution, we will be very glad to show it to them. This subject, as a matter of fact, was referred to a sub-committee of your Execu­ tive Committee, consisting of Mr. Vanderpool, chairman, Mr. Alien and Mr. Burke, to report a recommendation. That committee reported yesterday that they were unable at the present time to make a recommendation. They were not fully acquainted with the facts, and if their recommendation had been requested Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 61 yesterday, I think it would have been in the negative. I would like to ask Mr. Vanderpool, as chairman of that committee, if he would like to say anything on the subject. Mr. Vanderpool, we were discussing the matter of the National Amateur Athletic Association. I stated you were the chairman of the . com­ mittee, and the committee was not quite ready to report, and we had said we would submit this matter to the delegates at the annual meeting. MR. VANDERPOOL: I don’t think I have anything further to say. The committee discussed it informally yesterday, and it is still being discussed by our committee. We did not take any action one way or the other on it. MR, HERRON (?): Mr. President, I move this matter be referred to the Executive Committee, with power to act. (Motion duly seconded.) PRESIDENT BYERS: I think probably the National Amateur Athletic Association is expecting an answer yes or no from your committee, but as I have said—Mr. Vanderpool has concurred—we at present are not prepared to recom­ mend one way or the other. We are not satisfied to decline or accept. Mr. Her­ ron has moved that the matter be referred back to the Executive Committee, and it has been seconded. Are there any remarks? MR. HERRON: With full power to act. (The question having been put, the motion was carried unanimously.) PRESIDENT BYERS: Under the heading of General Business, has any­ one anvthing he would like to present? MR. DOUGLAS: Mr. President, I just want to make this as a suggestion. As you know, I am President of the Metropolitan Golf Association of New York City, and our Executive Committee is made up of prominent golfers, men who play and know the game, and it occurred to us before our meeting—we were talking at a dinner we had befoi’e our annual meeting—that your- Association as composed, the personnel keeps on changing all the time. A man takes up the game of golf and starts playing it young and plays it all through his life. There is no particular reason why you men—You are all good men, and in a year or two you are succeeded by other members who are nominated by the Nominating Committee. After all, the game is so dependent on the rules that men coming in as you men came in are not familiar with what has gone before, and the suggestion on my part—I am not making this as any motion or any­ thing—is for your consideration, that you recommend at some time that a Rules of Golf Committee be appointed in this country. You speak of Mr. John.Low having been chairman of a Rules Committee for twenty years in Great Britain. You see how simple it must be when a man is there for twenty years; he is familiar with all cases that come up before that Rules Committee. Say you ap­ point a Rules Committee, a permanent Rules Committee, and individual members can be ruled out or withdrawn by the unanimous vote of the Executive Com­ mittee, something like that. It is all right the way the Association is consti­ tuted now for the conducting of the affairs of the Association, but I think it would be fine for the game of golf if you had a permanent Rules of Golf Com­ mittee. which would simply pass on the rules of the game, have nothing to do with the running of the organization. We all realize we have a limit here that the President of the Association serves for two years. There is nothing in the Constitution that he could not serve more, but it seems to be an accepted fact. In the course of twenty years, we probably have sixty-odd men who have served and lost interest in the game. I think the game is old enough in this country so that you will find, men who are familiar with the game, and if you could get such men to serve on a Rules of Golf Committee, and simply let any onestion on the rules in the game be put up to them, and the Executive Committee run all the matters of the Association, as they run it now. We have talked it over, and it seemed nrettv well thought of. I just mention that: it is no criticism. PRESIDENT BYERS: Mr. Douglas, I think your suggestion is an excel­ lent one. In the past year we did appoint a Committee on Rules. I think th:t’ is the first time we have ever had a Committee on Rules; and I thought you were a member. MR. DOUGLAS: It is a committee to be appointed every year; it is not permanent. PRESIDENT BYERS: I think Mr. Douglas’s idea is splendid, that a com­ 62 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE Vo1- ni- N°- 2 mittee on rules should carry on and not be changing personnel every year. I think we will bear that in mind, Mr. Douglas, and see if we can develop a Rules Committee. The committee as constituted at present contains some mem­ bers of the Executive Committee and some members who are not on the Execu­ tive Committee. In appointing that committee another year, we will endeavor to see if we can get one that will carry on as a more or less permanent com­ mittee. I think it is an excellent suggestion. Along those lines, gentlemen, I think one of the great weaknesses in golf today in this country is the absolute lack of knowledge of rules by the players. Not only lack of knowledge, but if they know the rules, they don’t pay any atten­ tion to thfem. And along this line, I have a letter from Mr. Crosby, former Vice- President of the Association—Mr. Crosby of Boston—which I handed to Mr. Burke. As it is very pertinent to this question, I would like to have him present it to the meeting. MR. BURKE: This, gentlemen, is a letter that was sent to the President, and Mr. Byers asked me yesterday if I would present it to the meeting here, merely as a matter of comment. It reads as follows: “Harvard College Library Room 91 William C. Lane, Librarian. M. Lewis Crosby, Curator of Books in Spanish. J. Frederic Byers, Esq., My dear Mr. Byers: Cambridge, Mass., January 3, 1923. President, U. S. Golf Association, 235 Water Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. As I am unable to attend in person the Annual Meeting of the U. S. Golf Association to be held in Pittsburgh this month, I beg to suggest through you the consideration of some means of bringing to the attention of golfers in general, and of the younger players in particular, the importance of a better observance of the Rules of Golf. That there is an altogether too common neglect in observ­ ing the rules is manifest to anyone who has the opportunity to watch the playing of many matches. Carelessness in observing the rules in so-called friendly matches is not only bad in itself, but also because it tends to encourage equal carelessness in important events. If a player acquires the habit of disregard­ ing the rules in his everyday matches, he is sure to become forgetful of many of the rules, particularly of those the occasion for applying which occurs infre­ quently. This means violating the less common rules through ignorance of them, an offense which is none the less subject to penalty, and which would be avoided if players were impelled to devote themselves earnestly to learning the rules, and to determine, when in doubt, to consult a book of rules and not to depend upon the opinion of a fellow-competitor, a caddie or a supposedly well-informed bystander. It is an unquestioned fact that many of the rules are complicated by quali­ fying references to other rules; and some of them carry distinctly unfair pen­ alties, such as the penalty for unlawfully asking for or willingly receiving ad­ vice. But, until the rules are re-codified or revised, they must stand and be obeyed as they are. For this reason it appears to me, as I am sure it must to all golfers who have a genuine interest in the welfare of the game of golf, that a determined effort should be made bv the National Association to furnish in­ struction, even explanations, in the rules of golf to all players, and at the same time to impress upon them in the most forcible language the importance of ob­ serving every written law of the game, no matter how trivial or even unreason­ able it may seem. It is unthinkable that any golfer who plays the game in a spirit of true sportsmanship would intentionally violate a rule, or take advantage of any ob­ scurity in its wording: and it is equally unthinkable that any such golfer could fail to be deeply mortified if, after a match or stroke competition had been fin­ ished, he discovered too late for correction that on a particular hole he had incurred a penalty with which he had failed to charge himself through lack of acquaintance with the rules. Here is a case in point: Feb. 23, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 63 In a recent event of national importance a player competing in the quali­ fying round drove into a road crossing the course. His ball, after it had come to rest, was displaced by a passing automobile. Rule 17 (3) says: ‘If a ball at rest be displaced by any agency outside the match, except wind, the player shall drop a ball as near as possible to the place where it lay, without penalty, etc.’ In the case to which I am referring the player did not replace the ball, but played it from the spot to which the automobile had knocked it. This, of course, constituted a violation of the rule, the penalty for which is two strokes; and, failing to charge himself with the incurred penalty, he turned in a card marked with a score lower than that actually made. So that, under the rules, the final result of his mistake should have been disqualification. As it hap­ pened, however, the two penalty strokes, if they had been added to his score, would not have prevented his qualifying, and he therefore gained no advan­ tage, so far as the merit of his play was concerned, by his failure to observe the rule. The rule in question may be considered one of the least known rules; it is at all events one of those the necessity for applying which occurs infrequently, and is for that reason seldom remembered. Every player is familiar with the rule for a lost ball, a ball out of bounds, casual water, and the rules which may be applicable in almost every round of' golf; but it is for a more complete acquaintance with, and a stricter observance of, the remaining less known but equally important rules that players should be called upon to devote their attention. I have cited the above specific case,—one of several that I have had occa­ sion to notice in the last two or three years,—because it illustrates how a player of skill, of unquestioned sportsmanship, and of the highest personal character may violate a rule because, perhaps, he has never heard of it, or has forgotten it. I would like to make the suggestion that every competitor in, an event held under the auspices of the U. S. Golf Association be given, before he starts play­ ing, an official copy of the Rules of Golf, having printed on the cover a strongly worded appeal that he study the rules carefully. It would be a further help if member clubs of the Association were furnished with a liberal supply of these books for distribution among their members, additional copies to be supplied as wanted. With so many young golfers coming to the front rapidly, golfers upon whom we are to rely for acquiring and maintaining national supremacy in'the game?, I think you will agree that the matter of which this letter treats is of genuine importance. Let me conclude by quoting a remark made by an English woman who was in the gallery at the Brookline Country Club, last September. She was overhead to say, ‘Don’t you play at all according to rule over here?’ This was of course too severe; but the implied criticism was not wholly undeserved. With very kind regards, I am Very cordially yours, M. Lewis Crosby.” PRESIDENT BYERS: Gentlemen, I think that is a very important mat­ ter, and it is one your committee will give very serious consideration. I think Mr. Crosby’s suggestions are very good, and we will endeavor to carry them out to the best of our ability. Just one word in discussing the question of the club and the ball. It might appear that we were rather evading this question of the steel shaft and slotted and grooved clubs and the matter of the ball. I just want to say, I don’t think there is anything your committee has given more serious consideration to than this matter of the club and the ball. TJiere was a very apparent misunder­ standing or misapprehension of our attitude on the matter of the steel shaft when it was first taken up. The public had that—the golfing public. Some of them thought we had barred the steel shaft. As a matter of fact, gentlemen, your committee acted in, to our mind, a sound, conservative policy. We did not bar it, but we did not permit it. The rules under the Rules of Golf state that the United States Golf Association will not sanction any substantial departure from the accepted form and make of golf clubs. When this question was put up to us, we did not bar it, but we did not accept it, and we are not ready to ac­ cept it yet, or until such time as we are quite satisfied that we have sufficient 64 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE Vol. hi, no. 2 knowledge and data to insure the golfers of the country that it is proper to accept it. We have had a great deal of communication and a great many re­ quests to adopt it. When we feel that the time is proper to adopt it, we may, but we are trying to pursue a sound, conservative policy with regard to the steel shaft and with regard to the grooved or slotted facings. Now, I remember two years ago, when we made the rule of the 1.62-1.62 ball, there was great criticism on the controlling of that; and if I recall cor­ rectly, Mr. Whigham here, one of our critics, thought that should not be tampered with, that the ball should be left alone. Now, had we not two years ago en­ deavored to control in a measure the development of the golf ball, I don’t know what would have happened to the game today. I think Mr. Whigham and Mr. Douglas and the other Britisher—Scotchman, I think you said—will agree one of the greatest shots in the game of golf is oiit of the game today, and that is the brassie shot. With these big, powerful balls, the brassie very seldom comes into play. Of course, Mr. Vanderpool still uses the spoon. Those are the things we have to consider, and we try to do it in the fairest, most broad-minded way; and we want your ideas, we want your criticism, your suggestions. I just don’t want you to feel we are dodging anything with regard to the club and the ball. We are studying it most carefully. MR. DOUGLAS: Now, Mr. President, you referred to me again on this matter, and I want to get straightened out on this thing, because I have gone on record as saying that, as the thing stands today, a man that uses a steel shaft is not a sportsman,—and I have said so, because you do not sanction the use of that shaft. Now, you say that you do not bar it, but you do not sanction it, and I don’t know where that halfway line lies there. You don’t bar it, but you also say you don’t sanction it. Now, I claim you don’t allow a man to play with a steel shaft in the United States Golf Association championship, then that man has no business playing with a steel shaft in any other competition. PRESIDENT BYERS: Mr. Douglas, we feel, or have felt in the past, that the steel shaft is a substantial departure from the accepted form—not particularly form, but make of golf club—and we are most desirous of preserv­ ing the unity or uniformity, as you know, of the rules and in the implements of the game. We are practically universally in absolute accord, with the ex­ ceptions, perhaps, of the Schenectady putter, which is permitted in this country but not abroad. We feel that the steel shaft is an absolute departure in the make of a golf club. MR. DOUGLAS: I believe so, too. PRESIDENT BYERS: And I say, we have not permitted this, which, as you say, practically amounts to saying we bar it. It may be that the danger may be so decreased that the time will come when it will be advisable to waive that, or permit the use of the steel shaft. Up to the present time we have not felt so, and furthermore, we are not quite satisfied that we are safe in doing so,—■ that there are possibilities of developing the steel shaft that might drive a ball a great distance. There are possibilities of mechanical devices in the steel shaft, there are many ramifications we are considering most carefully, and when we are satisfied it is time and is proper to permit the use of the steel shaft, I am quite sure your committee will do so. It is one of the most serious things we are facing today. I agree with you, Mr. Douglas, that not permitting it does substantially amount to barring it. That is quite so. But under the rules, to which we must go, we must not permit a club which is not of the accepted form or make of club. That is what we are told to do. Now rules may be broken, and when we think that the time has come that that should be changed, I think your committee is broad-minded and will give it broad-minded con­ sideration. MR. VANDERPOOL: I might supplement that a little by saying that un­ less a test is made by players very generally, unless a club is given a thorough demonstration by all kinds of players—the best players and indifferent players— over a period, we don’t feel we have sufficient knowledge or data to go by; and far from being unsportsmanlike in using that club, we would welcome tests not only by the general line of players, but by the champions. MR. DOUGLAS: I am speaking from the viewpoint of sectional associa­ tions. We claim to be immediate subordinates of the United States Golf Asso­ Feb. 28, 1923 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 65 ciation. Whatever you do, we follow right along. Therefore, I say, when you cannot use a steel shaft in the United States Golf Association championship, they cannot use it in any Metropolitan championship or any tourney held under the auspices of my association. I don’t care what they do—they can play with shovels and pick axes—in private matches, but I am talking about tournaments. So I have told our people, when you don’t permit it—there is no use quibbling about the words “permit” and “bar,” it means the same thing, in my mind— when you don’t permit that club in your association championships, we don’t permit it in ours. I don’t know anything about the merits of the club at all, I am absolutely neutral, I have never played it. We simply follow you. PRESIDENT BYERS: What is your suggestion? MR. DOUGLAS: My suggestion would be this, Mr. President: I would suggest that you appoint a—you can call it by any term you want—call it a commission—appoint a commission to go into this question very thoroughly. Just let them go and find out about this talk—I understand the great big selling point on the steel shaft is they preach all the time the shortage of hickory. Now, I would suggest you appoint some kind of a commission to take this whole question in hand and report back to, say, the next annual meeting—don’t be in a hurry about it. Let them get in touch with the hardwood people and find out if there is a shortage of hickory. MR. VANDERPOOL: Mr. Douglas, I thought you moved to accept this Executive Committee report, and it is exactly in line with your suggestion; that is exactly what we are doing. MR. DOUGLAS: That just shows you how we golfers are all in harmony. You asked me what was my suggestion. Now, as I say, that only proves that we are all in one accord on this thing. PRESIDENT BYERS: Thank you, Mr. Douglas. MR. DOUGLAS: I thank you, sir. PRESIDENT BYERS: As I mentioned in the remarks I made, one of the greatest steps taken this last year, I think, has been this development of nublic and municipal golf, and today there are gentlemen present—Mr. Robert W. Mc- Kinlay, of Chicago, who has been a pioneer and one of the greatest factors in the development of municipal golf in this country—Mr. Jermain, Mr. McKinlav and Mr. McCumber are working with Mr. Standish on this matter, and we would like to have a few words from Mr. McKinlay on this matter. MR. McKINLAY: Mr. President, I was honored with an invitation to sav a few words to the Association a year ago, and I didn’t think I would be called on this year. However, I want to say, in my opinion, too much credit cannot be given to Mr. James D. Standish. Jr., for the magnificent manner in which he arranged, almost single-handed, the Public Links Tournament at Toledo, and I want to . say to you men in this room that it would have done your hearts good to have seen some of the bo’-s competing in that tournament. I recall one young fellow, I think a resident of Toledo, whose appearance reminded me of one of Fagan’s students in “Oliver Twist”—reallv. the cut of the fellow, the cut of his clothes, was worthy of special note—and that fellow was paired off with George F. Aulbach, the low medalist of the tournament. Mr. Standish is better posted than I am on -what phase of the tournament, it was, but it was the day before the finish. I want to say, gentlemen, we in the city of Chicago have the greatest centre of public golf anywhere in this countrv. I believe. I was just asking the gentle­ man on mv right, who comes from New York City, how manv public courses there were in that city: he said three. I want to sav to you men that in the citv of Chicago and in the County of Cook, very close to the city, next year there will be on public courses, 162 holes in play; that there will be semi-nublic courses numbering ten, with 180 more holes, making an aggregate of 342 holes open to public course players. Now, these ten clubs that I referred to latterly are semi­ public clubs; they are clubs that have members who, by paying an annual fee, can play at any time. They are also open to the general public any day for payment of a fee, generally one dollar per day, and Saturdays and Sundays and holidays $1.50. I want to say another thing: The Chicago Herald invited Gene Sarazen to visit our city the day after Christmas, December 26th, and give a public exhibi­ 66 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. in, No. 2 tion of his golfing skill, free to the public. About ten days prior to his arrival, when I read that in the morning paper, I conceived the idea, as President of the Cook County Municipal Golf Association, to tender a luncheon to Gene Sara- zen. I realized it was a bad day, the day after Christmas. Fortunately, how­ ever, I secured the ballroom of the Hotel LaSalle, which ordinarily I could not have secured on such short notice. And do you believe me,—we had 319 people there at $1.50 a plate, and they sat there from 12:30 until 3:00 o’clock. Bob Gardner was one of them, and he can vouch for that statement. I say that that alone gives you some idea of the strength of the public course sentiment in the city of Chicago. And personally, I want to say that I have received letters from all over this country showing a disposition and a sentiment on the part of the people in large cities and small cities to put in municipal courses. The 4th of July last year completed a term of four years as a member of our County Board. Unfortunately, on Primary Day last April “Hinky Dink” was against me, and I fell by the wayside. However, I am pleased to say that the day I left Chicago, Thursday, I was appointed Chairman of our Board of Elec­ tion Commission of the City of Chicago, so I am not a dead one on the political end. However, that is neither here nor there in the matter of golf. While on that Board I realized my advocacy of public golf might bring criticism on me from the standpoint I was interesting myself on this Board, which was a grow­ ing thing, getting more popular every day, for selfish political purposes. Since completing my term, however, my activities have not ceased. They are not going to cease. I left Chicago Thursday morning, and went to Jacksonville, Ill. They did have a 9-hoIe course for about 16,000 people; they are trying to get an 18-hole course. I went down there and gave them a talk—the best of my experience on the subject—and I believe before long they will have their 18-hole course. Now, I just mention these things, gentlemen, to let you know that the public course players appreciate what this Association, Mr. President, has done so far for public golf. And in reading your Executive Committee’s report par­ tially, I notice a clause in there to the effect that we must—that you must do something to control or influence this growing army of public course players, be­ cause they are growing. Notwithstanding these courses that we have in the city of Chicago, I can tell you what the situation is today,—the more we build, the more calls we have to build. I stopped at the first tee at Jackson Park Pub­ lic Course late in September, on a Sundav. I met a friend of mine and his wife—a man connected with Marshall Field & Company; it was then 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Thev drew tickets at 6 o’clock in the morning to play and hadn’t played off yet. Now. that is an actual fact. Now, I could go on and elaborate on this thing, but T didn’t come here tn talk, I came here as a delegate from the Lincoln Park Club of Chicasro. one of your affiliated members, or whatever you call them. However. I am so interested in this game, and going to be interested in it, that I am sure it is a pleasure and an honor to be called upon to address this august bodv. (Applause.) PRESIDENT BYERS: Thank you. We certainly appreciate what Mr. McKinlav has said, and I think it will help to make us realize the value and the importance of public and municipal golf. I would like to ask Mr. Gardner, as Chairman of the Selection of Courses Committee, if he will announce the courses for the next year’s championships, and the dates. MR. GARDNER: Mr. Chairman, the Executive Committee report contains the courses selected but does hot contain the dates. They are as follows: The Amateur will be held at Flossmoor Country Club, Flossmoor, Ill., Sep­ tember 10th to 15th. The Open will be held at Inwood Country Club, Inwood, Long Island, New York, July 9th to 13th. There was some agitation about the Open being held earlier, but the conflict with the British Open could not be avoided, and Sarazen and Hagen want to be there, and it did not seem fair to put it ahead. The Women’s Championship will be held at Westchester-Biltmore Country Club, Rye, N. Y-, October 1st to 6th. Public Links, East Potomac Park, Washington, June 26th to 29th. PRESIDENT BYERS: Gentlemen, you have heard Mr. Gardner’s report. Feb. 28, 1928 UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 67 Any comments? If not, I think Mr. Burke would like to make an announcement of the dinner of the Mid-Iron Club this evening. MR. BURKE: Gentlemen, as the result of an inadvertence, the hour pub­ lished for the Mid-Iron dinner reached you as 8 o’clock. The Mid-Iron dinner will take place promptly at 7 o’clock. It is because of the character of the dinner and the character of the program, it is more than ordinarily important that the guests be present at that hour. If there are any of the delegates to the United States Golf Association meeting who have not already arranged for or been provided for, if they will consult with Mr. McMahon before leaving the room here, our Mid-Iron Club committee will endeavor to arrange to take care of those gentlemen. We hope to see you all at 7 o’clock, gentlemen, at the Wil­ liam Penn Hotel ballroom. PRESIDENT BYERS: Gentlemen, Mr. Burke asked permission to make that statement, as he had to leave. Now, going back to Mr. Gardner’s announce­ ment, I would like to ask Mr. Wilson, of the Flossmoor Country Club, of Chi­ cago, if he has anything to say with respect to the Flossmoor Club and the sub­ ject of accommodations. MR. WILSON: Mr. President and Gentlemen: The Flossmoor Country Club feel greatly honored that your committee has selected Flossmoor for the Ama­ teur Championship tourney. We will do all we can to make it a success. Now, Flossmoor is sometimes considered difficult to reach. I want to assure you it is not. We are twenty-three miles south of Chicago, on the Illinois Central Railroad, within reasonable walking distance of the station. We have wonder­ ful train service. We have two vice-presidents of the railroad who are members of the club, and we can get anything we want—special trains or midnight trains. We can only take care of about fifty people at our club dormitories. We have concrete roads all over the place, because there are six golf courses within a radius of about a mile and a half. We are making some changes in the course, which your committee will adopt—that is, back tees. Now, hotel accommoda­ tions: We have a thirty-minute run to Flossmoor from Fifty-first Street; there are seven very large hotels there, in case the guests do not care to go down­ town. As I said, the concrete roads will take care of all motor car business. It sounds as if Skokie and Exmoor (?) are better situated. They are, from a motor standpoint, but we expect the majority of Mr. McKinlay’s public people, who will be interested in amateur golf, to come on the train. And I don’t think it is necessary to worry for one minute about the accommodations at Flossmoor. PRESIDENT BYERS: Mr. Steiner, do you wish to say something about accommodations at Inwood? MR. STEINER: We are greatly indebted to you for the honor you have conferred upon us, and I think you will find it quite satisfactory. We are within forty minutes of New York, and can be easily reached by automobile. Our clubhouse, we can handle everything in good shape there. Of course, we have conditions for about twenty—and twenty more in the dormitory. Every­ thing will be done for the contestants and all the visitors. PRESIDENT BYERS: Gentlemen, is there any further business to come before the meeting? Mr. Lee, Secretary, would like to make an announcement. SECRETARY LEE: Mr. Cook, of the Athletic Federation Vocational Training Association, asked me to call the attention of the meeting to a number of men who have been disabled during the war, who have been trained in green­ keeping. If any of you are looking for such men, you can get in communication with him. I have the address here. PRESIDENT BYERS: Is there a motion before the house to adjourn? (On motion, duly made, seconded and carried, the meeting thereupon ad­ journed.) 68 BULLETIN OF GREEN SECTION OF THE vol. in, No. « Meditations of a Peripatetic Golfer Can anyone curse more soulfully than a chairman of a green committee find­ ing his ball in a hole left by some dub’s failure to replace a divot? We are gratified to hear of so many turf nurseries being started by clubs. The more nurseries there are the less will be the danger of waste through the purchase of MacGinnis’ Miserable Mixture. A Bughouse Fable.—-“What a magnificent hole,” said the player new to the course; “one can’t see anything except this high ridge just in front of the tee.” Liquid manure is a very efficient fertilizer but rather expensive to handle. Holes moved only “once in a while.” No wonder the turf wears out around the cup! A green so steep that a putted ball gathers momentum. Don’t cuss the archi­ test. Use a flat-sided ball. I wish that golf architects would realize that trapping a course with par­ ticular reference to the poor player does not show a commendable spirit. The memories of the old 19th hole make the games of the older players deteriorate badly after about the 13th hole. To correct this our psychological expert advises that courses be lengthened to at least 20 holes, so that a new set of psychoses will gradually develop around a real 19th hole and thus entirely obliterate the haunting memories of the old 19th. They recently found a lost golf ball in one of the wild-bird houses on the Westchester-Biltmore course. Please do not let this incident influence your determination to build more bird-houses. It is rumored that the United States Golf Association is about to establish a championship in greenkeeping. Bob, the greenkeeper, says, “Bully,” and adds that when he is champion the golf magazines will print pictures of him, such as: “Bob Spreading Top-dressing; Note the Follow-through;” “Bob Spraying for Angle Worms; Observe the Intense Concentration;” “Bob Replacing a Cup; To Do This Properly He Keeps His Eye On the Hole,” etc. The tragedy of it all, he says, is that the magazines will do the same thing when some other guy is champion. Freddy, the greenkeeper, says greens built up in layers remind him of Christmas cakes. (But a Christmas cake serves a useful purpose.) “Yes,” said the architect, “I always build tees rectangular and raised up. I know they look artificial, make it more difficult to grow turf, and also neces­ sitate their being cut by hand. ...But this type of tee was handed down to us by the old masters. Besides, most men would not know they were on a golf course if it were not for the square tees.”