14 USGA JOURNAL: JULY, 1950 Pilgrimage to St. Andrews By WILLIAM C. CAMPBELL SEMI-FINALIST, USGA AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP, 1949 For fortunate amateur golfers the world over. all roads led to the Mecca of St. Addrews, Scotland, last May. There, before the altar of the storied Old Course, sacrifices were offered at the shrine of golf. Frank Stranahan was the only one inth~ .truly international entry of 340 togo'through the six days of seemingly continuous struggle unb~~ten, yet even the vanquished carried away with them a fond memory of a Championship which could have been held nowhere else in the world. Certainly, for the Americans who par- ticipated in this first British Amateur at. St. Andrews in 14 years, many of the legends of golf became real. We fairly wallow£!b. in the traditions. of . St. Andrews, many of us for the fIrst tIme. and we came to appreciate why golf World Wide Photo there, and hence golf at its best every- "Dynamite" Goodloe and Billy where, is more than a game, why it is Campbell pose together during the a heritage to be enjoyed and also to British Amateur to illustrate the be respected and maintained. fact that golfers come in all shapes Traditional Weather and sizes. We learned that good weather does at in the American practice of "putting on times happen along that eastern coast and taking off." Many of us wore gloves line of Scotland. Yet I believe most of between shots and found that paj amas us were glad,' at least for the sake of under trousers and rain pants were a tradition, that the Championship week good idea. The wind, so strong and cold saw little calm or sunshine, and offered as to add the problem of watery eyes, a considerable sampling of rain and a rather necessitated a rain jacket and cold east wind from the North Sea. The several sweaters. If our swings were constant blow, combined with the sand t:horter than they had been at Memphis, foundation on all British seaside courses, there was good cause! kept the fairways firm and the greens Gene Sarazen had told me that the slippery. Old Course would be a "disappointment" This un-American weather gave us the at first but "will grow on you." appearance of, ~lothes horses; a view of I believe that all of us first-viewers now almost any ..teeing ground. w0!lld have agree with Gene. The course itself is revealed an American changing the not at first so impressive, nor does it number of his thicknesses with a change appear difficult on the initial round. of wind, rain, and temperature. The It holds infinite variety, however, British are more practical, realizing that especially in ball bounces and wind, so the whims and moods of nature are ever- that confidence does not come easily. changing. They do not generally engage lL has been often and well said that USGA JOURNAL: JULY, 1950 1;; 51. Andrews tests the golfers' thinking St. Andrews remams m a class by itself as no other, for it seldom plays the today. s~me twice even though it is generally Also unique is the atmosphere c£ gr ~~ flat and to the casual eye uninteresting. that pervades the ancient town of 51. Trouble is often unseen but nonetheless Andrews, :mpposedly Scotland's oldest effective. Deep and numerous fairway township. It is historic for its ruins of bunkers are the chief offenders, ably cathedral and castle, famous for its assisted by th2 fairway mounds. thriving University (the students adorn The greens are tremendous~ and only the town with their red robes), pic- four are single greens. The others do turesque for 'its crowded stone buildings double-duty on both the out nine (white of old design, beautiful for its setting flags) and in-nine (red flags). Putts on a gentle slope extending to fertile, of more than 100 feet are not infrequent rolling farmland. It overlooks an ample and can be much longer; the green beach bordering the bay which practi- used for No. 5 and No. 12 is reputed to cally surrounds the course, with the enC'ompass a full acre. The greens, thin peaks of the Eastern Highlands, often of grass and hard of ground, with end- snow-covered, in the distant l,ackground less undulations like those at the Augusta beyond Carnoustie and Dundee. National Golf Club, the wind and the There are modern touches, such as the uneven fairways cause many a gray hair. sweater-and-tweed shops which cater to Even if the course itself didn't merit the fascinated American tourists and the a player's fear, the endless legends about constant roar of the planes of a jet its previous victories over golfers would, squadron of the RAF, stationed a few if only because of the names ascribed to miles up the coast. The essential Euch fabled workers of woe as the Valley dominance of golf, however, is proved of Sin and Hell's Bunker. The only by the effective request of Commander reprieves are the rewards awaiting an J. A. S. Carson, Secretary of the Royal artful "Scot's approach," the low one and Ancient Golf Club, that the RAF from any distance that the Britisher planes not fly low on the day of the manages to hop, skip and run dead to final. the hole, or a big hook from a tee to an adjacent fairway, where a slight hook The St. Andrews People m"ght be bunkered wedge-deep in one The large number of golfers in the of the fairway traps which look like town of 8,003 are served by four full small bomb craters. courses, all of which are kept busy. The To suggest even minor changes in the courses are owned by the town, and Old Course is beyond question, for, as course rules are laws of the town. Every- a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf one seems to play, old and young, men Club said, "Man cannot change what and women, and the tremendous practice God has made." putting greens, 500 feet long, are practi- cally community meeting places. The What Makes St. Andrews history of the game is local lore; almost We came away agreed that S1.Andrews anyone can tell you what Bob Jones meets one definition of a "good test"- used for his third shot on the 14th hole it requires the player to adapt his game in his second round of the Open in to it. Most of us believed, I am sure, 1927, or the like. Shots are long that match play there was, in fact, a remembered and the slightest unusual concurrent matching of the two players' remark between players, to a caddie or brains and abilities against the hazards to the crowd can become an historic and chances of the Old Course, rather incident. than simply a match of the players Galleries are huge and well-mannered against each other. That may be why because they all know golf. Though 16 USGA JOURNAL; JULY, 1950 naturally pulling for the Britishers to or adapted his every action and thought win, they are polite to all. They are to that purpose so steadfastly. Even well-controlled by marshals in white the British were bound to appreciate his coats, and the galleries are almost always extreme determination and his con- kept off the narrow, two-way course tinuous exhibition of complete self- itself. control. An explanation for their universal An excellent impression also was made interest in golf is that the summer by Dick Chapman, whose fine play all evenings are long, and they may play week carried him to the final and whose until after 11 P. M. All have time to sportsmanship and friendliness won the learn the game, and all seem to have the acclaim of all. Jimmy McHale, who inclination-as Americans enjoy movies barely lost to Chapman in the semi-final or canasta. The weather is bracing after a succession of low scoring rounds, enough to preclude our type of golfing also was admired and his style of play fatigue, so that 18 holes at St. Andrews was generally likened to that of the top is slight effort indeed. professionals. "Dynamite" Goodloe, who liThe Rules of Golf" started his opening round in a blowing The old caddies are the best indication rain (five sweaters and jackets) with of the people's love of the game. Many an eagle and made six straight 3s, the of them are quite elderly. All wear ties best golf of the week, captured the hearts and business suits, all seem healthy from of all with his sincere personality, sport- their lifetime of caddying and all exhibit ing generosity, colorful sweaters and a most remarkable love of golf, especially hats,. big drives and Georgia accent as they hover near the caddie shop over- before he finally failed in the sixth looking the 18th green to watch matches round. Ed Gravely made a fine im- come in. Their interest extends into preSSIOn after "byeing" and "walking" the evening, regardless of weather. into the third round. Of course, the When I differed with my caddie on a veterans Francis Ouimet, Chick Evans minor point of Rules and explained how and Ellis Knowles are as popular in the USGA Rules read, he aloofly advised Great Britain as here. me, "Sir, here we play the 'Rules of Crosby's Following Golf." That ended the discussion. The many other American golfing The Championship was well reported visitors, bringing our total to 32, found in the American press.