How Merion Prepares for Big Championships* By JOSEPH VALENTINE Supt., Merion Club, Ardmore, Pa.

WAS WORKING at a bank for $5 a provide a true championship test of play- week, and worked on Saturday until ing skill. I8:00 p.m. Out of my earnings I had to pay The course must be interesting alike to $3 per week for board, and that left $2 to players and spectators. This scope we have keep my shirts clean. at Merion even though the course is not I went to Merion Cricket Club oh May too long — only 6694 yards with a par of 16, 1907, on Thursday, and I was sent home 70. The layout is made for the precision at noontime on Saturday with $5.25 for shot. A long hitter off line a bit will not two and a half days work. Naturally, to me have any advantage. it was an inducement to a better living. Always Championship Condition And I have not been disappointed in my It is our feeling that the course in itself choice. should always be in championship condi- I was brought to the new golf club, tion. We cannot see why the test of golfing known today as the championship East skill should differ from the test during an course of Merion GC. I went there on the ordinary round between members and mem- 1st of March, 1912, to shape up the course, bers' guests. All players are playing the and we opened it on the 14 th of September same game even though their proficiency of the same year. does differ. I have prepared the course for seven ma- There are certain requests made by the jor National Golf Tournaments: Tournament committee of the USGA. These The Amateur in 1916 when concern principally the clear marking of coupled his Amateur title with his 1916 boundaries and so forth. If there is a tree Open Championship. That year at Merion, in the line of boundary, extra white stakes , then only 14 years old, made must be placed to define the line more his first appearance in a national cham- clearly to avoid unnecessary discussion or pionship. In 1924 the National Amateur calling in a referee to render a decision. Championship again was played at Merion You may perhaps find some remote spots and Bobby Jones was the victor. where it is hard to decide whether or not In 1926 we had the Women's National they are out of bounds. It is better to de- Amateur championship won by Mrs. Stet- fine these spots and put them out of bounds son of . in order to avoid any doubt about it. In 1930 the Amateur championship was All water hazards must be definitely held and the Grand Slam was completed marked with small stakes painted white to by Bobby Jones. He then retired from com- avoid any question in the mind of the play- petition. er as to whether he is inside the hazard In 1934 I took care of the course for the or not. Open Championship won by Olin Dutra. Water hazards must be clearly defined In 1949 we again had the Women's Na- not with white lines, as used to be the rule, tional Championship won by Dorothy Ger- but with white stakes from 25 to 30 feet main Porter. apart or closer on the sharp bends. We had in 1950 A parallel water hazard must be clearly won by the great player of today, Ben defined with four stakes painted red, plus Hogan. So you can see I have had some a sign where it ends. experience preparing the course for USGA All bridges must be substantial and well- Championships. secured to avoid any mishaps that might In all these tournaments the USGA tried incur liabilities for the club. to get a course that would be convenient There should not be any "Ground Under for the spectators, and at the same time Repair" signs any place on the golf course. At the 1950 National Open the USGA Com-

(*1954 GCSA conference address) mittee ruled that the "Ground Under Re- pair" signs should be eliminated complete- You must keep people from trampling all ly, and a ball in such areas be called an over the greens and bunkers. unplayable lie. Provision must be made for comfort sta- Protecting Fairways, Tees and Greens tions. At least three double ones must be Tees as well as fairways must be roped erected on remote spots on the course to off. In fact, for the last tournament in 1950 provide facilities for the spectators. Three we used 20,000 ft. of % in. rope, to protect or more comfort stations are needed. fairways, tees and greens. You will need to have installed three or We used 1500 iron rods to support the possibly four public telephones. rope. The iron rods were approximately 6 Outgoing message facilities are needed ft. in height and the ropes slip into loops for the press room, as well as messenger on the rods so we could drop the rope in a boys. You must have a press room or tent minimum amount of time to make open- to accommodate at least 100 reporters ings for the galleries. Naturally, they must have a well lighted You need about 5000 ft. of gallery rope scoreboard and other necessary facilities. to be stretched across the fairways by the Parking facilities must be provided. committee in charge of the galleries. There should be convenient parking for at Greens must be roped off to prevent un- least 2000 to 5000 cars. You may arrange necessary damage. two or more places for parking. Provision should be made for a tent to accommodate a Red Cross First Aid Sta- tion. If possible a doctor should be in at- tendance. Medical aid must be available in case an emergency arises. The serving of food to the public comes under the jurisdiction of the House com- mittee, but the man in charge of the course must have a hand in it too. It is his job to provide water and other facilities, and com- fort stations for the attendants. Care of Greens During Play There must be a man for each hole to take care of all ball marks on greens after players have holed out. This man shall not go on a green while players are approach- ing or putting, but as soon as they start to move the man must make any needed re- pairs. Also the man must take care of foot- prints in sand bunkers. Our bunkers are so constructed that they do not need any ar- Greensboro (N. C.) Golf Year tificial ribbing. But in order to make it fair Is 358 Days Long for every player footprints must be rough- George Corcoran, pro at Greens- ly taken care of. boro (N. C.) CC, shows count on non- You must have a crew to take care of golf days at his club last year. Jan. 9, cleaning up every evening or morning. We Feb. 19, March 2 and 11, Dec. 4, 18, prefer evening as the time to clean up the 12, were only days missed. There were must be removed in order that the course 266 consecutive days of play. will be presentable every day of the tourna- This record, says George and Jim ment. Foster, golf editor, Greensboro Rec- Preparation of Greens ord, makes Greensboro the nation's The putting greens must be in A-l shape greatest location for good golf and the surface should be uniformly weather. smooth. This does not mean it will have to Greensboro, with 5 18-hole courses be as smooth as glass. in a city of 74,000 population, had The greens should not be too soft. You 89,546 rounds of golf played last year. must be careful not to overwater. Use the George and Jim figure that's the minimum amount of water needed to en- greatest per capita golf playing able the grass to survive. The green should record of any city in the world. be firm enough to offer a challenge to the skillful player. Do not water so excessively that greens will be soft enough to hold Old Master Produces even a poorly placed shot. Make this an Soul-Warming Art opportunity for the golfers to demonstrate their proficiency. We cut greens to 5/32 of an inch in or- der to accentuate delicate undulations. This is very important. The tees ordinarily are mowed at a height of % in. The fairways will have to be mowed every evening at the height of % in. or lower, if you have the type of turf that will withstand close-cutting. Our rough ordinarily is cut at 5 in., but if at all possible within a distance of 8 to 10 ft. of the edge of the fairways, mow to 3 to 4 in. to make it fair for the player who is off only a few feet. The inside part of the rough could be higher than 5 inches due to Here is Old Master Fred Crawford, man- the fact the spectators tramp it down. ager of the famed Pendennis Club at Louis- ville, and his veteran Old Master bartender Placing Cups Millard Hill, collaborating on a Pendennis The cups are placed by the committee but Club mint julep which is to most other mint you must go along with them and give an juleps like a painting by Titian is to a pic- explanation of how each hole should re- ture in the funny papers. ceive a well-placed shot. As the days go Club managers hail Fred as a beloved on you will find the cups are placed in genius at the art of managing a fine club increasingly exacting positions — but and their members who participate in the never in a ridiculous spot. Derby Day rites at the Pendennis Club en- We used to provide the scoreboard ac- dorse the judgment of their managers. Note cording to the specifications of the USGA. the generous gap between Fred's thumb The USGA is now providing the proper and forefinger as the work of art is in scoreboards. You must see to it that the progress. Fred wants the sun to shine scoreboard is roped off to keep the people bright elsewhere as well as on My Old Ken- back far enough to give all a chance to tucky Home. read the scores. Here's the recipe for the mint julep Craw- Reaction of Club Members ford and Hill are compiling: During any preparation for a champion- Use pewter cups. Crush three sprigs of ship you may find some of the chronic mint and rub the sprigs around the inside gripers complaining as usual. This is the of the cup. Fill the cup with cracked ice, case at any club. No matter what the club packed loosely. Reach for a real Kentucky does or what the supt. may be able to do sour mash bourbon like Old Crow, and pour a few will always find some reason to criti- in a jigger that's at least three fat fingers. cize the green committee. But I always Add a tablespoonful of simple syrup. Fill state to them that what we do for the up with spring water. Stir it hard for a championship course could not be done minute with a bar spoon, till the cup coats otherwise for the proper upkeep of the with crisp white frost. Place three sprigs course. of mint around the edges, stems down. We have two 18-hole courses for our members. The committee takes into con- sideration that for the few dollars spent Sports Tales and Anecdotes on the course the club members receive the benefit over a long period of time. Good Reading from Menke In my experience I can say that our club Frank G. Menke, sprightly veteran of the members have taken great pride in the sports scribes, has collected many merry course, especially if the par is not broken and absorbing chronicles of sports into at the total end of the competition. And "Sports Tales and Anecdotes" which A. S. this has never yet occurred at Merion. Barnes & Co., 232 Madison ave., New York After tournament play some small re- 16. has published at $3.75. pair work will have to be done. Damages It's one of those books that delights fel- by the galleries and divots taken out by lows who have been around in sports. Frank the players must be repaired. This is not is a good picker of incidents and gossip too expensive. that will always keep fresh.