CAPTAIN'S CHOICE by JOSEPH C. DEY, JR. IN THE WALKER CUP USGA Executive Director • UPPOSE you had the opportunity to plane - to give them opportunity in sev- S play for the United States in a Walker eral days of isolation at sea to get to know Cup Match against Britain. You were one another really well. right on the scene - St. Andrews, Scot- When the Team disembarked from the land, - you had been runner-up in the SS America at Southampton last month, British Amateur Championship the year it was a Team in fact. The team spirit was before, you were playing well in practice, enhanced as the practice days passed at and you were the only member of your St. Andrews. Bill Campbell's briefing con- Team who had ever competed over the cerning the many subtleties of the Old Old Course at St. Andrews. Course had been so thorough that, as Bruce That would seem a tailor-made situation Cudd said, HAll we had to do was go out for you to win a sprig of golfing laurel. and play." Big Bill Campbell was in that situation But they had to learn to play in alternate last month. He did distinguish himself. rain and hail - in winds which, during But his distinction lies in the fact that he one lunch period, swung round 180 degrees did 1lOt play in the Match. from due east to due west, at about 25 As Captain of the United States side, he miles per hour. They had to learn to play declined to put himself in the line-up for wtih pajamas under their clothes to keep either of the two days of the Match. He them warm, with rain pants and rain used all the other eight members of the jackets on top, wearing newly bought fur- Team, even though he was one of the lined gloves between shots. They had to strongest and certainly the most experi- learn to play run-up shots with the small enced American player. ball, from beautiful turf that gives the His self-denial resulted not from false cleanest lie imaginable to tremendously modesty. It was an incident in the natural large and fast greens, directly contrasting course of Bill Campbell's duties as Captain with our American pitch shots from lush, as he envisioned those duties. snuggly turf to soft greens. Have you ever considered the duties of After nearly a week of practice, one a captain in golf? It has many facets, but member of ,the Team was playing not too the main job is to lead a group of individ- well, and Bill was on the point of scrapping uals - all of them skilled at a highly all his plans for the foursome lineup for individualistic game - to view the enter- the first day of the Match. He had not prise as a team effort. In a brief period of planned to play himself in the foursomes, time they must learn to approach the but now it almost seemed the thing to do. Match not as separate personalities, but as But the player who was off form was an integrated group, every member stand- an experienced golfer - one of the older ing ready to subordinate and to make any members of the side- and Bill finally de- necessary sacrifice for the common welfare. cided to nominate him. HI have faith in him," BiII said simply. Chance to Know Each Other It is quite a trick to bring that about. Victory by Largest Margin That is one reason why USGA teams going That player and his partner won their overseas travel by ship rather than by foursomes by the largest margin of all USCA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT: JUNE, 1955 5 THE VICTORIOUS WALKER CUP TEAM Top row, left to right: Bruce H. Cudd, Dale Morey, Isaac B. Grainger (President of the USGA), William C. Campbell (Captain), James G. Jackson and Richard L. Yost. Below, left to right: William J. Patton, Donald R. Cherry, Lieut. Joseph W. Conrad and E. Harvie Ward, Jr. four of the first-day matches, which Amer­ discovered sixteen clubs in his bag on the ica swept. second hole of his foursomes, and he and Captain Campbell scurried around all Gene Littler had been penalized the loss day, watching this match and then an­ of two holes — they nearly were disquali­ other, making sure that he had all available fied. Now, at St. Andrews, he and Bruce information on which to base his lineup Cudd won their foursome by 5 and 4 and for the eight singles matches on the second he was brilliant in defeating Cecil Ewing day. After checking with a couple of in singles after that 68 in the morning. scouts, he made his decision. It could not have happened if his Cap­ "I just can't take one of those boys out. tain had not had faith in him. They'll all play tomorrow," he said. "They American teams have been blessed with played their hearts out today, and every last great leaders: Bill Fownes, Bob Gardner, one of them earned the right to play in Bob Jones, Francis Ouimet, Willie Turnesa the singles." and Charley Yates. Standing in worthy That is why Bill Campbell did not play succession in that great tradition is Big in the Walker Cup. Bill Campbell. It should be noted that the player who This was the fifteenth Walker Cup had been off form in practice shot the Match, and the fourteenth United States greatest golf in the morning round of the victory. It was unexpected in some quar­ singles — he was out in 32 and home in ters, and certainly the 10-2 margin was a 36", for a 68 over the Old Course. He won surprise. The British had a rather veteran his match by 6 and 4. Team, steeped in knowledge of St. An­ And so the wheel turned a full cycle drews, and the United States side was for Jimmy Jackson, of St. Louis. In the young and almost completely untried at last match at Kittansett in 1953 he had Scottish linksland golf. As a matter of USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT: JUNE, 1955 fact, only one American had gone as far series? It seems a pity that the series has as the final of the USGA Amateur - Dale been one-sided in total result. At St. An- Morey, who was runner-up in 1953. drews some one suggested unofficially that Britain's only victory had come at St. the British team should include representa- Andrews. All its best showings had been tives from the Dominions. After all, an made over the Old Course. Twice the Australian, Doug Bachli, WOn the British score there was 6 to 5, with one match Amateur last year. halved. But it must be borne in mind that we Valuable Friendship Tie in the United States, with 5,100 golf Aside from past results and ideas ad- courses, have about three times as many vanced for the future, one central fact courses and thrice the population of the shines out from the history of the Walker British Isles. Moreover, we play more com- Cup Match. It is a most valuable tie of petitions, and our players are tournament- friendship between Britain and the Unite4 hardened. States. In contrast, Ronnie White, who played From a strictly selfish view, Americans No. 1 for Britain, is a Liverpool lawyer who go overseas for golf competition are who cannot find the time to play in the usually greatly enriched. We are a nation British Amateur. He has never won the whose golfers are of first and second gen- British Amateur, yet for many years he erations, occasionally third. The game has been perhaps as fine an amateur golfer abroad is much older. In "Golf House" we as there is in the world. Until this year have a copy of Rules used about 1744 by he had never lost a Walker Cup singles, the Honorable Company of Edinburgh having defeated Dick Chapman, Charlie Golfers. There is much we can still learn Coe, Willie Turnesa and Fred Kammer. about golf from our British friends, even This time Harvie Ward, now at the peak though our international teams are present- of the amateur ranks, played brilliantly ly stronger than theirs. to defeat White by 6 and 5. In view of United States predominance, That is what the Walker Cup really what of the future for the Walker Cup means. 1955 INTERNATIONAL MATCH FOR THE WALKER CUP Held at St. Andrews, Scotland May 20 and 21 FOURSOMES Po i/lts Points GREAT BRITAIN UNITED STATES loseph B. Carr and Ronald ,. White 0 E. Harvie Ward, Jr., and Donald R. Cherry (1 up).. 1 Gerald H. Micklem and John L. Morgan 0 William I. Patton and Richard L. Yost (2 and 1) I Ian Caldwell and Ernest B. Millward 0 Joseph W. Conrad and Dale Morey (3 and 21. 1 David A. Blair and J. Robert Cater 0 Bruce H. Cudd and James G. Jackson (5 and 4) '''' I Total Foursomes o Total Foursomes 4 SINGLES E. Harvie Ward, Jr. (6 and 5) 1 William J. Patton (2 and 1) 1 Da Ie Morey 0 Donald R. Cherry (5 and 4) 1 ~~~~~~it~~i~~~:ii.::ii.:ii~i.:~...ii:~.:i:.:i:=::~..::i..~.! bOr~~eh .¥."C5dar~~ ~pi':::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ? James G. Jackson (6 and 4) 1 roh~eti.' ~~~~~n .. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::: ::::::::::::::::::::: g Richard L. Yost (8 and 7) 1 Total Singles 2 Total Singles 6 Grand Total. Great Britain 2 Grand Total, United States 10 Non-playing Captain: G.