MA Y 1916

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THE

GOLF COURSEA MONTHLY BULLl."'TINDEVOTED TO THE DIS-CUSSION OF MODERN METHODS AS APPLIEDTO GOLF COURSE CONSTRUCTION AND UPKEEP

MODERN GOLF CHATSBy A. W. TILLINGHAST

"T'VISTING THE FAIRWAY"

LAST month I attempted to illus-trate the value of casting away

from straight lines and bending ourfairways around elbows. But thetwisted fairways offer other induce-ments than the mere introduction ofencroaching areas of hazard or rough,which may be carried to distinct advan-tage. It provides a remedy for thegreat and ancient evils, parallel holes.

Scarcely a course, built a dozen yearsago, was without parallels. Side byside they stretclled, with a mengre stripof rough between, which cnught theball which was slightly off line but use-less in hindering the very wild playerfrom gaining a plensing lie on thefairway beyond. From here he usunllywns quite as likely to find the greenwith his second shot as his straightdown-the-:Illey opponent.

The designers of old time courseseither closed their eyes to the evil orelse were powerless "to find a remedy.It is so ensy to fit the holes in parallel

'lines, particularly when one hns to layoff a tract which is nearly squnre. Thistreatment requires no more brain-fagUlan marking off 8 tennis-court. It wasnot golf, but it was the best they knewonly a few years since.

I well remember the remnrk of oneof tlle Oxford-Cambridge golfers who

visited America with Mr. John Low.He had been asked his opinion of a cer-tnin then prominent course. Lookingout on the parallels, he smiled sadlybut evaded a direct reply to the enthu-siastic green committeeman at his side,but when the latter had departed, Hun-ter (it was Norman Hunter) turned tome and snid:

"It reminds me of that bit of dog-gerel, 'In ag'in; out ag'in; gone ag'in,Finnegan.' "

But back to the twisting fairways. Ine"er have seen a case of "paraIIelitis"which could not be helped by the simpleexpedient of cutting the fairways ir-regularly. To be sure, some patients arebeyond cure, but their condition maybe relieved in a measure.

As an example of a very twisted fair-way~ let me offer a sketch of a three-shot hole. The three-shot hole is oneof the most trying which the architecthas to consider, for probnbly there arecomparatively more thoroughly badthree-shot holes than tllOse of any othertype. Some seem to labor under theimpression that a three-shot hole callsfor nothing but brawn, and conse-quently ridiculously long holes of sixhundred vards and over are to be found.As 8 ma"tter of fact, the green of thetllree-shot hole should be small and

(Continued on page 51)

46 The GOLF COUHSE

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

CARTER'S TESTED SJ1':EDS, INC.

Copyright, 1916.byPetel"llon, Sinclaire & Miller, Inc., and

Carter'!! Te!!tod Seed!!, Inc.

The GOLF COURSE for beauty is unconsciously influencedby his surroundings. A beautiful holeappeals to the poor player as well asto the scratch man, and we cannotrecall a single really first-class holewhich is not at the same time, eitherin the grandeur of its undulations andhazards, or the character of its sur-

rOllndin~s, a beautiful one.'Ve do not mean to sug~est that the

average golfer would be likely to showthe same appreciation of surroul1din~sas diel the curate playing with the deafold Scotchman. This is an old story

but will bear repeating.The curate was audihly expressing

his admiration of the scenery, thegreens and things in general until theyfinally arrived at a green surroundedhy a rookery. The curate remarked,"I' I k ~"sn t it (c1i~htful to hear the roo s.The dell f old Scotchman says, "\Vhllt'sthat?" The curate n~ain remllrks,"Isn't it delightful to hcnr the rookS?"The old Scotchman replied, "I can'thear n word you're saying for those

damned craws."

PnOYE8Sl0NA 1.8 ll11clgTcen-

keepers frequentlyrequest us to ad vise themwhere they can securesituatio1l8, \Ve shall heg'llld to furnish the namesof competent men.

No.5MAY, 1916

R. O. SINCLAIRE, Editor

Vol. I

As the Scotch would say, "Did everMon hear the Like?"

"\Ve refcr to statemcnts which areoften made to the effect that beautydoes not matter on a golf course. Thisis an erroncous idea. Players fre-quently say that they are not interestedin their surroundings; good golf iswhat they want and a course thatnecessitates sound play. This is rarelythe golfer's true sentiment, however,for though some have been unkindenough to jeer at golf architects forattempting to make beautiful hazards,these same individuals will rave aboutthe beauties of natural courses.

\Ve believe that the chief object ofevery golf architect should bc to imi-tate the beauties of nature so closehas to make his work seem a part ;fnature itself, and to-day a golf archi-tect's work is j urlged largely by hisability along these lines.

Beauty means everything on a gol fcourse, for even the man who em-phatically denies that he cares a hang

PURLlSIlEIl AT

25 WEST 45TII STRKET, NEW YORK

BYPRTERSON, SlNCLAIRE & MILLER, INC.

The GOLF COURSE

The Making of a Model Golf Course

4i

THE making of a new golf courseis by no means as easy as it seems

to be on the face of it-and as theproposi tion is so often ulCkled in sucha light-hearted way, I think my twentyyears' experience may be of more thanpassing interest to those who are aboutto take the plunge.

CHOOSING THE SITE

If possible, choose a site that iseasily accessible-otherwise a goodproposition may fail for adequatesupport.

THE AREA OF THE GROUND

This depends to a large extent onthe configuration of the ground, butgenerally speaking 120 to 150 acresare required for a really first classcourse.

THE CONFIGURATION OF THE GROUND

An ideal piece of golfing groundshould be boldly undulating, withoutbeing hilly-and should contain asmany interesting natural features aspossible.

I f the ground is wooded, so muchthe better, as it will then be possibleto isolate each hole with belts of treesand so obtain that delightful feeling ofseclusion which is lacking when oneplays over a prairie course.

THE SOIL

A golf course can be made on prac-tically any class of soil, but bestresults, both from a golfing and turf-growing point of view, are obtained onlight to medium soils.

DRAINAGE

This is an important point, especiallyl>nheavy soils, and should be carefullyconsidered when choosing the site.

H the ground is undulating, thedrainage should not present any diffi-culties, but if it is more or less levelor inclined to be marshy, such seriousdifficulties may crop up that it is advis-able to employ a competent engineer toreport on the ground before buying orleasing it.

FR ~~~~HOLD vs. LEASEHOLD

The wisest course to pursue is to buythe land outright, so that the fullestbenefit is obtained from all money in-vested in the making of the course andin the buildings.

Generally speaking, there is little orno risk in buying the land, if the siteis properly chosen, as it is sure toappreciate in value and be an extremelyvaluable asset. As a matter of fact, Iknow of several clubs that have paidfor the land occupied by their courses,the making of the courses, and thebuilding of the clubhouses by purchas-ing large estates and selling off thesurplus land to members and others.

Leasehold propositions, on the otherhand, are always dangerous, and at theend of the term the club is faced withseveral unpleasant alternatives; that isto say, it either has to pay a muchhigher rent, go out of existence, or elsefind a new site and start all over again.

FINANCE

It is impossible to say much on thissubj ect, as the capital sum required tofinance a club depends so largely onthe character of the land, the class ofcourse to be constructed, the size andstyle of the clubhouse, etc., and, in con-sequence, it differs in almost every case.

There are, however, two importantpoints that should be remembered.

It is worse than useless to start aproposition of any magnitude unless itis adequately financed, and sufficientmoney should be definitely "earmarked"for making and sowing the golf course.I f a start is made with insufficientfunds, everything is skimped, and asestimates for building and furnishingclubhouses a.re invariably exceeded, 8

separate and sufficient sum should beput aside for making a.nd sowing theturf.

I f this is not done and money runsshort, the course will suffer in some wayor another. It will not be properlyfertilized, or it will be sown with chenp

48 The GOLF COUHSE

. seeds or skimped in some other way.To' put it in a nutshell, if there is a

shortage of money, it is always the golfcourse that suffers and not the club-house.

EXPERT ADVICE

A wise committee will engage theservices of the following experts:

An architect who is used to club-house designing,

A golf architect of proved ability,A turf expert of repute and integrity.An engineer, if necessary, to take

care of the drainage.All of these experts are of equal im-

portance, and each one should be givena reasonably free hand in his owndepartment.

THE CLUBHOUSE AND OUT-BUILDINGS

This subj ect is too big to deal within tabloid form, but I have noticed thatthe most popular clubhouses are thosewhere simplicity, convenience and com-fort have been placed before elegance,splendor and luxury.

THE GOLF ARCHITECT

Choose a man of proved ability, Givehim a free hand and do not worry himwith too many suggestions,

Examine his plans carefully, andaccept them more or less as they stand,or else turn them down altogether andg-et another opinion.

THE TURF EXPERT

Go very slowly when choosing yourturf expert-otherwise your turf, whichis all important, may be a constantsource of worry and expense. Choosea man, or rather, a firm, as this classof work is usually taken care of by thehest class of seed merchants, and givethem as free a lland as you do your golfarchitect.

There are a great many men whoclaim to be turf experts simply becausethey know the names of a few grasses.They should he avoided as the devilavoids Holy Wnter, These so-called,or rather, self-st~rled turf experts domore harm to golf in this conn try thananybody else, as they persuade com-

mittees to sow fancy prescriptions,which in many cases cannot under anycircumstances produce a first class golf-ing turf, for the simple reason thatthey often advise grasses tha~ a~~totally unsuitable for the produc~lOn 1fine turf and even if they aVOId t:efundame~tal error, they are at sea mregard to the proper proportions inwhich the various grasses should beused. r

1£ you are wise you will put you, . I" 'thetrust in a firm that speCla izes m

Production of golfing turf and one thatd tl if youhas produced results-an ICn, ,

are still suspicious, ask them to gl~eyou the name and address of the pres~dent of a club or clubs that have trustethem, and so obtain an absolutely un-biassed report.

MIXTURES AND NAMED GRASSES

Those who recommend the use ofnamed grasses to be used in a home-

tl h'lvemade mixture do so because ley, '1'no confidence in themselves and Simp)

'1 aswant to make a profit as eaSI ypossible quite regardless of resul~s-:whereas, those who recommend tlle~rown mixtures and obj ect to giYing t lelf

, 'd b e they hnvecompOSitIon 0 so ecausconfidence in themselves, their mixturesand in the results.

To put it shortly, the mixture mnnk d 't' l' S reputa-wants to ma e an roam am 11 d

tion bv selling a branded article, anthe na~ed grnss man wants to make a

'b'l't orprofit without any responsl 1 I Ybrain work.

A FAIR DEAL {

If you ask a firm for the make-up 0

their mixtures and then proceed to buythe named grasses in the open market-are you giving either them or your-,self a fair deal? Emphatically n?,You are simply sucking one man's brn~nand then pl:1cing yourself in the han sof the unscrupulous.

The unscrupulous men, who havegiven the seed trade such 11 bad na~ein this country (abroad the trnde lIShonored and trusted), know that t Iebuyer is quite ignorant of this verytechnical subject, and he is quite ready

The GOLF COURSE 49

to give impossible percentages of growthtmd purity-knowing that the buyercannot check him, and he often substi-tutes a cheap variety for a more expen-sive one--again knowing that he can-not be checked, as it is impossible toidentify some seeds even by microscopi-cal examination-and by the time thegrass i" grown and can be identified, itis too late.

Sour Soils, Their Causesand Treatment

By PETER L"~ES

THIS is a subject that applies moreto inland courses than those situ-

ated by the sea, as the soil is of aheavier nature and consequently apt toget into a Sour condition. There areseveral reasons for soil becoming sourand the following are some of the prin-cipal ones:

The first and most imporbmt is wantof proper drainage. It is absolutelyessential, if the soil is to be kept in 11

sweet condition suitablc for the main-tenance of a good henlthy turf, to haveproper drainage. In makin~ a new('ourse this is a very important pointthat should be carefully gone into and:t systematic scheme of drainage carriedout.

Grass will not thrive on wet sour soilno matter how much money and labormay be expended on fertili;'crs, etc. Itwill gradually and surely go back andweeds of all kinds will soon take itsplacc and in a short time the ~reens willllot be fit to play upon. The secondcause of sourness in soils is one that isbrought about by inj Ildicious watering.

It is most importtmt to have a libernlsupply of water at hflnd, but this doesnot imply that it should be used indis-criminately even if there should be agood system of drainage, as time andagain even on sandy soils whcre drain-age was perfect I '{ave seen the surfaceturned into a wet, sour condition simplybecnuse the watering had been overdone.As it does not rain every day then whyshould it be necessary' to ~'ater every

day; it is not natural. It is this sprink-ling that does the harm and creates asour surface. Soak the green well, saytwice a week if it should require watcr,as by thoroughly soaking it the waterwill get down to where it is wanted, atthe roots, and the surface will be keptopen.

Another reason for soil becoming souris too much rolling. Especially whenthe surface is wet a great deal of harmcan be done by rolling. Grass, like ahuman being, must have air, so if thesurface is rolled into a condition re-sembling cement, sourness will soon ap-pear and the grass, especially the finervarieties, will soon die out.

There is another reason for groundbecoming sour. It has been said thatworms are the natural drainers of thesoil and if exterminated the turf willassuredly suffer. I htwe proved this tobe absolutely wrong and have arrived atthis bold assertion from years of experi-ence. Take a putting green or fairwaythat has been used for a few years andobserve how the worms have multinliedas compared with the sides that havehnd no attention bestowed on them.They have thrown up their casts allover and to make play at all possiblesweepi ng and rolling has to be resortedto. This continunl sweeping tmd rollingmust undoubtedly change the chnracterof the surface and sourness will set inif continued. :My advice in this case isget rid of the w~rms and kill them en-tirely if a good henlthy grass is desired.This cannot be obtained if they are nl-lowed to hurrow nnd throw up theircnsts nIl over the surface.

In conclusion I mny say thnt if grassis to thrive the ground must be keptsweet and yet so that the air can renchthe roots;' this can onl~T be done bydrainage below nnd proper treatmentabove. Roll with light wooden roller ifrolling is necessar~T,use plenty of lime,feed the grass well to keep it stron~nnd healthv nnd wnter discreetly. Ifthese points fire cnr('ful1y seen .to, notrouble need be feared from sourness inthe soil llnd a fine carpet of turf shouldbe maintained at all times.

50 The GOLF COUHSE

'\Tillie Park

AME RI CA has good renson to con-gratnlnte herself on the acquisi-

tion of another really high-class gol farchitect in the person of 'Villie Park.Although Park is quite well known here,we think that a brief account of hiscareer will be of general interest.

Willie Park was born in 1864 atMusselburgh. His father was fourtimes open champion of Britain, be-ginning at Prestwick in 1860, and end-ing at the same place fifteen years later.His uncle, Mungo Park, upheld thefamily honor in 1874. From such afamily of golfers it is not surprisingthat Willie Park, junior, should provean apt pupil. After becoming of age,young Willie, as he was called, took upthe task and in 1887 annexed his firstchampionship after some sensationalplay. Two years later he won again,although it was necessary to playoffa tie with Andrew Kirkaldy.

Since 1889 no championship fell tohis lot other than the opposition cham-pionship held nt ~I usselburgh in. 189~,but he won many great victories In

matches with such redoubtable playersas J. H. Taylor and Ben Sayers. L~terhe played on the Scotch team ag:unstEngland in 1903-0<t-05-07-IO. Strange-ly enough, nlthough Pnrk ha~ the reputa-tion of being the best putter m Engl:m~,a miss of a yard putt lost him a tIewith Vardon lor the open championshipin 1898. '1

During nIl this time Park was bus I Yengaged in the golf supply businessand in connection with this work hegradually entered the ?eld. of g~~~architecture, and made It Ins spec,study. His first important course wasSunningdale and Huntercomh:, 'V~~plesdon Coombe Hill, La Bouhe, Lo .bardzid~ and many others followed In

rapid succession. These cours:s ar~lnsting monuments to his great SkIn an

. I fi t in theare conSidered among t Ie nesworld.

Cornell Water Supply and Irrieation SystemSFOR GOLF COURSES AND LAWNS

P R ICE $4 00 Equipped with our Rain-Cloud Stationary Nozzle. Cnn be rCR'ulatcd to clisch!'rgfcomplete • a fine.mist or h~avy shower. Area covered 25 to 45 feet ill diameter. with ~ \lie Ihose. We also carry large sIzes covertng areas up to 80 feet in diameter. Sendjor Catalogue

w. G. CORNELL COMPANY, Fourth Ave. and 17th St. New York

The GOLF COUHSE 51

.lJOVlJLL DOG -LEG Hajj£;

II

/

in the way of modern courses in Americawas the opposition of the mediocreplayer. He fancied that any attemptto stiffen the courses must make themso difficult that the play would be be-yond his powers. But now he realizesthat the modern golf architect is keep-ing him and his limitations in mind allthe while he is cunningly planningproblems which require the expert todisplay his greatest skill in negotiatingholes in par figures.

gffi.~",

.)'irAIRWAYI,

WOO])S I,

Modern Golf Chats(Continued fl"Om first page)

very closely guarded, for it must be con-ceived that a long drive has been fol-lowed by an almost equally long andwell placed brnssey or cleek in orderthat the flag, which is beyond the rangeof any two shots, should be sought byan accurate mid-iron or mnshie. Inorder that the player who had missedor half-hit either his drive or secondshot, must be mnde to find himself outof the rnnge of the green, a greathnzard finds its way across the fairway,and this hazard should be anywherefrom fifty to one hundred yard~ wide,for the reason alrend y stated. I f thefar brink of this hnza~d is a trifle overfour hundred ynrds from the teeingground, two strong shots will cnrry it:lIld permit the player to pitch to thegreen, which, let us say, is five hundredand twenty-five yards in all. Obviously,the grent area of the hazard will notpermit the player who wns short of itin two, to reach home with his third,and it must be remembered, too, tlwt thegreen itself is very small and too closelyguarded to permit of its being held by avery long stroke.

The three-shot llOle illustrnted isquite original with the writer, and ifthere is nnother like it, I surely havenever henrd of it. The scheme providesIt double dog-leg with a closely guardedween which cnnnot be seen unless twovery long shots open it up. It is likelythat further expl:mation is unnecessnry,for the sketch, rough ns it is, shows theproblem.

It mny seem curious thnt enrlyAmerican golf courses were laid out onslI('h puny scales and alon~ such unin-telligent lines. The game was biff nndbang, with little else to think of; noproblems to solve. But, after nIl, it isnot so much to be wondered at. OUfearly players were faddists whose con-('pptions of golf were expeedingly crude.How could they be expected to appre-('i'lte the finer' points of the game nsdid those in the old country, where golfhnd been played for so many yenrs?

For a long time the greatest obstncle

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THE ~"7

COLDWELL "THREESOME"We call your particular attention to the features mentio~edhereafter, as they are absolutely essential to R. perfect machmeof this type and are found only in the Coldwell ' ,Threesome. "

I-All gears and axles of drive wheels are run in dust proof greasee8ses.which only need filling once in four or five months. This means easydraft. long life to the machine and a great saving of time.

2-The Back Rollers are made in three sections. which insnres llg'llinsttearing the lawn when turning circles. Thc'Ie rollers arc each providcdwith bronze hearings. turning on a hollow grease-filled shaft. This shaft.once filled. needs no further I\ttention for months.

3 .......The Drive Wheels hnve malleahle hubs. !!teel spokes. wroulI:ht-ironrims and are made fast to shafts which turn on ball bearings inside thegrease case. (All wear easily taken up from inside of case,)

4-No springs are necessary to keep the back roller from ju'!'p!ngUP. as the Lawn Mowers lire swnng from the main frame by large fnctlOnsurface hangers, which hold it down.

S-A single 'Iever at tllC operator's right enableR him to lift all threecutting knives free from the I{round ntonce. It also permilR him to throwout of gear all three revolving cutters without leaving his scat.

G-The weight of the super-structure and opcrator is evcnly divided overthe three Lawn Mowers. The combination of the earn'ing frame anclavery simple draw rod mechanism makes one of the mostdcsirable featuresof this machine, and it iRthis combination that makesahsolutely positivethe accurate position of the renr machine relative to the Iwo frontmachines, insuring at all times. and under al\ condition!!. the proper over-lapPing of the cuts. This vnluable feature is found only in this machine.

1'lti.'f .'ftyI6 of machi1l6 is designed for cutting- wide swaths on fl;'rounds thatare settled and dry, also where rolli ng and fine cllttinfl;' arc not the first con.sideration. On fine lawns where the turf is rig-ht and where pride is tnkenin having fine cutting and a benutiful velvety surfnce, free from horsem~rking, streaks, etc., there is only one type to use, that is the motor-drIven Lawn Mower, which rolls the lawn every time it is cut. We makeseveral varieties of this type, including both the" Walk" and" Ride"types, circulars of which we will be pleased to furnish on application.

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COLDWELL LAWN MOWER CO. NEWBURGH, N. Y.