The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-18
THINKING GOLF A PUZZLE.
HAZARDS MORE IMPORTANT THAN
LINEAR MEASURES.
Votes On the hest Holes Of the British
Championship Links SUIT American
Ideas-Cr0ss Bunkers From the Tees
More Respected There Than Here.

More Respected There Than Here.
thinking golf" is the shibboleth of the
hour among the players. Our best links
are those to be rearranged to meet the new
views, often az yet experimental opinions.
and the cold fact OF the greater carrying
power of the modern golf balls and clubs.
The changes have been going on for
three seasons, but they rave eliminated
in the new form Of hazards and OF undu-
lating putting greens only put into play
during the past season, West and East.
The many smaller clubs and the green COM
mittees of the big ones that have been slow
to undertake the task now are "on the job"
At every annual club meeting this fall and
winter, where the need exists, there will
be resolutions passed authorizing expendi-
lures for changes in accord with think
ing golf" and each green committee will
have its W troubles ahead.
There may be some balm in Gilead, some
comfort to the throbbing minds md some
good points to be picked up in the voting
contest just wound up in England on the
best holes in the five championship links
Everybody over there knows the distances
and layout OF all the holes at st. Andrews,
Sandwich, Hoylake, Prestwick and Muir
field. Consequently the there
do not give the yards OF the holes selected.
These figures have been added, as printed in
the 1909 edition Of the Golfers Handbook. |"
They are probably accurate. To get the
ideal course, II may be noted, one must first
get the ideal land and next an advance vote
of the members that no matter how il is
planned they will accept it as ideal.
As the best one shot hole the eleventh at
st. Andrews, las yards, is supported by six
amateurs-Lord Winchelsea, Balfour Mel
vile, Fowler, Horace Hutchinson, Low and
Mure Fergusson-and by two professionals
Harry and Tom Vardon. Three other
professionals, j. H. Taylor, Jack White
and A. Herd, said that, though a Difficult
hole, it was an unfair hole, as a topped bali
was not necessarily punished, and, az a
putter could be used from the tee, it could
not be considered a good hole. or even one
Of the best one shot holes. There are no
cross bunkers on this hole. The green is
guarded by a deep perpendicular bunker.
and an overapproach ia punished. This
deep bunker has caused the trio of profess
sionals to vote against it az unfair.
The idealshort holes should have Difficult
ties on both the tee and approach shots, "
writes the amateur. Fowler. Short holes
should be thoroughly guarded and the
shorter the hole is the more difficult it
should be-"
Yet Fowler votes for the eleventh at St.
Andrew s as the finest one shot hole, although
he says of it, 1T is quite possible TO put all
the way and run no risk" by which he
means il can be made a certain four"
To some the latter point il a recommended
ton of the hole, as in a match, should the
opponent drive into trouble, cautious play
may win in 4. But this is not the spirit in
which best holes should be judged.
Other holes selected as ideal for one shot
are the 1888 yard sixth at Sandwich, which
has the vote OF -four open champions, II. H..
Hilton, Harry Vardon, j. Braid and J..
White; the eighth at Sandwich, 200 yards
voted for by Harry Vardon; the fifth at
Prestwick, l70 yards, given by II. II. Hilton,
and the fourteenth at Muirfleld, 1914 yards.
The last named il a blind hole and crossed
by a bunker, the selection ~disTegarding
j. ii. Taylor's axiom that the green on a
short hole should he in clear view. Judg-
ing from the distance Of across seas, senti-
ment would seem 20 have influenced some
of the votes for the eleventh at St. Andrews.
Mure Ferguson, who declares for il in spite
of the perpendicular bunkers, has said Of
perpendicular bunkers seven or eight feet
high, of which we now have two examples
at the Garden City course, that they are
farcical, "fOr one cannot play toward the
hole and any fool can play out sideways"
The best two shot holes by vote are the
seventeenth at Prestwick, 377 Yards; the
third at Prestwick, i36 yards; the second at
st. Andrews, 402 Yards; the sixteenth at
IL AndrnuuG 9QR an ride. Tho frat gAQ ,a-I
and the fourth, 394 yards, at Sandwich. The
best three shot holes selected are the fifth.
fourteenth and seventeenth at st. Andrews,
533, $40 and 456 yards as named; and the
fourteenth-at Sandwich, sos yards.
Another reason why distance il disre-
garded, besides the familiarity with the
championship courses of the voters, is that
the lay of the ground makes a good hole
or a bad one. The weakness of any asser-
tion that a stretch Of land may he made
the perfect course by setting out on it a
number of holes Of a given distance is APP
parent. The topography must be studied
For the distances as well "a in the placing
and the character of the hazards.
The selections by he experts eliminate
all holes between 200 wards and 1928 wards.
Many such holes, however. are found on
the championship links and on American
links. Here they are known as ~levelling
holes; that is. holes where a poor PLAYER
stands as much chance as a fine PLAYER;
DuI IDey OlJen dTe COMPULSORY on account
of the limitations of the land available.
While the strength or weakness OF a course
az a championship test rests in it's free
dom from or excess of such notes.-the latter
being the fault at Muirfield-once in a while,
either by the natural or a shrewd placing of
artificial hazards, such holes may be very
good golf.
However, taking the distances only as
selected by the voters. and repeating some
to make out the full eighteen, a course
might be planned in the following order Of
holes:
Out i. 800 yards Sandwich: ,. 53S yards
(St. Andrews; 3. 377 yards CPrestwick); 4. 200
Yards (Sandwichl; 5. sos yards Sand wichl:
q. t4s yards CSt. Andrews; z. 4s6 yards (Prest-
wickl =. 1888 yards (St. AndrewsD; o, 39I yards
Sand wiCh).
In-lO. I76Iyards tPrest wick: II, 458 yards
(St. Andrews): II. 4O2 yards tSt. Andrewsl:
IS. 1874 yards (Muirfeld); II, $40 yards (St.
Andrews; Is. 36e yards (Sandw ichl; 10. Iss
yards Sandwich; II. 436 yards tPrest wick (;
~. 1873 yards CSt. Andrews.
The out holes would be 3,297 and the in
holes 3.O4O, a total for the round of 1887
yards. The total is about the same as 81.
Andrews abroad or our Garden CITY
course. The par, which shows the variety
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