Omaha daily bee., 1908-09-13

chosen place Of hts practice or pleasure
rounds and II would be strange indeed n
Travis were not hard to best al Garden
City.
American courses come under the generic
head Of inland links. NJ Is q perpetual
problem with our committee to transform
BY artificial hazards the land among tim
her or that fist and undiversified pasture
lots SO thai they viii be a means Of at
t~racttve golf. Something more than to
play from the tee over certain strips OF
bunkers to a more or less easily approached
putting green Is the solution Of the prob
lem. The simple golf Of two biffs and two
puts will no longer form the ideal par four
hole. We have no American scaboard links
or courses over ranging downs, with
hazards scattered by nature In a pictur-
escue confusion Of situation and variety
Of form. a medley Of golfing risks that with
fine turf provides the best Of golf grounds
nearly ready made. To atone for this
our committees have to do the best with
the land as they find 1t. embracing the
golfing merits By good points picked up
by visiting courses in many countries.
! When the Garden City committee de-
eided to live up to the new principles in
hazard making two years ago the course
was one Of the best in the country. But
the members had learned the futility of
the cop bunker scheme, and regardless OF
/ the cost they RESOLVED to change. also de-
cidins to vary the monotony Of the flat
putting greens. Originally believed to hav e
been the location OF a prehistoric sea, the
strip Of Hampstead plains used by the
Garden city Golf club contained many
natural hazards which have been retained.
The many side traps for a slice or pull are
shallow and should not penalize more than
one stroke. The traps near the greens OF
on their edges to check a ball stealing in
from off the true line are deep ovals, flat
at the bottom and with high perpendicular
banks of sods laid like bricks. The Sea
sand is kept soft. and to a proper niblich
shot. II not under the bank. an escape il
possible in one stroke. The tendency Of
these traps is to brighten a long, risky tr,
to the green according to many. and 4
those who are trapped should only be 81
from improperly played short approachei
the punishment would never be deemed too
excessive.
These oval traps are from six to eigh'
feet deep, somewhat suggestive of a grave
yard vault to visitors from flat courses
Before the first and twelfth greens ant
back of the home green are wide. deeI
trenches supported by timbers and will
high banks. Unless the ball lodges agains
the timbers the player may get out in on
shot, but the burgers are as unique in con
struction on American links as are tn
oval traps. Besides adding undulations t
several greens, the committee on the mint
and twelfth greens has placed mounds, yer
table chains of mountains in fact that ar
very puzzling. To put well over or betweei
these hillocks, or to carrom from the fac
of one to gain a roll close to the hole is on
of Travis strong suits. A number at tn
course during the week have got the con
figurations of the green's down to an exac
science. This is particularly true of Find
lay S. Douglas. Jerome D. Travers
George T. Brokaw. Fred Herreshoff, c. A
Dunning and Chad Sawyer of New Yor
players, and of w. C.. Fownes, jr., and F
NJ. Byers of the Pittsb1rg group. On tn
long game direction is more to be desire
than great distance. although there ar
some long shots needed. The record of tn
green is 50, by II. H. Barker, the club
professional. The par is IS, S7-75, in thi
order:
Out .............4 3 4 s 5 4-3s
In .............4 4 3 4 D . 81
Throughout there are side traps and lon
grass, but these are the most impressiv