The sun., 1908-05-10
HGEY PUBLIC GOLF LINKS
VAN CORTLANDT LEADS IN NUM-
BER or PLAYERS.

Attraction Of Pelham nay PARK Course
brooklyn Golfers Frequent Forest
Parks Grems-scOtAnd Ahead In
EncOuraging Municipal GOh Grounds
West and East there is an increase In
the use Of park lands for public golf courses
and this 10 making such parks and the
Scotch game very popular In many parts
Of the country among q class OF people
that would not join an expensive pnVate
club the proportion Of the population Tor
whom the public pleasure grounds are
mainly kept up, Park commissioners, when
they study the question. find q public gon
course one OF the best ways OF utilizing
the suburban parks and even the stretches
Of grassland in crowded city parks that are
large enough for games. for the reason that
a links does not spoil the turf and provides
enjoyment for . practically unlimited num-
Der, each pair proceeding in ordertn the
golhng procession.
There are public links In Greater New
York at Van Cortlandt. Pelham Bay and
Forest parks There IL no fee to play at any
Of them, but q permit IL required from the
Park Commissioner Of The Bronx for the
first or Of the Brooklyn Park Commissioner
for Forest Park. At Franklin Park, Bos-
ton, q fee IL charged. and this also is the
case in some other cities, the money being
expended In keeping the courses In good
playable condition. A written applca-
ton enclosing a stamped and directed let
ter Is all that is necessary 70 obtain per-
init, which saves . personal call There
have been some 5000 RolAng permits Issued
from the Claremont Park office Of the Bronx
Park Commissioners. II 90 requested one
permit will do for either Van 0sE0andt or
Pelham Bay park. The attendance IL
heaviest at the Van Cortlandt course, from
800 to 500 teeing up there every fine satur-
day or holiday.
The New York Golf Club has its quarters
at Van Cortlandt Park, and the Brooklyn
Forest Park Golf Club represents union
Of the two organizations that worked hard
to have the game brought to Forest Park,
Brooklyn. and have always used the course
The clubrooms are outside the gates at
Myrtle avenue in Glendale, and not at the
fne SIS 900 clubhouse built by the city at
the less frequented entrance. Other clubs
TO use park lands for their courses and that
are semi public include the Genesee Valley
Park Club Of Rochester; Park Club. for
merly the Red Jacket Of Delaware Park,
Buffalo; jackson Park Golf Club, Chicago;
Normandie Golf Club, st. Louis, and Scot
Hsh American, Van Cortlandt Park. With
In the year a public course has been COM
pleted at Washington, d. c.. and another
has been decided on for Newark. The
New Haven Golf Club, too, has been changed
10 a public resort under the name Of the
Yale Golf Club. All the clubs are allied
members Of the United States Golf Asso-
citation except that at New Haven and the
members are eligible to the national cham
pionship The late DR. A. j. I. Allan,
PLAYER at the Braids, once won the amateur
championship Of Great Britain. and il may
happen that some day graduate from
a public course will win the American
amateur title.
At 81. Andrews. Troon. Carnoustie, Mont
rose and many other places In Scotland
the links are open to the public az well az
10 the members Of clubs that own the fine
houses adjacent to them, The oldest Of
municipality is slid TO he the Braids, at
Edinburgh There to play golf 10 the en-
thusiastic recreation Of the workman and
the clerk the professor and the student,
the active and the retired business man.
II 10 more Of national game than baseball
is here, for TO play II is not q monopoly
of the young. The fee at the Braids is
threepenoe for a round. The town council
Of Edinburgh has recently laid out another
public course, for the acquisition Of the
Braids by the corporation is said 70 have
been the best investment OF its money
the city ever made.
That there was demand for more room
to golf at Edinburgh Is apparent from the
fact that from 900 to / 800 play over the
Braids every week and some fifty different
clubs hold monthly or weekly competitions
over the public course, although the right
TO play through 10 only a matter of courtesy
in such contests. These clubs have quarters
on OF near the course, while some have well
equipped houses. The formation OF clubs
to use the public links here is encouraged
by the different park commissioners, who
always prefer to deal with a combination
rather than an unorganized set Of players.
but not 10 the jeopardy OF the rights Of
individual players who do not for any
reason care 10 Join such clubs.
Both the Van Cortlandt and Pelham Bay
public courses are interesting TO play over,
with many picturesque aspects for the nom
golfers who visit them. for players as rule
think so intently on their game that the
charms Of a landscape are ignored. The
eighteen holes at Van Cortlandt give q
circuit of S 5,ISO yards, and the best score over
the course by an amateur is "a. the record
being held by Gilman P. Tiffany, a member
Of the Powelton Club. champion OF the
Hudson River Golf Association The course
had long rest last winter. and when the
volume of nlay ia conRidered the turf Ia Yall