Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-12-16

Will be the first resort in Cape May
County to have an 1S-Hole Golf Course.
The value of this fact cannot be
measured in monetary terms as far
as the resorts advertising is con-
cerned, for the message of an 1S-Hole
Championship Golf Course, carried to
hundreds of thousands of people by
the hotel and Board of Trade Adver-
tisingA will give us a class distinction
that is beyond the power of the hui
man mind to comprehend.
The Wildwood Golf Course will be
a Cape May County proposition, but it
must be remembered that it is also a
Wildwood project, built through the
energy and initiative of Wildwood's
progressive citizens. And then Wild
wood must heed the call of sports. No
other nation in the world can be COM
pared to the United States with its
love of sport and athletic contests.
Millions of dollars are spent annually
on athletic meetings and contests of
all descriptions by Americans.
Just a few figures to convince the
skeptical.
July A, 1921.-International Prize
Fight, Carpenter Dempsey, at Jersey
City; over 10000 people in attendance
and receipts over one million dollars.
Worlds Series Baseball Games
October, 1921, seven days attendance
over a quarter of a million people with
over a million dollars receipts.
Yale-Harvard Football Game.-No-
vember 10, $4,000 people in attendance.
Yale-Princeton Football Game.-No-
vember II, so, 900 people in attendance.
At every National Golf Tournament
there are thousands of golf enthusi-
asts who follow the play from green
to green. 1t is a recognized fact that
there are more people who actually
participate in playing the game OF
golf than in any other line of sport.
Last spring and summer Atlantic
City won still further international
fame by reason of Jack Dempsey and
his training camp. People from all
quarters of the globe watched Win
anxious eyes the most famous seaside
resort in the world during Dempseys
training period, to say nothing OF the
thousands who journeyed there to
watch him train. Was this v~aluable.to
Atlantic City from an advertising
standpoint? Why, gentlemen, just m
agine, if you please, the tremendous
sales stimulus that Jack Dempsey
gave Atlantic City. We have a pro-
duct to sell the same as Atlantic City.
It is a vital tangible product-health
and pleasure.
Last summer, Warren G. Harding,
President of the United States, spent a
few days vacation on a flying trip.
He played at Atlantic City. Why? Be
cause they have three 18-Hole COLI
Courses within easy access OF their
resort. It is an old proverb, that the
fellow abreast of the times must reap
the haryest-his reward will be the
cream; and the idler, the conservative
and the crouch must be content with
the skim milk.
wildwood is not a "Skim Milk Re-
sort" and we are on u way to get
more of the cream through the me-
dium of an 1S-Hole Golf Course. Some
of the people who have been ap-
nroached to buy bonds question the
project and it's financial soundness.
The big question seems to be: Will the
wildwood Golf Club provide sufficient
revenue to pay the interest on the
bonds, the expenses of upkeep and the
money necessary to provide a SINKING
Fund to retire the Bonds at maturity!
Let us answer the question by quoting
from the experiences of other CLUBS.
AS the most famous statesman or MS
time, Patrick Henry, said: Il nave put
one lamp by which my feet are guided
and that is the lamp of experience. l
know of no way of judging the future
but by the past"
Let us turn to other clubs for their
experience.
; It has been previously noted in this
, article that the Cobb's Creek Course
l at Philadelphia charges only so cents
per day playing fee and the pre-
posterous membership fee OF 81 per
wear. reaps a harvest of $4,000 per
\ wear. and one of the public courses
of New York operating on much the
eame basis takes in about $4,000 a
year.
; Asbury Park was forced to build'a
: golf course at an expenditure OF
| SIS, 900 from the appropriation OF City
| Bonds to meet the keen competition
of nearby resorts. Spring Lake, Deal
! and HOLLYWOOD With golf courses were
1 taking Asbury Parks best, n IN
order to keep pace with them the CITY
: of Asbury Park built an 1S-Hole Coll
Course.
5 What has been the result? The first
: summer season the course took in over
: 500. 900 in green fees and over $21,Oou
: in membership fees, more than one
half the cost Of the entire course. II