Evening star., 1928-04-18
NOT REGARDED AS PROPER
.!FINISHER" AS III STANDS
Although 1t Is Par A, 1t Can Be Driven-Tee May BE
Put Back 40 or so Yards-Weather Has Hurt
Grass at Various Courses.

The golf and grounds committee o.
| the Congressional Country Club il
puzzled as to what to do with the
eighteenth hole at the club.
Realizing that 1t is not all fine
| finishing hole should be, the committee
is thwarted in its wish to change the
hole to a testing two-Shotter by the
difficulties of the terrain. AS 1t stands
now the hole plays about 260 yards
from the back tee and somewhere near
225 yards from the front or lower tee
The green can be driven from both
tees, but the shot must be very nearly
all carry, and yet the par Is 4. In
between tee and green lies deep ravine
through which runs ditch while the
green is on top Of hill on which the
clubhouse stands.
The committee has tentative plan
for pushing the tee back some 40 or 80
wards. far into the woods alongside the
seventeenth green to lengthen the hole
out to something slightly more than
800 yards. But then will come the
question of where the tee shot will land
and whether after it lands it will run
of down one of the slopes that make
the eighteenth fairway a puzzling
affair
Decision has virtually been reached
OF the fairway down into the fiat to
provide a level place for the tee shot
TO land, and to elevate 1t in such a
manner that the player who drives onto
this level spot will be able TO see the
pin on the hill ahead. The problem Is
a difficult one, for II the plateau is not
elevated enough. 1t will make the ap-
proach shot biind--a factor that Con-
gressional has steadily striven to over
come.
The plan also contemplates tiIing and
roofing over the ditch which runs
through the ravine crossing the eight
eenth fairway. although this has MOI
been definitely decided ipon. Several
twos have been made on the hole. even
from the rear tee, SANDY Armour, &c
our knowledge. has made at least two
one coming at time when he waa
dormie down and needed the deuce to
win the hole and square the match.
Other changes II the Congressional
courses are contemplated during the
coming season. involving the eXpendi-
ture OF several thousand dollars.
So unfavorable has the weather beer
for the growing OF grass that all thf
local courses are substantially twc
weeks behind the usual Spring season
in so far as the condition of the grass Is
concerned. The customary top dress
ing has been done at all the courses. but
there has been enough ratn 10 wash II
the top dressing. The warm sun which
is needed to bring up the grass has
been missing Instead cold winds have
swept the courses, and the sun has not
been warm enough to nurse the tender
grass shoots into strength. The result
has been that putting greens arc fast
and lack grass, while the grass around
their edges has grown in punches, which
doesn't make chip shots bounce In any
loo certain fashion. Chevy Chase golf
ers played the regular greens at tbs
club last Saturday for the first time In
10 days, the day the qualifying rounds
for the French High Commission Cup
started Perhaps the weather man will
relent and furnish some grass growing
weather before the Washington tourna-
ment--the season opener--which starts
two weeks from yesterday.
v. Calvert Dickey Of Washington. the
player who never gives up. started out
in high glee yesterday. Dickey always
makes small wager on the number OF
pars he gets. counting them with the
other men in the match for a small
amount on each par. He started out
A tbpaa rAaEn hfrdta ND