Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-08
ONLY AFEW. PLAY
At BURNING TREE
Four or Five Is Crowd" at
Club That Has Small
Membership.
BY W. r. MecAILuM.

E not more than two or three
IL matches are played on one
of these fine Summer after
moons; a course where 1t is very
unusual for more than four or five
golfers to play on q week day, and
where ON week ends no crowded
condition exists, even during the
finest days of the year? Such a
course is the great layout of the
Burning Tree Club. out on the
River road, in the heart of Wash
ington's golfing area.
Nov TO glance over the starting list
at Burning Tree End'alook out over the
course where flags flap idly In the Sum
mer brec~a-- anyone NIGH think
Burning jas not desirable course
to play. But the reverse is true. Bum
ing Tree Is, without any doubt. one Of
the finest golf courses along the Eastern
Coast, ana also one Of the most desira-
BILE TO play. Yet il is used less than any
golf course about Washington.
And why? The main reason Is that
Burning Tree, with its splendid length.
its admirably constructed holes and its
Old World golf atmosphere, has fewer
members than elmost any club about
Washington. And in the Summer time
most of those members are out of the
city, playing gob, If they play at all. on
couTBes in the North, far away from the
heat of Washington Summer. at is
also the official golfing home of many OF
tbs high officials of the Government.
For among those in the higher placed
posts il Uncle Sans employ who play
golf we venture to say that something
like rs per cent of them play at Burn
ing Tree. Senators. cabinet members.
representatives and men of the official
| family make up much OF the member
ship OF the Burning Tree Club. And
yet one may go out there any day during
the Summer and find the course COM
pletely deserted. Perhaps one or two
matches viii be playing over that tough
golf course. Perhaps none at all. Per-
haps a few golfers viii go out late in the
evening after work is done for the day,
to knock the ball around for few
holes. and perhaps, if the day is real
hot. not more than two or three golfers
will visit the club all day.
stTF we like 20 loaf sigh the Cum
i bingham brothers three, who hold
down the professional berths at
Burning Tree. this is the place to loaf.
We have plenty OF opportunity to play
golf. To be sure. but we don't play as
much as we could play. Nothing much
to do around here during the Summer
but watch the hours pass and listen to
the locusts sing in the trees
Burning Tree is unique in more ways
than one. Designed some eight years
ago by Marshall Whitlateh as club
for the golfing elite of the Capital, it
has remained Just that. Its member
ship Is around 100, but in that men,
berShip you will find many of the men
who guide the intricate wheels of national
and international affairs. Most golf
courses about Washington these days
are fairly we'll crowded, even when hot
weather draws veil OF shimmering heat
over fairways and green's. Yet it is I'M
usual during the week for more than
two or three foursomes to use the
Burning Tree course. The answer is
that most of the members leave the
Capital during the heated spell. re-
turing only when Summer is ready to
merge into the bracing weather OF FAN.
"WHY don't Burning Tree bid for
wv national championships" we
asked DR.. Walter S. Harlan, who
has charge of the course. Too easy" Dr.
Harlan replied. They would burn it
up. Score somewhere around 81 or 68
and make the course look so easy it
would be ridiculous" But you can't
tell that to the average member of
Burning Tree. He considers he has
doise well If he breaks 100, even with
the advantage given him of invoking
Judge Payne'S rule" That rule, conf
mon only to the Burning Tree Club,
is an institution Judge JOhn Bartoa
Payne, chairman of the American Red
Cross Is one of the most enthusiastic
of the members of Burning Tree For
many years Judge Payne played golf,
and good game he played too But
about two years ago a severe operation
came along and since that time the
genial Judge" has not played golf
Judge Payne's rIIle?" 1t simply is that
if the player is not satisfied with his
first shot OFF the first tee he plays
from, he may play another ball from
that tee and take the better one of the
two. 1t is an institution at Burning
Tree and one which is invoked many,
many times.
DR. HARBAN'S reply might seem
IL odd to many folks who look down
those lengthy fairways at Burning
Tree and vision the SIS and IS that
roll OF their clubs as they try to get
around in figures somewhere near
par. But DR.. Harlan has had a lot
Of experience with major champion
ship golf Once he was high in the
councils of the United States Golf As
ISOLATION as vice president, and today
he is looked upon as the most influ-
entail local man in national golf, even
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