Evening star., 1932-04-29
UNIFORM CARPETS
| APUTT|NG DELIGHT
Winter Rules in Pathways
Will Govern Invitation
Event Next Week.
BY w. r. WcCALLUM.

" OTIS of golfing folk who
haven't seen the course OF
l. the Army-Navy Country
Club are in for the surprise
of their lives next week, when the
service club, located in Arlington
County, Va, overlooking the Capt.
tai, will stage its first annual in
yitation tournament.
That surprise will come not be-
cause of the length of the course,
its construction features, nor the
manner in which natural Difficult
ties, like brooks and hillsides, have
been utilized to make sporty
golf course which has not trap
anywhere along its $500 yards OF
length.
The surprise will date from the mo-
ment the first time visitor knocks an
approach shot onto the putting green
at the first hole and it will grow in
wonderment as he sees 18 of the finest
bent greens he ever looked at, or hoped
for. Some folk do not like putting
greens of bent grass. We've heard
many professionals aver that bent
greens are not good putting greens;
that they are fast with the grain OF
the grass and slow against the grain,
and that because of this diversity of
speed they do not make good putting
surfaces.
But these same pros have not seen
the splendid putting green's at the
Army Navy Country Club. If they had
they could not have that complaint.
For out there on that trapless golf
course, built up out of bowling will
dernesS of swamp land and bare hill
side only little more than three years
ago, every one of those 18 bent COW
cred putting greens Is like its neighbor
in speed and texture. Once the golfer
gets the hang of one of them, he has
alike and all equally good. If there
are better putting green's to be seen
anywhere around Washington We
haven't seen them, and We doubt If
anywhere there can be found putting
greens Of more uniform texture and
Stroking excellence.
WINTER rules probably will be used
w throughout the invitation tour
nament which starts next Tues
day. That is not the way the officials
of the Army-Navy Club wanted the
tournament played. They had hoped
for warm April to coat over the bare
spots on the fairways with a heavy
stand of grass Most of the golf course
is covered with this heavy stand OF
grass, but there are enough bare spots
left to severely penalize the man whose
ball happens to roll into one. So in
order to make the conditions fair for
all the entrants the Golf Committee
has decided to play Winter rules dur
ing the tourney through the fairways.
A ball struck into the rough must be
played where it lies. And in order that
there may be no doubt as to where
the fairway ends and the rough begins,
the committee has caused every fair
way to be carefully staked out. White
stakes border the margin of every fair
way, and there can be no doubt as to
whether or not a ball lies in or out
OF the rough.
yXTITH true Army preparedness, the
w club has made arrangements for
upward of 800 entrants in this
its first annual invitation tournament
There may be few less than 300
names entered when entries close to-
morrow night, at o'clock, but the Golf
Committee, realizing that the initial
tourney of the club is sure to be pop
ular, and that because of the few
tournaments around Washington this
year, each one is sure to have a large
entry, has made plans for about 300
contestants. The entire field of en-
tries will be split two ways-half to
play on Tuesday and the other half to
play on Wednesday. Five flights will
qualify for the match-play rounds on
Thursday and Friday. The course will
be open for practice on Monday. and
the Golf Committee warns contestants
that bacause the schools are in ses-
sion there may be a shortage Of
caddies. Therefore, entrants are in
vited to bring their own bag -toters with
them.
But we predict that along about the
middle of next week there are going
TO be a lot of surprised golfers around
Washington. Those who never have
seen those velvety putting surfaces over
which Lionel Walker worked so hard
are going to get the thrill Of their
lives. If they miss putt it will be
their own fault And this Army Navy
Country Club tournament is one golf
affair at which the old cry about bad
putting should be hushed to a still,
small voice crying in a paradise of
perfect putting greens.