Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-01-19
Congressional Country Club
Golf Course Long and Tough
But BeIoW-Par Cards Abound
rugged piece of golfng
country known as the golf
course of the Congressional

7HAT rugged piece of golfng
country known as the golf
course of the Congressional
Country Club is not only one o.
the longest layouts around Washing
ton. but also one of the hardest. Yet
for some reason, judged by the many
scores that have been made by top
notch players OF par or below, the par
of 70 for the Congressional layout seems
easier to get than the par Of other golf
courses. Certainly, par has taken
harder beating at Congressional than
at any of the other local layouts, for at
no other golf course around Washing
ton has any player toured the course in
10 strokes better than the mythically
perfect figure.
That is exactly what Tommy Armour
did one day in the Summer of 1927,
for, even though the Black Scot, present
holder of the British open champion
ship and then the American open
champ, took on the par four
teenth hole, he bagged enough brides
and eagles over the route to bring his
score down to SO strokes, just 10 strokes
better than the par of 10.
PROFESSIONALS have found the
L Congressional Country Club course
fairly easy, but to the amateurs il
has been an enigma ever since the day
when the layout. built by DevereuX En-
NETT back in 1921 and 1922, was first
thrown open. Scores ranging from the
preposterouS SO made by Tommy Ar
mour up through a group of 66's, 67s,
brothers Armour and other pros
throughout the years, and yet the ANA
teurS have been unable to negotiate the
course in better than ga mark that
stands to the credit of three members
of the club The official professional
course record stands at II, made several
times by members of the paid brigade IN
medal play competition while the OH
cial amateur record stands at 70. The
three COS. made by M. Parker Nolan,
Page Hufty and Clarence B. Murphy,
all were made In friendly matches and
are not official records in the sense that
they were made in medal play compeLi-
ton. Neither, of course, Is Armour'S So.
nor the series Of scores. just above that
mark which he made during his three
year tenn of service as resident pro.
Glen 8. Spencer and Archie Clark are
COnOlQerS OF Lne CHlClal pTOlebSlOIlai
record for the Congressional layout,
while Frank K. Roesch, former District
champion, holds the official amateur
record for the course made in the
qualifying round of the Middle Atlantic
championship of 1928.
yITHAT 1t is that makes the Con-
w gressional layout the fairly easy
course 1t is on which to break
par IS hard to put the finger on, but
the facts are that through the wears
since 1922 the par Of 70 has been
busted wide open manv, many times.
Perhaps 1t is the fact that such holes
as the eighth and twelfth are over
par distance but are fairly easy to
reach in two shots by the big hitters,
and that the par tenth may be
reached in three shots by the BOYS who
WALTON 'em from the tee. Likewise the
par fifth does not demand the ut
most in distance from the men who
would reach the green in two, for that
fifth has been reached many times
with a driver and an iron for birdie
4. And the eighteenth green, 256 yards
from the tee. may be driven by long
hitter. Such birdie possibilities are
quickly taken advantage Of by. those
who can wallop the ball from the tee,
and have been at Congressional, where