The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-11-29
USGA Decreases Women s Par
new GOLF RULE
seen HELP FOR
TOP-FL|GHTERS
BY Lillian RLxEY

The U. S. Golf Association has
upped the yardage on women's
par to keep pace with the i'm
proved golf performances of the
country's linkswomen. effective
January /, 1889.
Locally the action Of the U. S.
G. A. will have a beneficial effect
on the handicapping of the top
notchers, while, at the same time,
it will undoubtedly work a small
hardship on the buffers. If par
is harder to make on the city'S
courses, the Marion Browns, Helen
Dettweilers, and Betty Meckleys
won't be forced to play from
scratch, which. after all, is perfect
golf.
Beginning January /, women's
par will be reckoned as follows:
Par 3, up to 210 yards, inclusive;
par 4, 211 to 400 yards, inclusive;
par S, 401 to SITS yards, inclusive;
par 6, 576 yards and over. Com
pared with the yardage scale in
use since October 4, 1884, par 3's
have been lacked up 10 yards,
while par As, SIS, and SIS have
each been raised Is yards.
NOT ARBITRARY
AS the q. S. G. A. explains,
however, the above figures are not
arbitrary. Some allowance should
be made for the lay of the land
and any other difficult or unusual
condition. The severity Of the
hazards, particularly on a hole
where par is doubtful, must also
be taken into consideration. The
U. S. G. A. points out that each
hole must be measured from the
middle of the tee to the center OF
the green, following the air line
as nearly as possible.
Taking three typical local
courses, merely from the point of
view Of yardage: Kenwood will
have to lower its women's par
from II to IS; Compassionate
women's par will drop from 10 to
IS; and Indian Springs from Is
to 70. :.
At Kenwood the 38O-yard first
hole goes from 5 to 4 par; the
tenth to a par 8. At Indian Spring,
the 400-yard first hole drops to
4 and the 383-yard seventh to 4.
The back nine stands as is. At
Congressional, on the yardage
basis, that cross-country trek on
the first hole Of $50 yards would
be a par 5 instead Of a par 6;
the eleventh a par 4 and the four
tenth a par 3.
UNUSUAL CONDITIONS"
Proof that the new ultimatum
from headquarters will not absolve
local pros, women golf chairmen
and greens committees from much
head-scratching lies in the fact
that the figures are not "arbi-
trary," that unusual conditions"
must be taken into account.
For Nuisance, Congressional Is
about the most difficult course in
Washington for a woman to play.
Instead of reducing par from 78
to IS, either par should be upped
or the distance shortened. Com
pared to the other courses in the
city, the difference between mems
yardage and women'S yardage is
relatively small. At Congressional
the difference is only 1853 yards; at
Columbia it is SIT yards; at Bea-
yer Dam, BAL yards; at Indian
Spring, $50 yards, and at Chevy
Chase, 432 yards.
AS the result of careful analy.
sis of Congressional's layout by
Club Pro Witty Cox, with an eye
to the game played by local women
golfers, Mrs. H. H. Moffit has
recommended to the Congressional
greens committee that the course
be simplified. In spite of the U. s.
G. A. yardstick, any changes at
Congressional will take into con-
sideration the fact that on many
of the tees the player is hitting
into the near side of a hill and
thus does not get the added dis
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