Evening star., 1939-02-08
Means Lengthening
Holes and Raising
Stroke Ratings
Some SineIe-Shotters
Already Too Far for
All but SIuggers
BY WALTER.McCALLUM.

Washington and the women who
handle handicaps during the next
two or three months will be to
rearrange their par ratings and their
handicaps according to the new
distance-par schedule of the United
States Golf Association.
Generally the short holes will be
jumped 10 yards In distance with
the par As, par SIS and par IS in
creasing in 25-yard units. These
new par distances can. and probably
will, involve considerable revision In
the handicap ratings of the Women's
District Golf Association, and will
have the effect Of raising handicaps
all along the line. But the first move
will come from the clubs them
selves, where the women's par
ratings will depend on accurate
measurement of the courses from
the women's tees. Congressional
and Kenwood, just before the new
ratings came out, measured their
courses. But Congressional also is
considering a plan for shortening
the course for women, which would
mean another measuring Job and a
new rating according to the revised
par schedule.
Terrain Is Considered.
"The figures are not arbitrary"
says the United States Golf Associa-
ton, because some allowance should
be made for conf1guration OF the
ground and any other dificult or
unusual conditions. So also should
be considered the severity Of the
hazards, especially on a hole where
par is doubtful"
Take hole like the 9th at Wash
ington, which measures 100 yards
from the elevated tee to the elevated
green. Par on that hole Is 3, but
very few women make the hole in
par because they cannot hit the ball
with that much carry. Holes like
the 5th and 18th at Congressional
are rugged affairs for the shorter
hitters among the women, because
their tee shots hit into hill and
get little run. So also is the 9Th at
Congressional, where the trap IN
front Of the green catches the
ordinary drive of the woman who is
q little shorter than long hitter.
The United States Golf Associa-
ton takes into account the IN
creased length of the golf ball and
the heightened shots which may be
hit from the more powerful clubs IN
use today. But even though there
has come about a decided upturn IN
the quality of golf played by the
topnotch feminine stars around
Washington, right down the line
the average has shown only slight
improvement.
Dettweiler Holds Record.
It seems a little tough to force a
woman who cannot hit the ball
more than $50 yards to play as q
par-4 hold an affair which stretches
out 400 yards, and which may have
in it hill into which the tee shot
hits and loses distance. However,
that's the way the U. S. G. A. fig
ures it and the women have to 60
along with the edict.
Lowest score ever recorded by q
woman around Washington is the
"A made by Helen Dettweiler in
competitive medal round at Beaver
Dam two years ago. That score
is only two strokes over mems par.
But Helen is an unusually long
hitter Few women can keep up
with the blond Congressional girl
from the tee. She outranges the
18-handicap player by as much as
100 yards. The new par ratings
won't have much effect on such
long hitters as Helen and Marion
Brown and Virginia Stokes and
Betty Meckley, but those who don't
have much punch in their tee shots
are going to come in for handicap
revision upward.
It's quite job Mrs. v. A. Welte,
new handicap chairman Of the
Women's District Golf Association,
has this year, at a time when new
handicaps must be put into effect
prior to the opening Of the tourna-
ment season late in April. But with
characteristic energy she already
has started the ball rolling.
But can you imagine any woman
getting to the 9th green at Chew
Chase on a soggy day from the tee?
Or to the 5th green at Columbia
in three shots under the same con-
ditions? These holes are tough
enough under good conditions, but
in sheer distance on a wet fairway
they are impossible for any but the
stoutest hitters among the gals.