Evening star., 1939-01-02
Doerer Figures Pros
Are Having Il Too
Easy on Greens
Plans for q Revision
Of East Potomac
Links Are Set
BY WALTER McCALLUM.

tommy Doerer, Lne peppy gent
who runs golf affairs ut East Po-
tomac Park, is preparing little
surprise for the top public links
amateurs and the same for the pros
who play in an invitation pro tour
ney at the course down on Hams
Point next spring. Smack in the
middle of flock of plans for re-
arranging the Potomac Park course,
Tommy revealed plans for giving the
boys something tough to overcome.
How about all this overemphasis
on putting?" quizzed the dynamic
little Potomac Park links promoter.
Would it be too tough on the
boys if we asked them to putt into
a 3ia Inch cup? 1t seems to me
that any time a good pro sticks q
ball within feet of the cup he
rattles it in for birdie. Maybe
that's the main reason for this low
scoring. Think we'll try it next
year, probably in the spring tour
naments for amateurs and in the
pro tourney we plan to repeat"
Course to Be Made Sitter.
Plans for revision of the fiat Po-
tomac Park course are all set, ready
to be put into action next spring.
You can depend on it they will be
good courses when the work is
finished. Leoffler knows that these
layouts today do not match up with
some of the newer public courses
and that his chance of getting a
national championship here depends
on presenting links facilities equal
to the best in the Nation.
It's doubtful, however, with the
terrain in use locally. whether he
ever can have courses like the Black
course at Bethpage State Park on
Long Island, or the expensive Mount
Pleasant course in Baltimore. where
the 1899 public links championship
will be played.
ID. c. G. A. Membership Sought.
But East Potomac Park, scene of
the 1928 national title tourney, can
be developed into very good public
golf course, by tightening the ap-
proaches, converting some of those
two-way greens into built-up affairs.
by digging few more bunkers and
by elevating the tees. All these
little items are included in the plans
for renovating the courses in East
Potomac Park
Doerer would like to see public
links golf put on more friendly
spirit with that at the country clubs.
To this end he plans to take up
with the District Golf Association
the matter of membership in that
organization on behalf of the East
Potomac Colt Club. He would like
to arrange matches between teams
from the private clubs and the
Potomac club.
Remember few years back
when Gene Sarazen started the g.
inch cup, intended to de-emphasize
putting said Tommy. Remember
how it wasn't generally adopted,
but how a lot of people thought
it was at least the germ of good
idea? Well. 1t was true then, and
is true now, that the topnotchers
have developed putting into such
an art that they don't often miss
the 6-footers. 1 would like to see
them try a small cup, say about a
3la-inch cup.
Little Cups No Bargain.
mo, I'm not talking something I
haven't tried Sure, I've had a
bunch of those little cups made.
Tried them, too, and they're tough
to get that ball into. You know a
golf ball is a little more than an
inch and a half in diameter. Against
the background of the official AZ
inch cup, a golf ball looks pretty
big. But you'd be surprised how
large it looks when 3la-inch cup
Is used.
The way I dope this thing out,
the pros have reduced putting to
such fine art they can hole a lot
of those puts within a circle of 8
feet in 4l2-inch cup. But they'd
find it little tougher in 31a-inch
cup. Now you can't name man who
can knock a golf ball consistently
within 5-foot circle from 100 yards.
He Just doesn't live.
But there are lots of men who
can whack that ball into a l0-foot
circle time after time, from the
same range. Lots of those puts will
60 down for brides. So I figure If
make putting a little tougher, in
stead of little easier, it may raise
the scores q little.
Anyhow, I'm going to try it next
year. 1t sounds kinda radical, but
that's the way to find out what peo-
pie want. And I can sift out criti-
cism and find the worthwhile stuff ;"