Evening star., 1940-11-20
Reconstruction Plan
Being Carried Out
Sans Fanfare
Tom Doerer Suspected
Of Missionary Toll on
Course Foce-Lifting
BY WALTER McCALLUM.

BY WALTER McCALLUM.
OF course, Pappy S. G. Leof1er, the
rotund gent who holds the conces-
sion for all the public golf courses
around town, has it in his power
with Interior Department sanction
to make the Rock Greek Park course
off Sixteenth street one of the out
standing layouts around town.
We mean with few real improve
ments here and there, rebuilding Of
a few putting green's and continu-
alton of the program now in prog
ress Pappy can have something to
which he can point with pride and
say: Yes, that Rock Greek Park
course is as good as anything around
town" 1t isn't now, but that is
beside the point The point is that
Pappy, with Interior Department
sanction and approval, is doing
something about it.
Doerer Blazing Trail.
Quietly and without any fanfare OF
trumpets the Leoft1er organization
has put through proposed recon-
struction program at Rock Greek
Park which may. if continued. bring
that very interesting little course in
the hills of the uptown park up to
private course standards Tommy
Doerer, the course manager, doesn't
talk about it. Tommy is there doing
a job, and what goes on out on the
course is done with his complete
approval. But even though Tommy
doesn't talk about 1t we suspect that
the improvements now under way
and contemplated are the result OF
some missionary work by Doerer.
Those rough clay tees of yester-
year are much better now. On a
flock of holes on the back nine the
old tees have been replaced with
new elevated tees, grassed in the
back, and of clay in the front to
take care of different weather con-
ditions, and the heavy play over the
public courses.
For a public course is different.
When you put 300 people over a
golf course in single day the prob
lens are different from those of the
private courses. where 200 in day
is crowd. And where, furthermore.
on the public courses, the gent who
pays his two bits either doesn't care
about replacing divots and smooth
ing the sand in the traps. or he
figures he has paid for little van
dalism and says, in effect: Let
Leoff1er worry about it. I paid my
entry fee"
Complete Face Lifting.
The dope is that Rock Greek Park
is in for a thorough and complete
face lifting. Here's the way it will
work. The second, third, fourth,
eighth and ninth greens on the
first nine will be completely rebuilt.
The plans have been O.K.'d by
Ieoffler and the planning division
of National Capital Parks. Interior
Department. On the second nine,
quantity known as Course B, lot
of work has been going on and
more is scheduled. The 3rd of that
course, or the 18th of the entire
course: the 18th and 18th all are
scheduled for some heroic changing
about. There are some good and
tricky holes on that last nine; holes
where straightness and accuracy
pay off in handsome dividends. But
it can be improved. And it will be,
if the Leof1ler plans 30 through.
Obviously Rock Greek Park can
not be heightened to any great
extent The territory does not per-
nit of a long golf course, such as
East Potomac Park. But Rock
Creek Park could be so groomed and
so improved that it would be the
real jewel in the diadem of the
Leof11er links empire. We'd like to
hear S. G. say some day, How
about that Rock Greek Park? Isn't
it beauty since we fixed 1t up?"
Customers Deserve Break.
And that may come about. We
hope 1t does, for the loyal group
Of folks who play there deserve
something better than they now
have. In some cases heroic treat
ment will be needed. Originally
In 1925 some OF those putting greens
were laid down on a thin layer of
dirt on top Of rock. They act like
rock in the summer But 1t wouldn't
take q lot of money or a lot of work
to make them better. simply by
dumping a few truckloads of dirt
on the old green's, reshaping them,
and trapping them to make for
better golf. Not the scrambling
kind, mind you, but the kind that
takes cleanly hit, accurate shot
making.
We believe that S. G. Leof1er
would like to make Rock Greek
Park better course than it now is.
If we didn't believe that why has
he o. KID the plans of Interior
Department engineers to go ahead
with the construction work? Well,
We'll see what we'll see. There is
plenty of room for improvement, but
if the plans 60 through Rock Greek
Park can rightly take its place as
one of the best.
Fairway Watering Planned.
Those folks at the Washington
Golf and Country Club are serious
about watering the fairways of the