Evening star., 1940-07-21
New Links Plan Holds
Needed Spectator
Appeal Is Claim
Inventor Says Loyouts
Now in General Use
Built for Pros
BY WALTER McCALLUM.

by WAL1Eh MCCALLUM.
Bill Stone, prominent golfer
around town, is a persistent fellow
Bill plays at Congressional and
Kenwood when he isn't maturing
plans for his dream child. Bills
dream child, which he claims will
bring golf out of financial doldrums
and make the game played by S.
900, 1000 people in America an out
standing spectator sport (Which 1t
isn't now), is revision Of golf as
the game now is played.
Bill has been working on his
dream child for several years and
has arrived at a point where he is
nearly ready to build an expert
mental course of two holes, lighted
for night play. But he doesn't plan
to have anything to do with the
early promotion work or any ex-
tensive financing, although Stone
happens to be fairly well fixed with
the worlds goods.
Stone calls his new scheme for
golf rehabilitation American Golf"
and he backs up his scheme with
series of attacks on the financial
stability of golf as it now is played,
holding that two-hole golf, played
on series of courses lighted for
night use, will appeal to the masses
as the present game does not appeal.
Courses Built for Pros.
Here are few of the Stone OBJ
servations on golf:
There has been eliminated that
discouraging and despicable trap, q
ubiquitous nightmare, which catches
the 200-yard carry and closes to it
half of the fairway. Such strategy
is typical of three standards to be
found on most courses laid out by
leading architects. Their plans
have not deliberately been directed
against the average golfer, but they
have been designed under the pro
influence for the aggrandizement of
a minority who seem to regard the
rest of the players as lot of ad-
miring buffers who should be salts
fled with little sunshine and fresh
air.
This Is precisely the reason club
regislations follow so hard upon the
heels of membership applications.
THE pro influence on architecture
to suit his particular range, in
wanton or ignorant disregard of the
rank and file and to his own finan-
clal detriment, must be taken out
of golf, or only golfers in the pro
class will continue to use such
architecture.
about II years ago golf in Amer
lea reached the saturation point.
There has since been a decrease in
the number of private courses. Few
new ones. have, been built to stake
the places of those dismanteled. The
reason is no secret. The 18-hole
layout has In general been a finan-
cial failure. The course cannot take
care Of enough players to run the
clubhouse.
"1he average golfer, batting his
head against stone-wall COMPETE
ton, giving the 10 shooter the
equivalent of about nine extra nib
lick shots with which to win, just
quit without any analysis of cause
and effect"
Stone paints a pretty dismal pic
ture of golf in general. But is it as
bad as he says? We think not, Ger
tainly around Washington. Four of
our leading country clubs in the
Washington area have lengthy wait
ing lists. In one or two you can't
get in without waiting for some
time. and in one case for several
years. Most of the others are in
fairly good financial condition.
It may be true that in some cities
golf has gone into tailspin because
country club plants are expensive to
operate, but that isn't true in
Washington, which happens to be
city where the average wage level is
the highest in the land,
Night Game Might Pay.
On the other hand if Stones plan
for night golf on q good course
lighted for play during the dark
hours goes through it should work
whether the courses be of two holes
or 10 holes. Stone is a business man
and a man of figures. He estimates
that by using 18 holes, composed of
nine two-way units, 432 players, in
foursomes. could play between 7:30
and 1918 pm. And the same
number might play between 3 and
7:30 pm.
Maybe Bill Stone has something
there. But he is going against
something pretty big when he knocks
down golf as it is played. He also
may have something when he de-
clares that golf alone is not the
answer to clubhouse upkeep, res