Evening star., 1940-03-24
Capitals Restless Golf Pros Set New Record Major Changes in Berts
Shifts in Links Posts
By -Four in Month
Exceptional Here
Mcleod, Barnett, Treder,
Thomson Only Vets on
Same Jobs for Years
BY WALTER McCALLUM.

BY WALTER McCALLUM.
Professional golfers, a wandering
crew Of artisans, never stay long
In one spot. They're always on the
move looking for a new Job or some
competition. But this year has set
a record for professional shifts
around the Capital in a town where
pro golf shifts always are coming up.
-Four major changes in the pro-
fessional lineup have come along
within the past month, and If you
look back to 1880 you'll find only
four pros remaining today at the
Capitals clubs where they were sta
toned the year after the stock mar
ket crash-Fred Mcleod at Co.
lumbia, Bob Barnett at Chevy Chase.
Dave Thomson at washington and
AL Treder at Manor.
Here are the changes that have
taken place this year in the pro
lineup around Washington:
Al Jamison went from Indian
Spring to Bradley Hills; Cliff Spen-
Ger went from Beaver Dam to East
Potomac Park; Mel Shorey went
from East Potomac Park to Indian
Spring; AL Houghton came back to
pro golf around Washington to take
over Spencer's old berth at Beaver
Dam.
Jocko Miller, formerly pro at the
old National Women's Country
Club, probably will 60 to Congress
sional as one of the aides to Witty
Cox, in a matchmaking capacity.
Mcleod on Job 2S Years.
Last year Lewis Worsham took
over the Burning Tree job vacated
by Frank Cunningham and Danny
Burton went from Army Navy Coun-
try Club to Quantico, Va. The
previous year Witty Cox went from
Kenwood to Congressional and
George Diffenbaugh from Indian
Spring to Kenwood. With the ex-
ception of three or four clubs the
pros haven't remained long at one
spot.
Fred Mcleod, now in his 28th
year as mentor at Columbia, has
been longer on the job at one club
than any other local pro. Bob Bar
nett has been at Chevy Chase for
19 years, while Dave Thomson is in
his 18th year at Washington. Over
at Elkridge, near Baltimore, Jimmy
Roche has been on the job for
around IS years, the longest term of
service at one club for any pro in
this area.
Changes in the professional line
UP have not brought any new faces
into the local links picture. Hough-
ton, back in pro golf again after
several years away from Washing
ton, grew up here as an amateur,
turning pro in 1928. His first job
was with the White Flint Club and
later he went to Kenwood. Pro jobs
around Washington look pretty
stable now, but you never can tell
when the boys will get itchy feet.
Lard Developing New Club.
Allan Lard. known all over the
worle as one of the pioneers in de-
velopment of the steel golf shaft,
now is working on a new wrinkle
which may revolutionize the wooden
club end of golf A former North
and South amateur champion and
an outstanding amateur himself 80
years ago, Allan has been Chevy
Chase member for many years. His
latest idea is so to construct wooden
club heads as to form the face from
the end grain instead of the fiat
grain. which has a tendency to chip.
particularly with the almost uni
versal use of wooden tees.
Because of the chipping tendency
many wooden clubs nowadays are
faced" with fiber or composition.
Lard and William knight worked
on the steel shaft for years at Pine
hurst and in Washington before it
was perfected. Today the steel
shaft is standard in golf everywhere,
Lard also invented the single trig-
ger for double-barreled shotguns
and a machine for sorting and
counting paper currency.
Allan's competitive golf days have
been over for some years, but three
decades ago he was one of the top
golfers of this sector and pronli-
nent figure in national champion
ships. He is one of the three local
men to win the North and South
amateur title. Others were Page
Hufty and DR.. L. Lee Harlan.
Chip Shots.
Congressional Country Club plans
to open the spring season with a
three-day party to start Friday and
wind up Sunday. On the schedule
Of the frontier day" affair will be
q golf tournament next Sunday.
Pro golfers of this sector don't
like the idea of staging the Middle
Atlantic P. G. A. championship over
any part Of a week end, but they'll
turn out Just the same for the affair
to be held at Old Point Comfort,
Va, April rs and 81, the latter day
falling on a Saturday. Where else
could we get as much as thousand
bucks for our tournament" asks
AL Houghton, who just now is
working on a date for the District
open championship at Beaver Dam
In May. The answer is that they
couldn't get that much anywhere
else, together with a good place to
stop at reasonable rates and a good
golf course over which to play the
tourney.
Cliff Spencer, who won the affair
last October at Columbia, will be
the champion only for six months.
Leo Walper. who twice won the title
at the Chamberlin Club, where the
tourney will be played this year,
will be strictly the man to lick.
Local golf courses, rounding into
shape rapidly since the snaw left,
are expected to be in fine condition
$bic veor Peasop is tho heavv