Evening star., 1941-07-30
By WALTER McCALLUM.


rent preparedness program that has
transformed the usually placid
Capital into a humming beehive,
the golf clubs around Washington
are sharing in the prosperity. Not
since the boom days of the late
golden 20s have the country clubs
around town had the play they are
getting nowadays from city crowd
ed with defense workers.
Gone are the days of sthe last
decade when the country clubs went
through some rough sleddlng, and
the main question was whether some
of them could survive. NOWADAYS
most of them are riding the crest
Of a prosperity wave that has built
lengthy waiting lists al some. while
others are on the verge of full mem
bershipS.
Backbone of any country club, OF
course, are the dues-paying mem
bers. They are the boys who foot
the bills, who pay off the losses on
the restaurant. and who build up
the bar sales TO the point where
those sales more than balance the
loss on the dining room. Coming
in for comparative prosperity, too,
are the club professionals around
town, who now are enjoying one
of their best seasons.
John @. Public has dollar or
two in his jeans and is willing to
spend it, in golf clubs and golf
equipment, club dues. drinks and
the other froth that goes with
country club life, such as swimming
pools.
1t hasn't been many years ago
that some of the clubs around town
were looking for a complaisant 90
banker willing to make a loan on
valuable suburban property. Two
of them went under the hammer
at foreclosure sales, and one or two
more were on the verge. But all
that is changed now.
Another Club MAY Come.
The country clubs are riding the
wave of spending as they haven't
done in more than a decade. And
the time is coming when they'll all
have full membership lists and
some fellow with smart idea will
go away out in the country. buy
up some property 20 miles or more
from the Capital, and organize an
other club.
That was done around 1922 or
1923. when half dozen country
clubs sprang up around town to take
the overflow from the older and
more sedate outfits then existing.
These, in case YOU are interested,
were Chevy Chase. Columbia and
Washington, and the clubs that
sprang up in those days when
money was on the loose, were In
dian Spring, Manor, Congressional,
Burning Tree, KenWood and Beaver
Dam. All of them exist and are
operating today, which happens to
be favorable commentary both on
the growth Of Washington, and its
stability as going concern.
The first three clubs named-the
older oneS-are solid as that we'll
known rock Hitler would like to
have. To get into Chevy Chase you
have to wait about five years, among
other things. To get into Columbia
takes around two years. Washing
ton has big waiting list. and the
time is coming when it will take
year or more to get into that club
Army Navy. of course, is outside
the usual circle. 1t is a countrv
club, in every sense of the word,
and good one, but membership is
limited to those connected with the
military services.
Public Courses Crowded, Too.
Around this boom town that IS
Washington there's another item in
the vast realm of sport which has
been overlooked So many want 10
play golf, and have to play the pub
lie courses since they do not have
club connections. that the public
layouts are sWamped on week ends
and busy enough any day. That
doesn't exactly make Concessionaire
Leoffler unhappy. But some smart
gent is going to build another public
course nearby and relieve the pub
lie course congestion. since now it
appears that this prosperity which
has hit the Capital is no temporary
wave, but one which will keep on
growing, just like taxes. Or are they
contemporary?
John Connolly is doing all right
with his 9-hole Fairfax Country
Club course in nearby Virginia, but
can you picture what would happen
If an excellent 18-hole course was
made available to the daily-fee play
ers at about 81 on week days and
double that on week ends. The GUS
toners would swamp the place. That
also could come. There's plenty of
land in nearby Montgomery County,
not far from the Potomac, ideally
located for a public golf course, and
capable of conversion into one of
the best.
Fort Hunt Course Needed.
One answer lies in that Fort Hunt
project, which is only in the paper
stage. Another may come when and
If the Fort Dupont course is COM
pleted. This latter course, however,
will have no more golf than Ana
costa now has. for some Of the holes
at Anacostia will be incorporated
with the new ones to make an 18-
hole course.
But right now golf is riding pros
perity wave around this town that
may cause the budding infant TO
bust out at the seams. Soon there
may not be enough country clubs
and public courses to go around,
even if you admit there are enough
today.
Manor Country Club women to-
morrow and Friday will play in their
annual punch bowl tourney, &C.
hole medal play affair with one