Daniel Wexler's Newest--"Lost Links"

[Tim_Weiman]

Daniel Wexler:

Why were holes 4-6 at Pelham sacrificed? I believe it was because of how little land they had to work with and needed to fit in an additional hole. Thus, the area that originally contained just three holes (4-6), was changed to include the 7th and 8th hole. This required reconfiguring 4-6. Number four was changed from a par 3 to a par 4 and became a difficult driving hole. The down hill par 3 #5 was added. #6 and #7 became mid length par four running side by side. They used all the land they could, even creating another short par 3 in #8.

The position of #1 green is interesting because moving it not only allowed for a change of #2 (from the cool short par 4 you mentioned to a 200 yardish par 3), but it also made room for Pelham's limited practice area. I suspect that when the course was originally laid out nobody cared, but by the 1950's, apparently members must have want this. Thus, the angle of the dog leg on #1 was changed and the practice area created.

[Mike_Cirba]

I just received my copy last night and stayed up WAY too late looking through it.

I would recommend this book very highly for anyone with even a passing interest in historical golf course research.  Daniel outdoes himself here, and proves himself the "Indiana Jones" of golf course archeological research, as well as providing well-reasoned subjective opinions on the historical significance of most of the courses presented.

I thought the Quaker Ridge and San Francisco essays on lost holes were brilliant, and it's scary to think of how good those courses must have been at one time.  I also now need to go find the site of the original 13th green at Merion, as it looked to be a whale of a par three...thankfully, my staff bought me a gift certificate to the proshop there for Christmas, so I actually have a legitimate reason to be there this time...other than my amoebically-stricken dog continually wandering onto the property.  

Daniel; just an aside is the present Gene Bates course at Boca Raton on the site of the original North or South course??  I played there two summers ago, and will be at the resort again in June of this year on business, so I'd like to do a little digging myself.  

Thanks, Daniel, for this wonderfully researched and well-written treat!