Stymie gauge and scorecards

[Sean_Tully]

Looking at some old scorecards and I noticed on the top of one there was a stymie gauge.  It measures out to 6 inches and runs across the top of the scorecard.  I'm sure some of the more ardent golfers on here who have forgone the USGA and still play with the stymie will know! What was the time frame(scorecard dated 1949) and was there any outstanding reasons for its removal from the rule book?

Another question on scorecards, does anyone know of any collection of old scorecards that would date from the 1920's?  I'm trying to find scorecards to get an idea for the original yardages for some clubs in the Bay area.


Tully

[Tim_Cronin]

Sean, this could go on for a while, but suffice to say that the battle between the pro and anti stymie sides went on for decades. It was in and out of the USGA Rules Book at least once before being banished permanently in 1952 in the USGA-R&A rules agreement. The WGA had dropped the stymie before that, and the first argument about it across the pond had taken place in 1833. Yes, 1833.
Why was it dropped? People were tired of the quirks it brought to the game, basically.

[Tom_Doak]

Sean:

I have heard and read about the stymie rule for a long time, but it was particularly fascinating to read an account of Bob Jones' early-round upset loss in the 1929 US Amateur.  In seventeen holes, three holes were basically decided by stymies.  I doubt it happened quite that often in a match between B players, but good players could use the rule to their advantage on the putting green by lagging to the appropriate side of the hole, and apparently they did so with some frequency!

However, the stymie was strictly a match play thing, and once most golfers started playing to post a score, it was seen as an anachronism.

[john_stiles]

Sean,

One source for old scorecards is the USGA archives.  Many clubs submitted scorecards upon joining.  USGA was helpful to me.

The original hole yardages, in my situation, were also listed in local newspaper accounts.   If you know the approximate opening month or day, you might only have to look through a month or so of microfiche or microfilm sports pages.  It is not as bad as it sounds.

But it will take about twice as long as you expect unless you put on the blinders and do not read the old accounts of golfing heroes and baseball, etc. Good luck !