"Tom,
I'm also guessing that if the original spring 1911 Merion "plans" are ever found they would almost certainly be stick routings on a topo."
Mike:
Somehow I doubt that. Don't forget MCC and the Wilson Committee had a member on it who was a professional engineer---eg Richard Francis. And don't forget some of the details of his story of the late night visit to see Horatio Gates Lloyd and how it began with----"After spending many hours over a drawing board and running instruments in the field....."
That sounds to me like Richard Francis was generating some fairly comprehensive plans and drawing for the Wilson Committee in the winter and early spring of 1911. He obviously had figured out how to move that unbuilt road (Golf Club Road) on the Nov. 1910 plan from College Avenue all the way to Ardmore Avenue to fit in #1 green, #14 and #15 with little to no net loss or gain to the course and the proposed residential development to the west. The so-called "triangle" on the top of the plan already existed (even though it had no bottom boundary base) and all Francis did was expand it enough to fit #15 green and #16 tee up into where they are now. The Board minutes actually reflect this net wash land swap that resulted from the movement (from College to Ardmore Aves) of the road on the plan and other documents reflect that Lloyd had put himself into position at the end of December 1910 to deal with just this kind of boundary adjustment situation. The mind and future planning of a heretofore previously unknown MCC participant, T. DeWitt Cuyler, MCC's lawyer, fits seamlessly into this entire scenario. The fact is MCC did not receive the deed to Merion East's land from HDC (the real estate developer) in late 1910 and early 1911; Horatio Gates Lloyd and his wife did! Lloyd deeded the land over to the MCC Golf Association (a corporation Cuyler's created to lease the land to MCC) about 7-8 months later after the golf course was well into construction and the boundaries were finally set.
The board minutes also mention that the Merion East course plan that was approved in April 1911 was ATTACHED to the Committee report submitted to the MCC Board! The Wilson Committee's design plan was presented to the Board by MCC Golf Committee chairman, Robert Lesley, a man most all of us are familiar with for a number of reasons. So obviously it existed.
It sounds to me like the Merion East plan might have been a fairly comprehensive drawing and likely done by Wilson Committee member, Richard Francis, a professional engineer.