Joe,
Let's give them better odds and offer play at my course rather than Gen. Washington if it turns out Wilson did not go to the UK to study the golf courses until after Merion East was built.
Wayne,
Terrific. I will be looking forward to playing with you and Joe at Merion. I will even bring clubs with metal shafts and try my best not to clog up the course with my glacial play.
What do you say we let Joe be the arbiter? He is definitely leaning your way, and I am sure he won't be influenced by the fact that, if I win, he gets a round at Merion, whereas if you win, he only gets a round at lowly Rustic Canyon.
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Joe:
Not sure what you are getting at in your last post. No one is making up dates. As I said on the other thread:
1. The East was built in the spring and summer of 1911; seeded in September of that year.
2. Wilson traveled to Europe in 1912.
3. The West was built beginning March of 1913 and seeded that May.
These dates not seriously disputed. There is ample support.
On the other hand, there are no hard facts that Wilson traveled to study before 1912. None. Just an old story, oft repeated, but surely that does not make it fact.
By the way, in 1913 Walter Travis wrote that Wilson went to study courses in Europe "last summer." Perhaps he was off by a bit if he was referring to the trip ending in May 1912 since that isn't quite summer. But he was way off if he was referring to a trip which must have occurred in 1910! Seems unlikely he was off by that much, don't you think?
Look forward to playing with you at Merion!
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Mike. My contention hasnt dried up, I am just not going to endlessly repeat it. With a timeline and an accurate reading, the article speaks for itself.
As for your other quote, you and I undoubtedly attach much different meanings to the phrase "responsible for" just as we do "constructed by" and "built by." No use rehashing that.