Bryan,
Your questions are ironic ones considering that Richard Francis told us that the Merion Committee were "IN CHARGE of laying out and buiilding a new course."
Of course, he doesn't mention a single word about Macdonald and/or Whigham being involved in laying out or building the new course, and the tasks Francis describes that the Committee did all involve golf course routing, strategy, and hole design.
When David tells you that he interprets the Lesley article as saying that the Merion Committee "laid the course upon the ground", that's simply his shorthand for telling you that they had nothing to do with the design, save whatever he thinks Francis's little brainstorm was. He is teling you that they were in charge of constructing that course to someone else's design, pure and simple.
Of course, that's not true either.
In fact, right after the Merion Board of Governors approved the final routing plan, that set in motion other events, such as the hiring of a contractor to actually "build" the course on the ground. We also know that Fred Pickering was in charge of that construction, and he had way more experience in building golf courses than anyone in the country at that time, including CBM and Whigham.
But, David knows this.
So, a good question for him might be, if CBM and/or Barker designed the course and were "calling the shots", and we know that Pickering and outside contractors were hired to lay the course out on the ground, then what exactly does he think the Merion Commttee did? Use their business contacts to buy grass seed at discount prices?
For that matter, can anyone find a single statement by anyone that says that the Merion Committee laid out the course "on the ground"? What does "on the ground" mean anyway? Why did David make up the term out of thin air when no one else ever used it? Why is his entire theory reliant on creating terms no one used that are the product of his own invention? Does he think if he repeats them long enough someone will think someone back then actually said that?
Further, David also knows that the Merion Committee were well-versed in how to use the term "layout", or "laid out", and referred to those multiple layouts that we know were paper course design plans, one of which was attached to the Wilson Committee report to the Board which was read by Robert Lesley. No matter how David wants to try to apply the language, it does not fit, and make no sense. If he wants to talk about who "laid out the course on the ground", then he should assign proper credit and responsibility to Fred Pickering, operating under the control and direction of the Merion Committee, but also, as Alex Findlay told us, given latitude to use his experience to do what was best. We also know that Hugh Wilson told us that the Committee's charge was to "lay out and build" the golf course, indicating two separate processes.
Finally, David knows that not a scintilla of evidence exists that shows any involvement of CBM with Merion between June 29th, 1910 and March 1911, a full NINE MONTHS later when the Committee visited him to see NGLA. Anyone who has ever had their wife go through the birthing process knows how long that is!
Yet, without a single shred of evidence, David would have us believe that CBM was remotely "calling the shots".
Ask him if you don't believe me. Ask him to produce some evidence here besides twisting of others words and his own supposedly logical arguments.
You'll be waiting forever, because they don't exist.
There is also no evidence that CBM and/or Whigham ever returned after April 1911. These supposedly proud papa's, who had been "calling the shots" from afar, do not even bother to come back and see their own course??
Then, when Merion needed a second course almost immediately because of the popularity of the first, who did they turn to? The same "experts" who designed Merion from afar? No, they turned to Hugh Wilson and his Committee.
Then, when mega-mogul Clarence Geist at the same time decided to build his dream resort/course did he go after the supposed secret creators of Merion? No, he used Hugh Wilson.
Then, when Merion needed changes for the 1916 US Amateur to toughen the course for competition, did they bring back their deadbeat dads who evidently did a single day, slam-bam, thank you ma'am routing for Merion? No, they used Hugh Wilson.
Why in heaven's name would they use Wilson? Because he went to Europe for a few weeks and had Fred Pickering build the course for him?
It's funny actually...as I said back a few weeks when this thread was unfortunately turning towards Merion...
Never has so much been written about so very little.
Fred Pickering's role and the latitude he was given is discussed in the last paragraph here in Alex Findlay's article. We know that Findlay was there in Philadelphia during construction.
Here's Hugh Wilson telling us what the Committee was charged with. Notice again that "lay out" and "build" were two separate processes under the purview of the Wilson Committee.
More importantly, he tells us precisely where and when he got his advice from CBM. Notice he doesn't tell us that it's over some lengthy period of time, or that they were directed on what to create by someone "in charge", but instead is quite clear that it all happened during his overnight at NGLA.