Did Willie Park, Jr. say the opening holes should be "comparatively . . .easy"?

[Carl Johnson]

"In 1923, Stanley Thompson came out with his . . . booklet . . . .  

"Many of the recommendations found in Harry Colt's 'Golf Architecture' (one chapter in Sutton's The Book of the Links) are MacKenzie's 13 Points at greater length.  Colt added a few of his own, and Thompson agreed.

"Colt: 'Personally, I like a fairly long, plain sailing hole for the first one. . .  a couple of par [par 4] holes at the commencement gets the players away from the first tee.'

"Thompson: 'The starting holes [par 4s] should be comparatively easy, so as not to congest the course . . . ."

"Colt and Thompson were echoing the words of Willie Park [Jr.] in his The Game of Golf published in 1896. 'The first two or three holes should, if possible, be fairly long ones, and should be, comparatively speaking, easy to play.  Holes of a good length permit the players to get away without congesting the links.'"

All of the foregoing from The Toronto Terror, the biography of Stanley Thompson, by James A. Barclay.

I don't have a copy of Park's book, The Game of Golf.  I'm relying on a second hand source (above).  "He said, he said" -- hearsay.  Anyone have an answer based on the original text?  So, did Willie Park even write the text?  Or, did someone else do it, and put his name on it?

[Niall C]

Carl

Not sure that quote is 100% word for word correct but that is the gist of what Park says in his book. He also goes on to describe what a Musselburgh caddy has to say about it but can't recall the exact quote. When I get a chance I'll send you a copy of that section of Park's book. Well worth having and as Barclay seems to allude to, much of the principles that Park wrote about in 1896 are carried forward by Colt etc.

Niall 

[Bret Lawrence]

I pulled up the book on SEGL.  Willie Park writes: "The first two or three holes, should, if possible, be fairly long ones, and should be, comparatively speaking, easy of play.  Holes of a good length permit the player to get away without congesting the links, or, in the words of a Musselburgh caddie, it allows them to 'get squandered'

He goes on to say: "Another reason for having the first two or three holes comparatively easy is, that I consider it only fair to permit  a golfer to get warmed to his game before severely testing his abilities"

I found this written on Page 198 of "The Game of Golf"

[Tony_Muldoon]

It's a decent bad read and there's a reasonably priced recent reprint available.

Bret does you search facility allow you to find other quotes.

I recall reading in the book, but alas not marking, that Park talked of the merit of mastering a good pitch that flew high and landed softly.  I've looked at the book several times since but can't find it! Perhaps I dreamt it, or perhaps there really is nothing new under....

[Carl Johnson]

It's a decent bad read and there's a reasonably priced recent reprint available.

Bret does you search facility allow you to find other quotes.

I recall reading in the book, but alas not marking, that Park talked of the merit of mastering a good pitch that flew high and landed softly.  I've looked at the book several times since but can't find it! Perhaps I dreamt it, or perhaps there really is nothing new under....

Thanks.  I've just placed an order - about $22, including shipping.  I took a quick look several days ago and nothing came up - I must have done something wrong in my search.  Also, thanks to Bret, I've now discovered SEGL - the USGA museum and library's search tool for golf books - the Seagle Electronic Golf Library, which I'd never heard of before.  You can learn something new on this site everyday.

[Chris DeToro]

Great quote from Willie Park...my home course is a Willie Park and typifies his philosophy.  The first is long and wide and tough to get into a lot of trouble so as not to be congested.  The next couple holes are similar before the course tightens on numbers 5-7.   

[Niall C]

Carl

Shame your not over here you could have got a copy of the book relatively easily for about £7 if not less. I'm a sucker for bargains and have 3 different copies of the book that I picked up at various times for c. £2 or £3 a go.

Niall

[Carl Johnson]

Carl

Shame your not over here you could have got a copy of the book relatively easily for about £7 if not less. I'm a sucker for bargains and have 3 different copies of the book that I picked up at various times for c. £2 or £3 a go.

Niall

It was $21 - new, not used - including shipping, from bookdepository.com, which seems to be a UK company owned by Amazon.  C'est la vie.

[Bret Lawrence]

Tony,  

My research facility consists of my iPad and computer, but I'd be happy to read the rest of the book to see if I can find the quote.  I'm happy Carl referred to it.  I never knew it existed.  I enjoy reading anything written by the the early golf architects.

Carl,

I'm happy I could help you find SEGL.  I discovered the site through this discussion group, in an earlier thread.  I love how accessible some of these publications are.  I've also noticed working with Google or SEGL that the databases are getting updated all the time, so what might not have been there a week ago, could be today.

[Bret Lawrence]

It's a decent bad read and there's a reasonably priced recent reprint available.

Bret does you search facility allow you to find other quotes.

I recall reading in the book, but alas not marking, that Park talked of the merit of mastering a good pitch that flew high and landed softly.  I've looked at the book several times since but can't find it! Perhaps I dreamt it, or perhaps there really is nothing new under....

Tony,

I was unable to find any quotes in "The Game of Golf" that were directly associated to the quote you remember.  There is one instance on Page 51, where he mentions the advantages of lofting the ball quickly and having it 'fall dead'.   However, he is discussing the advantages of a gutty ball over the putty ball. 

On pages 204 and 205, when describing some of his design philosophies, he notes that not every hole should have a hazard in front of the green to be lofted over.  He goes on to say: "it ties players down to pitching all their approaches instead of making them exercise their judgment as to whether the ball be should be lofted up or run up.  No golfer will deny that there should be hazards in front of some holes, but I think that at others there should be a clear road, with hazards judiciously placed on either side to punish wild shots.  To loft the ball with an iron is comparatively easy to any player except an absolute novice, but it is not so easy to keep to the proper course."

I got the sense that Willie Park Jr. believed an accurate pitch that lofted quickly and fell dead was an important part of the golf game, but I feel he also valued the exercise of judgment by the player and the ability to hit run up shots when the situation called for it.  It is possible the quote was from another article or book, if he wrote any? 

The one thing that sticks out to me about this quote is that yours is paraphrased into modern language.  Willie Park would have used different words to explain the same situation, such as "lofted quickly" and "fell dead".  I hope this helps you out Tony