Paul:
From the latest PVGC history book..
The first 11 holes (1-9, 10,18) opened for play 11/7/14;
"According to the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin of Nov 11, 1914, on the previous Saturday, November 7, "....the opening of the Pine Valley course to the members took place. There were only 11 holes in play. It was a mild and pretty day....and many members turned out for the occasion, including, of course, George Crump himself, "whose wonderful foresight and generosity were responsible for the undertaking,"
14 holes (11,16,17) opened for play;
"It was during the first half of 1916 that three more holes---11,16,17---were opened for play."
18 holes (12, 13, 14, 15) opened for play, summer of 1920;
"Not until the summer of 1920 were holes 12,13,14,15 opened for play. And even then the bunkering was not finalized. It was felt that such finishing touches should be applied only after the holes were experimented with--1.e, played---for some months."
"With the war effort---in terms of both manpower and materiel---now a thing of the past, golf clubs were now free to pursue projects that had been shelved for a year and a half. At Pine Valley, the construction of holes 12 through 15 could now be tackled. Some weeks before the Armistice (11/18/1918) the board invited Merion Cricket Club's Hugh Wilson and his brother Alan to direct this important activity. Hugh, now 38, had laid out and supervised the construction of Merion East, which opened in 1912, and Merion West in 1914. Alan Wilson, who had counseled with Hugh on the two eighteens, was a member of Pine Valley as well as of Merion....Simon Carr was named by the club to work closely with the Wilsons, who would spend four to five months at Pine Valley. Jim Govan, who had been George Crump's right hand during the previous five years, would also play a key role in this task."
"As I understand it, Govan is to be relieved of his duties as professional and to put all his time on the course. I think this is most important, as he has a thorough knowledge of conditions and every minute of his time is needed to accomplish the best results. He is intelligent, capable, has an open mind and will, I believe, accomplish excellent results for you, if given the opportunitiy to give his whole attention to th course."
Report to Pres. H. Perrin
Hugh/Alan Wilson
4/30/19
"We have gotten all our top dressing work done at Pine Valley and I am glad to say that Flynn is going to take charge down there for three or four days a week and I think we will get a better organization and more work accomplished."
Letter to Oakley
from Hugh Wilson
6/9/1919