Sven-For Tom to suggest that the BDE was getting paid off by the Lido is straight up conjecture. Further I wonder if he could provide the source material that confirms his contention that BDE "promoted the Lido often".
Yes,
of course it's straight up conjecture. That's why I said they "may have been paid to promote" it.
I have no interest whatsoever in going around digging up clippings from the 1930's to prove my point that the local paper was supportive of the course. I have just noted that Sven and others often repost old clippings from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle here.
The Lido was a fine course, and I've never said it wasn't. That doesn't preclude the possibility that it could, at the same time, be overrated by people who never saw it and are projecting about it. One thing we do know is that by January 24, 1938, when this story was published, the course was struggling to survive the tail end of the Depression. How much longer did it last before it succumbed? [I'm honestly not sure.]
Sven:
I doubt that the dynamics of getting favorable publicity in the press have really changed that much between 1938 and now. A lot of publicity starts with free trips or as favors to people you know.
There was nothing in the story you posted that could be termed "news" -- Mr. Trost quotes a source I'm not familiar with who is pooh-poohing Augusta National, uses that to get around to his opinion that the local course is the best and most authentic links course in America, and at the end suggests that the course should host a Walker Cup Match. Maybe he's just spouting off his own opinion, and isn't at all influenced by who he knows there, or the possible failure of the course.
Calling it "irresponsible" for me to speculate about that [80 years after the fact] is just silly. No one alive has anything at stake here, as far as I can see. Indeed, I just looked up "responsibility" and one of the definitions is this:
- the opportunity or ability to act independently and make decisions without authorization.Happy New Year to you and to Tim.