In early 1914 Tilly, who had been writing a weekly column in the Philadelphia Record since 1912, asked the question "is golf too easy?" and also requested readers to design a 385 yard par 4. For a few Sundays later he published selected letters, and occasionally included a diagram of a hole from a reader. On March 1 the article included a letter from Robert Lesley of Merion, H.B. McFarland of Huntingdon Valley, and also a letter from W.P Smith, together with a diagram of his hole.
First, Lesley's letter:
Now McFarland's letter:
Now W.P. Smith's submission, where Tilly notes it "deserves careful scrutiny":
On March 8 more reader input was published, including a letter from J. Franklin Meehan, and a letter and diagram of a hole sketched by George Crump:
And on April 19 the letter and hole sketched by Ab Smith was published: