There is a lower terrace bar just south of the upper dining terrace that puts the shelves of glassware dead opposite the front (ladies'??) markers about 75 yards forward and slightly downhill of the back tees that are the focus of the picture and this thread.
In the 1970 Philadelphia Open (won by amateur Bill Hyndman if anybody cares), the opening tee shot of another amateur competitor (who was also a Merion member) was as screaming a snap hook as you'll ever see. The ball did, in fact, head straight for the barware like a heat seeking missle and several cocktail glasses were broken! At 7:30 A.M., there were no live people to be endangered and it was such an unheard of event that the club never felt compelled to do anything about it until some years later when the overhanging awning was extended about 6 feet closer to the tee box and lowered about a foot, as well.
The story requires no corroboration as I was standing there and saw it my ownself. The club pro's and caddies looking on were so stunned that nobody knew what to say or do except for the "perp" himself who, with a well-deserved reputation for a great sense of humor, could barely contain his own laughter enough to ask whether the ball was OB (it wasn't) and what should he do (he took an unplayable after making sure that he found his ball behind the bar)?
I've always wondered that nobody really ever talked about that story much except for our hero the member and, after a while, he gave up, too.
Incidentally, the shot from the "members' tees" about 20 yards forward is a total non-event as it's enough removed from the dining patrons that nobody watches or stops eating/talking. Are all you guys good enough to play the back tees?