The Masters v. The Crump Cup: Which is Better for Golf?

[Patrick_Mucci]

Sven,

Then I don't think you'll be disappointed by "The Making of the Masters"

[Joe Bausch]

Sven,

There was a time when ANGC was in financial difficulty in the early days.

"The Making of the Masters" details the early days very well and I would recommend it.

As to Pine Valley, the club history by Finegan is a very good start.

Pat:

One of the finest private collections of impressionist and modernist art ever assembled was owned by Albert Barnes and housed in his estate on the outskirts of Philadelphia.  Years after his death, pursuant to a rather protracted legal dispute and contrary to Barnes' will, the collection was sent on tour, including a stop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Barnes was a rather eccentric soul, and his dislike of the denizens of the upper echelons of Philadelphia Society was well known.  When the exhibit opened to the public for the first time away from the Barnes Institute (his home), it included a brief description of Barnes that described him in as glowing terms as possible, while still hinting that he might have been a bit off his rocker.  On one hand, they extolled the man's eye for art and his support of many of the artists whose work he purchased, including Renoir, Matisse, Picasso and others.  At the same time, they described him as the cantankerous individual that he was.

I've always thought that the words written about Clifford Roberts would be of a similar vein.  Augusta is largely the result of his vision, and the Masters is what it is today due to his drive.  It is nearly impossible to separate the man from the accomplishment.  It seems that when they talk about Roberts, its easier to focus on what he produced, rather than how it came to be.  I look forward to picking up "The Making of The Masters," and I hope the book does as good a job of describing the true nature of the man as it does with respect to the creation of the course and the founding of the tournament.

FYI:  The Barnes Foundation will reopen soon in downtown Philly.  No longer is it situated in Lower Merion on the edge of St. Joseph's campus.

Can you imagine re-locating a great golf course?  Perhaps this is apples and oranges and moving an art museum and recreating the experience isn't so hard.

[Sven Nilsen]

FYI:  The Barnes Foundation will reopen soon in downtown Philly.  No longer is it situated in Lower Merion on the edge of St. Joseph's campus.

Can you imagine re-locating a great golf course?  Perhaps this is apples and oranges and moving an art museum and recreating the experience isn't so hard.

Joe:

Like a great golf course, I think it will be almost impossible to recreate the Barnes Foundation experience at a different location.  Barnes' house was his museum.  The art work in each room was meticulously organized, with complementary works arranged in "ensembles" near each other.  He'd have a pair of Modigliani's next two a couple of African tribal masks, and the similarities in the two different genre's of work contained their own lessons.  There were works of Gauguin countering works of Van Gogh, the two being contemporaries and friends.  He hired Matisse to produce a mural on a high wall above three arches, which would be very difficult to display anywhere else.  The genius of the collection was the way it was organized.

Similar to a course with a great routing, Barnes looked to create an experience where the whole complemented the parts.

[Sam Morrow]

I think they are both good for golf.