Which course is this?

[ed_getka]

"If you think the Merion Golf Club is starchy, you should visit .... or .... or especially _________. The last, which hasn't had a guest in almost 30 years, is so Ivy League that its members protect themselves from sunburn with calamine lotion. ___________ makes nearby Pine Valley, which is famous for its sanctity, look like Cobb's Creek, a Philadelphia muni course where people have been known to play in their underwear."

Can you guess the course or who wrote this?

[Scott_Burroughs]

I'll guess Bidermann.

Can't be GMGC, because a certain Doyen has had a few guests, I believe.  It could be one of the first two on the list before the underline, I suppose.

Based on the one clue, I'll guess Poison Ivy CC?  

[ed_getka]

A few other interesting tidbits from the above writer.

"A scorecard from Pinehurst at the turn of the century indicates it had no fewer than 6 par sixes."

"Merion wouldn't alter that course for the Second Coming, let alone another golf championship".  I guess I was out of town for the Second Coming.

"It has become the custom among touring pros to sign their scorecards before they tee off, not after they finish play, thereby eliminating the possibility of a penalty or disqualification."  Any idea when they were doing this and did it have anything to do with Roberto di Vicenzo and the Masters incident?

Scott,
  You forgot to take something into consideration with your hypothesis.

[ed_getka]

The writings are from Golfer-at Large by Charles Price. The guest policy must have changed in recent years. One of our more verbose ;)participants is a member there. I checked with him first to make sure he wouldn't be offended by me posting this.

[T_MacWood]

I've always been under the impression that Gulph Mills is the bluest of the blue bood clubs in Philie.

[ed_getka]

You're right Tom. I would have never guessed that GMGC had that reputation if I hadn't read about it in Price's book. After talking to TEPaul a few times I wouldn't have envisioned the club he belongs to being that way. Their guest policy must have relaxed a little over the years since I was invited to play.

[Joel_Stewart]

The first sentance leaves out 2 other names, what are they?
Thanks.

[David Kelly]

The first sentance leaves out 2 other names, what are they?

Philadelphia Cricket and Sunnybrook

Their guest policy must have relaxed a little over the years since I was invited to play.

Ed,
Remember that Price wrote that sentence in 1982.  Standards have fallen appreciably since then.

[Mike_Cirba]

Ed;

I read that article back in 1981 in Golf Digest in it's US Open issue.  At the time, I was in college and not living near Philly, but Merion had always been my favorite course in the world based on what I'd read about it.  

The description of GM had me imagining something completely different than the reality, with thoughts of some ostentatious clubhouse with glittering chandeliers and a locker room so stiff that one wears a tie in the shower.  

Instead, it's about the coolest, low-key, friendly, down-to-earth, endearingly dingy place one can imagine.  I know that they permitted members of other clubs such as Rolling Green to use their course when major weather systems damaged all of their greens and the course was closed for a period.  They even let Tom Paul be a member, and permit him to bring riff-raff like me there (not to mention world-renowned contrarian existentialists like Rihc Goodale), so as wonderful a writer as Charles Price was, he must have had too many mint juleps prior to penning this piece.

[SPDB]

Instead, it's about the coolest, low-key, friendly, down-to-earth, endearingly dingy place one can imagine.  

no lockers. only hooks. hooks, for chrissake! terrific.

so as wonderful a writer as Charles Price was, he must have had too many mint juleps prior to penning this piece.

agree with you there, Mike. not only does the GMGC characterization miss the mark, but so does his description of Sunnybrook and Philly Cricket vis-a-vis Merion.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Ed,

This is the part of the post where it could really rear its ugly head, but all it takes is a greqat picture, and the post is back on track!

Check out this glassy swing! (And this was after a night of drinking some pretty stout merlot on Gil Hanse's back porch!)

Lest anyone here think this man can't handle any challenge off of the tee or in the fairway!

Here are a few more. If you guys can hold this to a friendly level, I'll also post a picture of one of the great greens in golf.

[SPDB]

Tommy - you've already featured two of the great greens in golf, the short par 3  (the pic makes it look longer, its really only a shade over 100 yds), and the awesome 8th greensite (Maxwell), with the cool rock outcroppings in the bunker.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Sean,  Couldn't agree more! I have to get running to a doctors appointment but when I get back later, I'll also post a picture of the 10th.

[ForkaB]

Tommy

Who's the picture of?  Crenshaw?  Andy Williams?

[Scott_Burroughs]

I'd like to see a pic of the infamous 18th.

[mike_malone]

When we played GMGC as reciprocal guests in 2001-2,i found the pro,his assistants,and the caddiemaster to be great hosts.As for the members--who knows? there were few of them there.It was offseason -- probably more of us than them were there.
   They even listened when i told them to cut down those evergreens on the right side of the third hole next to the creek.
 As i said in the thread about favorite courses,i love this place.
   The greens on 3 and 8 were discussed.I love them.Add #11 as another interesting one.
  I also have no problem with #18.It's just a nice hole to play.My only complaint is how the driving range insertion hurt the beauty of #10.

[Dan Kelly]

Who's the picture of?  Crenshaw?  Andy Williams?

I don't think I've ever seen a picture of Andy Williams's
golf swing -- but the one here looks better than anything
I've seen from Crenshaw in recent years.

I wonder if this guy in the picture, whoever he is, has
ideas as good as Bill Coore's! Put him together with himself,
give him a blue pencil and a red pencil, and he could be
quite the architect, collaborating with himself.

One thing I do wonder about: Is it just the angle of the
pictures, or is that ball as far forward as it looks?

Good-lookin' golf course, too.

[Tommy_Naccarato]

The Famed 10th green.

[Mike Hendren]

Could someone post a frame-by-frame comparison of the Williams/Crenshaw look-a-like with one Patrick Mucci?

Regards,

Mike

[SPDB]

What's the story with the silhouette man and
bag next to the gentleman playing his shot
to the 10th green.

Is it the ghost of AJ Drexel Paul?

[Mike_Cirba]

Sean;

Actually, the Maxwellian green has so much internal "tremoring" going on that it's impossible to stand still anywhere in the immediate proximity.  Thus, the Tommy Double Exposure.  

People have been known to double-hit putts on the green, as well.  

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Sorry for the lack of time to get double exposure man out of the picture.

Sean as you probably know, that is in fact four pictures spliced together--hand held without a tri-pod.  It doesn't work out the best, but I think it helps get the point across of the contours of this green.

[David Wigler]

Tommy,

With the ball that far forward and the blade facing flush to the sky, I'm betting dead pull hook.  Any truth to my guess.  

[TEPaul]

Jeesus, how distressing--a lot of flaws in that swing sequence but the ball too far forward isn't one of them. Playing it too far back is a problem sometimes, though. That's only the angle of the photos, I'm sure. That's why I never did like to look at a video or swing sequence photos--all it shows is how little talent I have.

Anyway, I did read that quote a long time ago about Gulph Mills and the calamine lotion thing. I forgot it was Charles Price who wrote that but he was just being satirical, I'm sure. GMGC always did have the reputation of being some super blue blood Philadelpia club and I guess that's so but they sure have never been restrictive about guests that I know of.

It's just the way the members are. Most of them used to wear like thread bare shirts and khaki trousers that looked ready for a flood and drive around in old grey cars and such while still owning things like half the Main line for the last 200 years.

But I can't help that and since my grandfather, the aforementioned A. J. Drexel Paul, was one of them and one of the ten members who started GMGC back in 1916 it was sort of the obvious place to join when I came here from D.C. about 25 years ago. I don't even come from here--I'm from LI N.Y.

But A.J. Drexel Paul and a few of his friends started GMGC in 1916 because they were upset with all the play at Merion. One of the themes of GMGC (from the Merion overplay experience) that's still true today is the very light play and that was probably what Charles Price was thinking about. If the club ever does over 14,000-15,000 rounds per year the Board will hear about it. So it really isn't a guest restriction thing it's just a sort of light play mentality.

How did they let me into GMGC somebody wanted to know? That's a good story. I really don't know why they let me in but I can tell you how they did.

When I came to Philly about 25 years ago I'd never really played golf much. I was about 34 and started to get interested in golf. Since my Dad (who was a real good player) who hated Philly and basically refused to return here was a life member and his Dad started the club I used to just go over there and practice and play. And I had no handicap. But one time I was playing with my Dad in Florida against this big time muck-a-muck and Dad and I beat him and he got pissed and questioned my handicap and Dad said he just sort of gave him a handicap number because it seemed about right.

So this guy really got pissed and said I should never do that and I should belong to a club. Of course he was right so Dad said I'd better join a club. So I asked my uncle, A.J. Drexel Paul Jr if he'd help me get into GMGC. He said he would and that's all he said. I asked him if I should call him and he said no. This was in March so I wait month after month, through the summer and he never called me and I didn't dare call him.

And then around September I got a call from the office asking me why I hadn't payed my bill in about six months. Honest to God true story. I hadn't met anyone, hadn't gotten a single call from anyone, nothing, but I'd been a member for about six months without even knowing it.

Charles Price would've been right to write things are a bit different at GMGC but a shut-door guest policy has never been one of them that I know of.

[Dan Kelly]

Great story, Tom I. Thanks.

You've given me an idea. Maybe I should just call Interlachen,
Minikahda, White Bear Yacht Club, Somerset, Hazeltine, and
Minneapolis Golf Club and ask them how far in arrears I am!

How wide and deep is that 10th green? How long are the approach
shots to it? How tilted is it down toward the water?