Mike, the text does not support your intepretation of the Lesley article. But, no matter, others noted that Merion had a hole based on the alps as well.
They said it was based on an Alps hole, not me.
Could you cite them and any specific quotes?
It's interesting that the 1916 Philadelphia Bulletin review of the course describes the 10th as follows;
"Hole 10 - Drive and pitch. The tee is up in the woods and is elevated. A long straight drive gives the player an easy pitch over Ardmore Avenue to the green."
Interesting that there's no mention of blindness, or other possible Alpian qualities.
Here is there description of the current third hole, which was supposedly a redan;
"Hole 7 - Iron shot. The first of the short holes. There is a big trap right in the face of the green and the player must carry to the green to keep out of trouble."
I'm not sure the "easy pitch" after a long straight drive would be indicative of any Alps holes that I know, nor do I know of any redan anywhere that a full carry to the green is the only option to avoid trouble.
While it's hardly stellar architectural analysis, the writer does try to describe the playing qualities of each hole and for the majority of holes described, points out any obvious features.
For instance, the following describes today's 5th hole;
Hole 6 - Drive and Iron. The brook is in front of the tee and then parallels the hole to the green. The green is sloping and there are traps to prevent the player from playing to the right and dropping on the green.
Or hole 9;
Hole 9 - Iron shot. The tee is well above the green which is guarded by a pond, a brook, and traps. There is no fairway from tee to green.
Hole 16 - The first of the Quarry holes (showing that even that early, the hole 16,17,18 were "named", and the writer used the name - my comment). A long drive gives the player a full iron to the green with the quarry intervening.
The old 11th;
Hole 11 - Drive and run up. The drive is over Ardmore Avenue and this hole parallels the 10th and 12th. The green is well below the fairway and two big traps guard either side of the fairway.
The old 12th;
Hole 12 - Drive and iron. The drive is uphill and the perfect drive opens the green to the player. Ardmore Avenue is again crossed and between it and the green are the brook and pampas grass.
The old 13th;
Hole 13 - Pitch. The green is surrounded by the brook on three sides and by traps on the right.
The 17th;
Hole 17 - Full iron shot. Seventy yards below the tee is the bottom of the quarry. It is a full carry from tee to green.
Finally, 18;
Hole 18 - Drive and iron. There is a carry of 170 yards from the tee to the fairway and a large pit guards the green located near the clubhouse.
I could go on, but each description is virtually the same in that it speaks about the playing characteristics and then describes the obvious features.
It just seems curious why he wouldn't have mentioned the blindness of the 10th, or any particular features.