Here is some:
Wilson really was a complete novice and needed some expert guidance. His committee in fact had McDonald come visit the property in the very early stages, and he clearly particpated in some degree.
It all seemed to come together very rapidly, again, something a inexperienced designer/builder would have a difficult time doing.
Whigham put it on the list of McDonald courses in 1939.
John,
All true, but there is more than this.
- M&W visited the site at least twice, not just once.
- And according to Robert Lesley, after M&W's first visit, Merion's site committee recommended the purchase of the golf course land based largely on M&W's advice.
- And Merion even added acreage they were apparently not previously considering based on M&W's advice.
- And when Merion announced that
experts were at work on the plans (either late December 1910 or early January 1911) Wilson was by no means an expert, and had only just been appointed to the Construction Committee if he had been appointed yet at all.
- And Wilson was seeking and receiving M&W's advice on a variety of issues from early on in Wilson's involvement until after the course was planned.
- And Wilson appears to have been the type to seek out and follow expert advice (see the mass of agronomy letters.)
- And three weeks before M&W's second visit to Merion, Wilson and his committee spent two days at NGLA with M&W going over how they should lay out Merion East, and how the how the underlying principles of the great holes could be applied on the ground at Merion.
- And according to Alan Wilson, M&W advised Merion as to the layout of Merion East, and their advice was of the greatest help and value.
- And, according to TEPaul, on their second visit Macdonald and Whigham spent the day going over the land again and "approved" the final routing plan that would go to the board a few weeks later.
- And in the two Board Meetings about which we have information, M&W's opinions were presented and the board apparently acted on their advice.
- And I have seen no direct evidence indicating that Hugh Wilson was even mentioned in Merion's board meetings about the land or the final routing plan, nor is their any direct evidence that Merion ever chose him to plan the course.
- And Wilson attempted to build holes that are synonomous with CBM designs even though he had never seen the holes on which CBM's holes were modeled.
- And Whigham, who was there, included Merion in a list of famous courses designed by CBM.
This is by no means a complete list, but it should give some idea of the evidence that is out there. No need to parse words. The evidence of M&W's involvement is pretty overwhelming.
In contrast, there really isn't much evidence that Wilson was chosen to design the course or that he did. None of the early press reports about the planning or announcements by Merion even mention him. Merion credited him and his Committee not with the design but on laying the course out on the ground. Wilson himself never took credit for the design. Those that knew him well at the Green Section never even mentioned the original design of Merion in his remembrance, but instead mentioned the changes he made to the course in the early 1920s. It appears that the legend of Hugh Wilson being primarily responsible for the original design plan at Merion is largely a modern one.
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Is questioning the 'novices' Neville/Grant or Fownes and their home-run designs next?
My understanding is that more than one Fownes worked on Oakmont for a long period of time before it became what we think of today. And no doubt Hugh Wilson deserves great credit for laying the course out upon the ground and for how Merion evolved over time (in fact in my opinion he deserves more credit for this than he is currently given.) By the time of his untimely death, Wilson was hardly a novice. He had been taught by the very best (M&W) and had applied his knowledge admirably at Merion and elsewhere. His accomplishments should be praised and valued,
But my focus is on the original design; the backbone of the original course. And at that time, Wilson and his committee knew no more that average club members and they were very fortunate to have CBM and HW to guide them through the process. We are fortunate as well because without CBM and HW's extensive involvement there would be no Merion East as we know it.
As for my motive, it has always been to figure out what happened. My essay was not an attack piece nor was it in any way disrespectful to anyone involved. Read it if you don't believe me. This has only become personal because certain individuals in Philadelphia have insisted on attacking me and my ideas viciously and repeatedly but haven't been men enough to back up their attacks with actual verifiable support.