I decided to look at 1910.
Tillinghast reported that over 800 golfers in the Philadelphia District had handicaps of 18 or better (the max they would handicap), and listed the top players;
Tillinghast stated;
"The Golf Association of Philadelphia's handicap list has just been completed, and although the committee only rated players to the limit of eighteen strokes, over eight hundred names appear..."
"In rating the first twenty or thirty players the performances of last year were considered to a great extent, and those players who have been rather inactive have only to exhibit a return of form to receive in the fall revision of the list that recognition which the excellence of their play warrants."
"Mr. H. B. McFarland, of Huntingdon Valley, has been placed alone at 4 strokes. His work in the Patterson Cup contest and his win of the Pennnsylvania State championship entitled him to this honor. The handicaps from 4 to 10 follow:"
Handicap 4: McFarland, H. B.
Handicap 5: Carr, Simon; Hanson, R.
E.; Perrin, H. W.; Pfeil, Walter; Reynolds,
W. H.; Satterthwaite, E.; Stull, C.
S.; Smith, W. P.; Tillinghast, A. W.;
West, W. T.
Handicap 6: Buxton, C. B.; Crump, G.
A.; Edwards, J. P.;
Griscom, R. E.; Horstman,
F. O.; Mather, J. S.; Service, E. A.;
Smith, A. H.; Smith, H. P.; Thompson,
W. L.; Tyson, W. A.;
Wilson, H. I.Handicap 7: Alcorn, J. S.; Bartholomew,
B.;
Francis, R. S.; Harrison, W. F.; Harvey,
R. W.; Hill, F. P.; James, R. C;
McCurdy, J. A.; Mott, Richard; Scott, G.;
Wendell, Herman; Williams, A. C. ;
Wright, M. R.; Heyburn, H. B.; Cooke,
Geo. J.
Handicap 8: Bohlen, F. H.; Brown, Jr.,
G. B.; Brumbaugh, S. L.: Castner. P. A.;
Clark, 3d, E. W.; Colahan, 3d, J. B.; Farnum,
C. S.; Francine, H. H.; Humphreys,
E. B.; Jones, Jr., W. S.; Kemble, F. W.;
Klauder, G. C.; Lewis, Ben.; Lineaweaver,
C. P.; Mackie, F. M.; Major, H. T.;
Mitchell, E. E.; Neiffer, M. K.; Race, B.
O.; Reyburn, W. S.; Rhodes, H. W. ;
Schofr, C. H.; Smedley, Walter; Starr, C.
S.; Taylor, F. W.;
Toulmin, Harry; Watson,
J. W.; Weir, Robt.; Wendell, H. F.;
Worthington, H. R.
Handicap 9: Baldwin, R. J.; Blair, K. E.;
Collins, Abbott; Comfort, E. T.; Cutler,
G. L.; Deacon, H. P.; Dixon, C. G.; Downing,
W. C.; Dunlap, Jr., Jas.; George, W.
H.; King, J. B.; Kirchner, H. P.; Kribbs,
Jr., H. G.; Large, R. M.; Lineaweaver, J.
I.;
Lloyd, H. G.; Mackey, H. A.; McNeely,
R. P.; Nalle, J.; Sherman, F. S.; Smedley,
H. W.; Steel, R. W.; Webster, Jr., C. B.;
Willoughby, Jr., H. L.; Wilson, W. W.
Handicap 10: Ashby, A. H.; Atherton, G.
E.; Bergner, G. W.; Bolton, Saml.; Bosler,
L. C; Brown, H. W.; Buck, S. T.; Clark,
C. M.; Clark, J. S.; Clementa, H. M.;
Conn, J. W.; Cowperthwait, C. T.; Daly,
I. G.; Davis, E. S.; Gilmore, J. C.; Green,
J. S.; Hancock, W. W.; Houston, W. C.;
Lindsay, G.; Lippincott, Geo.; Lippincott,
R.; MacDonald, Robin; Mills, C. S.;
Moorhouse, W. L.; Newton, H. B.; Patterson,
G. S.; Peet, E. B.; Potter, Wilson;
Richmond, G. N.; Roberts, Walter; Rolls,
T. M. S.; Steel, H. J.; Suddards, G. O.;
Thayer, W.; Thompson, J. M.; Whitaker,
A. L.; Wilson, W. E.; Zebley, J. W.
***ADD***
David, I just saw your response.
If you don't see the similarity between the announcement by Robert Lesley as the head of Merion's Golf Committee, and Robert Lesley as the President of GAP at the time speaking for the Commttee then you're simply in denial.
Lesley was an amateur. He did not design any golf courses. He is referred to as an "expert".
"Robert W. Lesley, president, stated on behalf of the Committee on the Park Golf Course, that he had
seen plans for an eighteen hole public golf course prepared as the result of many consultations with himself and other golf experts laid out at the northwestern end of Cobb's Creek Park."
"...He added further that he is assured that work on the preparation of the course will be begun as soon as the weather permits in the Spring. The new links will be of championship length and character and will give Philadelphia a public golf course second to none in the United States."
- Philadelphia Press, 1/21/1915
I double checked and the wording of the article is verbatim.
Sound familiar?
I don't know David; I thought the fricking New York Times calling Hugh Wilson a golf expert was evidence enough. Do I need to post that article again?
Do you really think it is mere coincidence that 4 of the top five golfers at Merion were on the Merion Committee in 1912 and Toulmin is referred at the time as being on their first team?? It must have been their expertise in Construction that landed them the assignments, don't you think?
Here's another amateur, albeit a very good one, who was still in college when this 1904 story was printed.
So, let's drop the nonsense that Hugh Wilson and these guys were not referred to as experts, shall we, and move on to more productive topics.I'll start...
There were no boundaries determined for the golf course (except for the boundaries of the land purchased by Lloyd) as of late December, 1910.
How could that be if the Francis Swap happened before then and the November 1910 Land Plan is supposed proof of that?