Patrick,
Once again, you're just flinging poo at the wall and seeing what will stick.
Nothing has.
How big is a "scrub tree" - 40 to 70 feet?
If you have any actual facts, as opposed to pure conjecture, misinformation, and speculation, please present it. You're just repeating the same misleading crap, and time has not diminished its odor.
By the way, regarding Tillinghast, by January of 1918, in the middle of winter, in the middle of World War I, five years after the inception of Pine Valley and still only 14 holes completed, it's unlikely that many of Crump's closest friends in the beginning were actually with him and/or in daily, or even regular contact at the end. With Tilllinghast tending to his critically ill father at the time (he died roughly a month later), it's unlikely he was in regular contact with Crump, as well.
If he did shoot himself in his house in Merchantville, which is probably likely if he was out with his sister and brother in law the night before, then Tillinghast would have no reason at all to doubt the family's story of sudden death that was reported the next day in the newspapers.
It's also probably why Alan Wilson spoke of the sadness and guilt of Crump's closest friends, mourning the passing of Crump with the words; " we who had advised so much and helped so little".
As regards NGLA, read it again...it's very straightforward.
The company agreed to sell CBM 205 acres and because the boundaries of the golf course were yet undetermined the company agreed to let CBM locate the holes anywhere he wanted within 205 assumed contiguous acres of the the 450 acre property that had never previously been surveyed. That took place in December 1906.
After that agreement, reported as CBM "securing" the land, he ("We") THEN ("Again") studied the contours earnestly, picking those which fit in with the classical holes he had in mind, "
AFTER WHICH WE STAKED OUT THE LAND WE WANTED".
As all those reports from December 1906 and January 1907 tell us, that process took place over the first several months of 1907, with construction beginning in the spring.
By the way, what do you think a "survey" consisted of, if the property had never been "surveyed" prior?
During the NGLA thread, most folks on there, myself included, seemed to think that a "survey" related to the creation of a topographical map. As Bryan Izatt showed with his discovery of a topo map of the general area in question prior to 1906, it's not true that a topo map wasn't created prior.
But, as part of a larger land acquisition by Alvord involving thousands of acres, the specific property known as Sebonac Neck had never been "surveyed" prior to determine it's dimensions and boundaries.
That's what CBM was referring to in his book, that's why they used the general estimate of "450 acres" and it's also the original reason he hired Seth Raynor.
A property survey is a sketch or map of a property showing its boundaries and other physical features. Residential property survey reports also show the relative location of a house, shed, other building and fences on the property, and it usually includes the position of any public or municipal easements. Property surveys are done for a number of reasons; they may be required by local law or ordinance whenever property changes ownership. In the U.S., property surveys must be done by a professional surveyor who is licensed in the state where the property is located. Residential property surveys can be very simple or highly complex; be sure you know the requirements for your situation.