THE AMERICAN GOLFER 223

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1 THE AMERICAN GOLFER 223 BY "THE COLONEL." THE MECCA. Southward the course of golfdom takes its way Southward the mashie holds its mighty sway; Southward to-day there's many a longing soul Dreams of a putt that wins the eighteenth hole. A Happy New Year to you, Mr. Golfer. May your drives be longer, your second shots straighter, your approaches truer, and your putting better than in May 1912 be a happy, bright, successful and prosperous year for you. In looking backward over the year just past we cannot but feel that it has shown a marked improvement in Southern golf. While there have not been any greater number of invitation tournaments than in previous years, still there has been more interest taken in the game in each of the cities which compose the Southern circuit, and more local tournaments have been pulled off in which the number of players contesting were larger than heretofore. The green committees of the various clubs have during the past year awakened to the fact that all of our courses are too easy and they have without exception begun putting in a system of traps, specially around the green, which is bound to result in a marked improvement in the general play of Southern golfers. Several new courses have been started in the last twelve months and will be ready for use in the early spring. Notably among these are the Roe Buck Springs Club of Birmingham, Ala., the Log Cabin Club of Macon, Ga., the Brookhaven Club of Atlanta, Ga., while the Birmingham Country Club has increased its course from nine to eighteen holes. Taken all in all we are certain that 1911 has been the best year for golf which the South has ever known. Willie Mann, one of the many golfers whom Carnoustie has sent to America, has taken the position as assistant to Stewart Maiden at the Atlanta Athletic Club. In looking backward it may not be amiss just at this time to recall the names of those who have been so fortunate as to win the Southern championship during the ten years in which this has been the main event for Southern golfers. Place Nashville Asheville Savannah Louisville N. Orleans Atlanta Memphis Memphis Atlanta Nashville Year Winner. Mr. Albert Swartzs Mr. A. W. Gaines Mr. Andrew Manson Mr. Andrew Manson Mr. Leigh Carroll Mr. Nelson Whitney Mr. Nelson Whitney Mr. J. P. Edrington Mr. F. G. Byrd Mr. W. P. Stewart Club. Chattanooga Darien Darien Memphis Atlanta A glance at the above table will show that five times the Golf Club of New Orleans has captured the Southern Championship, while the other five times have been divided between Darien, Chattanooga, Memphis and Atlanta. It is rumored that H. H. Barker,

2 224 THE AMERICAN GOLFER formerly the professional at Garden City, and one of the best professionals in this country, will take charge of the course of the Roe Buck Springs Club of Birmingham, Ala., at an early date. If this rumor is correct, the club is to be congratulated, as Barker is not only a good golfer, but a most excellent man to have in charge of a new course. As we go to press the invitation tournament given by the Golf Club of New Orleans is being played. This tournament will last through Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 28th, 29th and 30th. Handsome prizes are offered for the winner of each of the flour flights and to the runner up as well as to the first and second men in the handicap competition, which takes place on the last day. Numbering among its members such fine players as Mr. Nelson Whitney, Mr. R. G. Bush, Mr. Leigh Carroll, Mr. Albert Swartzs, Mr. W. P. Stewart, Mr. J. B. Bush and Mr. W. E. Stauffer there can be no doubt but that the winner will be forced to play some very fine golf and that the tournament will show one of the fastest fields ever gathered at any invitation event. On New Year's Day the Brookhaven Club of Atlanta will formally open. This club is situated about seven miles from the center of the city and will most likely be very popular with automobilists. The golf course, which was laid out by H. H. Barker about a year ago, will consist of only nine holes for the present, but there is ample room for an additional nine, which will be aided a little later. A couple of new and very effective traps have recently been put in on the Atlanta course. The first one is on the third hole and is in the shape of a horseshoe and placed very close to the green. This trap protects the right and left of the green as well as the front and forces the tee shot (the hole being 170 yards long) to be a very accurate one. The other has been placed at the back of the sixth hole the circus ring. The back of the ring has been removed and a deep trap sunk to catch an over-approach. This trap will also serve to punish a hooked second at the fourth and makes the second shot at both these holes much more hazardous. The first Open Southern Golf Championship was held over the course of the Memphis Country Club on December 1st and 2nd. While other professional tournaments have previously been held in the South, still this was the first one which carried with it the title of southern champion. W. C. Sherwood, professional of the Memphis Country Club, may well be called the father of this event. Some eighteen months ago he began to work up this tournament and had his plans all arranged to pull it off a year ago, but when fire destroyed the Memphis club house he was forced to call it off. Not at all discouraged by the circumstances, which caused him to abandon the idea a year ago, he began early last fall to again work on the matter and in a short while had the backing of a sufficient number of the members of his club for him to announce the dates for this tournament, which had been sanctioned by the Southern Golf Association as the Southern Open Championship. On Thanksgiving Day, which was the day before the seventy-two holes

3 THE AMERICAN GOLFER 225 of medal play began, there was held an amateur and professional best ball match in which thirty pairs started and which was handily won by Mr. Percy Galbreath of Memphis and Alex Smith of Wykagyl with a best ball of 71. Mr. J. C. Cunningham of Liverpool and Fred McLeod of St. Louis were second with 74 and Mr. P. P. Williams of Memphis and Stewart Maiden of Atlanta were third with 75. Mr. Galbreath gave material assistance to his partner by holing a two at the third and getting threes at both the fifth and sixth holes. The three at the sixth was extraordinary, as it takes two corking good shots to reach the green. SUMMARY. Mr. Percy Galbreath, Memphis Alex Smith, New York Mr. J. C. Cunningham, Liverpool Fred McLeod, St. Louis Mr. P. P. Williams, Memphis Stewart Maiden, Atlanta Mr. J. H. Doughty, Memphis W. V. Hoare, Hot Springs, Ark Mr. C. H. Gardner, Providence Wilbur Oakes, Detroit Mr. L. K. Stewart, Chicago Tom Mc- Namara, Boston Mr. E. H. Munkwitz, Milwaukee Robert Simpson, Kenosha Mr. W. P. Halliday, Memphis J. J. Burke, Des Moines Mr J. E. Morgan, Memphis C. W. Hall, Birmingham Mr. N. Fontaine, Jr., Memphis J. Simpson, Milwaukee Mr. D. H. Tweedie, Chicago Tom Anderson, Inwood, L. I Mr. W. D. Mallory, Memphis W. C. Sherwood, Memphis Mr. W. A. Hood, Memphis J. J. Mc- Dermott, Atlantic City Mr. R. L. Davis, Chicago Tom Mulgrew, Charleston, S. C Mr. A. Y. Scott, Memphis C. P. Nelson, Oklahoma City Mr. J. W. S. Rhea, Memphis Walter Fovargue, Chicago Mr. J. H. Embury, Memphis A. J. Christie, Rochester 79 Mr. D. S. Weaver, Memphis William Kidd, St. Louis 79 Mr. A. H. Mallory, Memphis Paul Andress, Chattanooga Mr. P. P. Van Vleet, Memphis W. G. Mann, Duluth Mr. W. Richardson, Memphis Otto Hackbarth, Chicago Mr. R. F. Tate, Memphis H. S. Turpie, New Orleans Mr. G. D. Raine, Jr., Memphis H. C. Hackbarth, Little Rock 81 Mr. F. G. Jones, Memphis William Leith, Duluth 81 Mr. W. M. Ball, Memphis Gilbert Nicholls Wilmington Mr. H. C. McKellar, Memphis J. C. Hackbarth, Helena, Ark Mr. H. P. Johnson, Memphis Joe Dow, East St. Louis Mr. S. P. Fortune, Memphis D. L. George, Minneapolis Mr. W. F. Omberg, Memphis J. A. Roseman, Des Moines 83 Mr. G. W. Fooshe, Memphis J. Gatherum, St. Louis 86 Thirty-six players teed off at the beginning of the tournament on Friday morning. Of these thirty were professionals and six were amateurs. In the morning round all of the players went at their work cautiously and took no chances and consequently the scoring was only ordinary. Lunch time found Tom McNamara leading by one stroke with 75 for his round, while Alex Smith, Tom Mulgrew, A. J. Christie and C. W. Hall were tied for second with rounds of 76. In the afternoon round McNamara kept up his steady work and was round in 76, but Mulgrew, Hall and Christie all took and Alex Smith finished with an. H. S. Turpie, who had taken in the morning round, furnished the best score of the afternoon when he turned in a card which registered 75. This tied him with McNamara for the low score of the day. Fred

226 THE AMERICAN GOLFER McLeod, who had in the morning, was only 76 in the afternoon, which put him in second place for the day, just three strokes back of McNamara, and one stroke in front of

4 226 THE AMERICAN GOLFER McLeod, who had in the morning, was only 76 in the afternoon, which put him in second place for the day, just three strokes back of McNamara, and one stroke in front of William Kidd, who had 79 in the morning and 76 in the afternoon. At the beginning of the third round Alex Smith was tied with James Simpson, Tom Anderson, Otto Hackbarth and C. P. Nelson with 158 and in eleventh place, being seven strokes behind the leader. It didn't look like he had a chance to win, but undismayed Smith went to work to overtake the leader. His morning round was done in 73, which was the lowest score up to that time made by any one, and gave him a chance to win the tournament. On the fourth round Smith's playing was brilliant. He was out in 32 and finished the homeward journey in 37, giving him 69 for the round and a total of 300 for the seventy-two holes, which gave him first money and the title of Southern Open Champion. Fred McLeod finished second and Tom McNamara was third. Details of second day's scores: Morning Out In Afternoon Out In Distances Out In Total yards-6057 The outgoing round in the afternoon of 32 was within one stroke of the record of 31 held by W. C. Sherwood, the local professional, who also holds the course record of 66 31, 35, made in August, SUMMARY. Alex Smith, New York 158 Fred McLeod, St. Louis 154 Tom McNamara, Boston J. J. McDermott, Atlan. City. 157 William Kidd, St. Louis 155 Tom Anderson, Inwood, L. I. 158 Robert Simpson, Kenosha Gilbert Nicholls, Wilmington. 160 H. S. Turpie, New Orleans Otto Hackbarth, Chicago Tom Mulgrew, Cha'ston, S.C. Walter Fovargue, Chicago A. J. Christie, Rochester W. C. Sherwood, Memphis Stewart Maiden, Atlanta 159 J. Gatherum, St. Louis 162 W. G. Mann, Duluth 157 Jas. Simpson, Milwaukee 158 C. P. Nelson, Oklahoma City. 158 Mr. C. H. Gardner, Provi'nce. C. W. Hall, Birmingham D. L. George, Minneapolis... J. A. Roseman, Des Moines.. J. J. Burke, Des Moines Joe Dow, East St. Louis The fifth hole on the No. 3 course at Pinehurst

THE AMERICAN GOLFER 227 The "Pond" hole (the sixth) on the No. 3 course at Pinehurst. Mr. Dowdell Brown, of Atlanta, Ga., was married on December 14th to Miss Hilda Blount, of Pensacola, Fla.

5 THE AMERICAN GOLFER 227 The "Pond" hole (the sixth) on the No. 3 course at Pinehurst. Mr. Dowdell Brown, of Atlanta, Ga., was married on December 14th to Miss Hilda Blount, of Pensacola, Fla., and the wedding was solemnized at the home of the bride, "Seamarge." Mr. and Mrs. Brown are spending their honeymoon at the Great Southern Hotel at Gulfport, Miss., and Mr. Brown may be seen playing on the Mississippi Coast Country Club daily. Mr. E. T. Manson, of the Framingham (Mass.) Country Club, and Mr. E. A. Johnston, of the Baltimore Country Club, were the finalists in the eighth annual autumn golf tournament at Pinehurst, the former winning by the large margin of 6 and 4. The winner had a hard match in the second round against Mr. C. B. Hudson, winning only on the eighteenth green. All of Mr. Johnston's matches, singularly enough, were won by 2 up and 1 to play, with the exception of the final. The latter won the medal for the low score in the qualifying round, with 44, Shakespeare has given proof of his love for golf "Now is the winter of my discontent," he wrote after the first snow-fall. Work is now progressing on a new golf course just outside Havana, Cuba, to be known as the Country Club of Havana. The course will be a really first class one, of eighteen holes. Donald Ross laid it out. The distances are as follows: Out-522 In Total yards-6035 There has never been a golf course in the Island of Cuba. The American Army, during the intervention, did maintain a few holes on sand greens within the limits of the army reservation at Camp Columbia, but that was the only attempt at golf on the island. The new course is to be laid out in the suburbs of Havana on a tract of 125 acres known as the "Finca Lola," situated midway on the Calzado between Camp Columbia and the Playa of Marianao. Little work requires to be done in the way of providing artificial hazards, yet the course will possess infinite variety and interest. Both the fairway and the putting greens will be of Bermuda grass. Active work on the new club house is under way and will command a view of almost the entire course. The natural undulation of the ground and winding course of the river, the palm groves

6 228 THE AMERICAN GOLFER A golf course in the making the Country Club of Havana, Cuba. and foliage of the property are in full view, while beyond is the Gulf of Mexico and the Bay of Marianao, quite near.

64 THE AMERICAN GOLFER

64 THE AMERICAN GOLFER BY "THE COLONEL" FOR THE SECOND consecutive year M r. George W. Adair won the city championship of Atlanta, which was played over the course of the Druid Hills Club during the latter