NEW GOLF COURSE
With the opening of the new nine-hole course in August the Hilton Field golf course confirmed its standing as one of the most attractive courses in this section of New England. The new course has been built as a supplement to the present 18-hole layout, particularly to relieve the usual spring and fall congestion. It will serve this purpose well, since it will enable every player to choose between two attractive courses, instead of having a large crowd on one.
With the reopening of College, the undergraduate club members will probably be allowed to play the new holes at least once, although the fairways and greens will still not be sufficiently advanced to permit too much play. In the spring of 1933 the course will be altogether available.
The construction work was started last summer by the College, under the general supervision of R. M. Barton '04, golf architect, and under the direct guidance of H. C. Edgerton '06, treasurer of the College. By late fall all the fairways and greens were seeded. Some of Mr. Barton's work best known to golfers are the Mid-Ocean course in Bermuda and the Yale course at New Haven.
A word-description of the sporty new layout cannot do it full justice, but may present a general picture. The first hole is a curving dog-leg, with the tee in the edge of the woods half way along the present 18th fairway, and the fairway going up the Vale of Tempe. It will take two well-placed shots to reach the green, and the hole will have a par of four. No. 2 is another dog-leg, the first joint continuing along the valley. The second shot will be up the side-hill to the green, which is located next to the state road. This is also a par four.
The next six holes are on the east side of the state road. No. 3 is an up-hill oneshot affair, with three as par. The fourth and fifth will both require two shots to reach the green, having pars of four. No. 6 is a beautiful one-shot hole across a deep valley containing a pond, to a semiconcealed green. It will be a par three.
No. 7 is the longest hole of the nine, extending over 500 yards. Directly in front of the tee is a valley which will trap any topped drives, but for the steady hitter the hole will not be an exceptionally difficult par five. The eighth is another dogleg; the green is beside the state road.
The last hole is especially distinctive. It. is z-shaped, with the first leg almost parallel to the road, the second joint in the same direction as the present short 17th, and the third a short approach to the green, which is on the high north bank of the Vale of Tempe, overhanging the first fairway. It will require well-placed shots for a par of five. A scenic suspension bridge and a path through the woods are traversed for the fairly short walk back to the club house.
This course is an especially pleasant and desirable one for those who find the present 18 holes strenuous and tiring, since it eliminates much of the climbing now necessary. Its length is around 2940 yards, which would make 18 holes about the same distance as on the other course, but for those desiring to play only nine holes, it will be more convenient. Its par is 36.
