Page 4
The World's
Great Golf Courses
By Matthew Smith
•Editor's Note: This is the second of a
four-part installment of articles about
great golf courses Mr. Smith has played.
OAKMONT COUNTRY CLUB
The world fame accorded Oakmont is
legendary. It has hosted four U.S.
Opens, five PGA's, and numerous other
national golfing championships. Its
greens are the fastest in the world, bar
none. Cary Middlecoff once four-putted
the eighth green and slugged his golf ball
down the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In the
1973 U.S. Open, Charlie Sifforo six-put
ted the 17th green and buried his clubs
in the big mouth sandtrap in front of the
green. Oakmont is perhaps the second
hardest course in the world, Only Pine
Valley has been judged to be harder.
Oakmont was designed by Henry C.
Fownes, who was also the first president
of the Club. On September 15, 1903, a
force of 100-150 men began work on the
course, under the direction of Fownes. It
is a remarkable fact that only one hole
has been completely changed from the
original plans. In six weeks, the course
was cleared to the twelfth fairway, when
winter intervened. The work was stop
ped until the following spring, when the
course was completed. Play began in the
fall of 1904.
I knew I was in for a rough round
when I stepped onto the practice green
The Senator
Greetings and felicitations to my
loyal readers and constituents. A second
issue has been brought to my attention.
This issue concerns a powerful political
juggernaut called the Finance
Committee, or more simply, "Cure-ack &
Crew." I will address this issue as an
indirect observer. In other words, I have
never come into direct contact of this
caucus, but their decisions affect me just
the same as they do you, as students. In
my analysis I shall be critical when
needed and complimentary when de
served. I will be fair with my opinion,
nonetheless.
The first questionable antics of the
Committee are those concerning the
budget allocation process. I have to
really feel sorry for those clubs and
organizations that have to go to the
"budget hearings" to justify a budget
that took weeks to plan and prepare in
the first place. One can always discern
an officer of a club or organization on
his/her way to a "budget hearing" by the
way that he babbles on and on about
absolutely nothing while talking to his
shadow. This mental stress is uncalled
for. I tend to focus the majority of the
blame on the Finance Committee for
allowing the budget hearings to be
synonymous with an IRS tax audit. This
shows a gap or breakdown in cohesive
ness between the Finance Committee
and the student body. It should soon be
rectified for the good of student morale.
Some constructive changes that might
work would be to improve communi
cations between the Committee and
and turned to say hello to a member I
knew just as I bent over and dropped
three balls from calf-high. When I turned
back, I discovered that the balls had
rolled 20 feet!
Hole Number Two is a good place to
start sweating. Henry Fownes used to
go out to Number Two green and drop a
ball. It would roll and roll down the slope
and off into the fairway. Henry would
smile. However, if the ball did not roll
into the fairway he would not smile—he
would wonder why the greens were so
slow!
Oakmont is also famous for its bunk
ers, boasting 189. The most famous of
these are the church pews, lomg sand
traps with strips of grass running
through them, thus making them resem
ble church pews. They are found on the
third and fourth holes.
Number Eight is an unusual hole. I
tried to think of where I'd seen a dog leg
par-three, but I couldn't. It's a 255-yard
par-three with a monstrous sandtrap
running down the left side of the
fairway.
The toughest hole on the course is
the par-four 15th. It is 453 yards long,
and heavily trapped with an uphill
green.
- The 17th is another challenging hole.
It plays 322 yards all uphill with a slight
dog leg left. It is the heaviest-trapped
hole on the course with a green you
would give to your most-hated relative.
So how did the author score? I scored
another round in the 90's, thus proving
that Oakmont lives up to its nickname as
the "Hades of Hell."
student bodies. But this would all be for
naught if the Committee continued to
project the image of our beloved Pres
ident, Ron "The Ripper" Reagan. Of
what use is the pre-planning of future
events and activities for the upcoming
year if these proposals for funds can be
mutilated into meaningless memoran
dums by a few "select" individuals who
obscure themselves behind the title of
Finance Committee?
Granted, these are activities and
events in budgets that should not see
materialization. But when you cancel or
cut an item out of a budget, the group is
left with a void in its calendar. Why must
the Committee consistently make it
harder for these groups to change or
improve on that item later? The request
for additional funds seems to be a good
idea, but a little misdirected. By that, I
mean wrong utilization of a concept. An
illustration of this would be if something
were snipped out of a certain budget, the
planning itself would take a week's time.
The item then comes up in front of the
same board that deleted it previously.
This is a little ironic or ambiguous to say
the least--not to mention comical in its
logic. I mean, one does not get the tar
kicked out of one's self and then get up
and call the bully a sissy. (This is the
same type of deductive logic that keeps
students going back to your friendly
neighborhood bookstore--isn't that a
"Joke"?) So the second time that the
item is brought before the Committee it
is usually tabled for lack of knowledge
concerning the topic. Another week goes
Thursday, February 18, 1982
from Page One
that that money has to last all of the way
through Summer Term. Second, grow
ing dissention amongst members of the
Student Government could cause it to
break down completely--with the cost to
the student body.
Also inconsistent is the Meade
Heights Board of Governors. While they
say they won't sign any band contracts
for Rites of Spring without having the
money to back them up first, they signed
a contract with the band that played
during the Groundhog Day party weeks
before. If they, quote, "in effect don't
have any money," and "won't sign a
contract without having the money
first," then why did they change their
policy? Either they had some money
hidden away somewhere, or they have
more faith in getting money later from
the S.G.A. than they will admit. The
money that they used to pay for the beer
consumed at that party was not in their
accounts first, which violates Penn State
University policy. The Pennsylvania
Liquor Control Board could bust them on
this technicality for selling beer without
a license, unless the MHBOG could
persuade them that the beer was pri
vately funded. And finally, what has
MHBOG done to hurt its chances of
getting more money later on in the year?
Some S.G.A. members believe that the
MHBOG told them that they already
have all of the money that they need to
fund Rites of Spring.
by. The Committee then debates the
item before it decides whether it de
serves a favorable recommendation or
not. After this, it goes to SGA for still
another vote, regardless of the Finance
Committee's recommendation. Thus, a
group has to contend with the probab
ility that a proposal will not get through
the system in less than three weeks.
Boy, I'd hate to be the Dutch boy who
was waiting for action while he plugged
up the dike with his finger. In my
opinion, I think a change is called for in
this process.
Now, on to the credentials of our
illustrious dissectors. The treasurer has
ample qualifications for her position,
although I wasn't aware that a penny
pinching claw was a requirement of the
job. The treasurer is assisted by her
henchmen, whom some would say are as
qualified for the job as a garbage
collector is to bear the title of Engineer
of Sanitation. Ironically, of the ones I
know, three of the crew are genuine
engineer candidates. I don't mean to put
down engineers, but what kind of know
ledge could they possess concerning
budget analysis and fund allocation? I
think that herein lies a major problem in
the decision-making capability of the
Committee. I know for a fact that some
of the major events of last year were
maliciously, snipped out of certain bud
gets. Could a reason be that the treas
urer and at least three of the engineers
did not care enough about campus life so
as to honor us with their scheduling?
One such event that comes to mind very
quickly is the Spring Formal, which was
originally cut but is now, as I under
stand, under further scrutiny.
Some beneficial decisions that the
Committee has made are the recent
passage of the cafeteria sound system,
the Winter Leadership Conference (not
attended by the treasurer) and the
borrowing of some funds by the Student
Affairs staff to benefit all. These are all
noteworthy projects that have come
about by incessant determination on the
part of several individuals who would
not take no for an answer.
Merry-Go-Round
Speaks
The Meade Heights Board of Gover
nors has the most impressive track
record this year. They put on the vast
majority of popular on-campus
programs, and do not charge enough to
hardly hope to break even. Few other
student organizations put out as much
effort, are none are as widely known.
Should the S.G.A. pick up the baton and
run with them, because "they do the
most, so they deserve it"? To do so could
definitely benefit the student population,
because MHBOG would make sure that
the most and best entertainment money
can buy would be around. But, by being
one-sided, the S.G.A. can hurt the
students just as much by ignoring the
other organizations.
•Editor's Note: Copies of this story have
been made available to members of both
organizations before press time to allow
them to make rebuttals in this issue.
Editor:
Meade Heights Board of Governors
does not want to respond at this time.
We wish to wait for students to express
their opinions to the C.C. Reader before
issuing a rebuttal.
Our efforts are directed at helping
students to enjoy campus life, and their
opinions will direct us on how to react.
The MHBOG
If you notice, "Finance Committee,"
it seems that you have been put into the
bad guys' seat-and for just cause, too.
When you assumed office the Constitu
tion did not describe your elite group as
"The Deity Finance Committee," and the
position of treasurer was not defined as
having the same connatation as God. We
understand that you have a tough job,
but when you get done with all your
snipping and slicing, you will have a hell
of a balance on hand at the end of the
year. This is not responsible money
management. To pose a rhetorical ques
tion, if and when you have a balance,
what happens to next year's SGA allot
ment (FAA)? Does it remain the same,
or does it decrease as is the case in
government-subsidized programs with
unused funds? _
A constructive comment from myself
to the Committee would be to have
periodic reviews of the budget and
comparative analyses of what the clubs
and organizations have budgeted as
compared to what they actually spent. In
effect, a fund allocation statement from
each group every term. Then, you
review the progress that is actually
being made to what was planned. As I
understand it, this is included in the
obligations or duties of the Committee,
but is usually ignored or shelved.
I sincerely hope that you keep up an
honest effort for the fulfillment of the
duties of the offices for which you were
elected or appointed.
One last thing, though, Karen. I
understand you had an emotional out
burst when an SGA precedent was
recently set. You shouldn't take it
personally, but in retrospect, you pro
bably felt similar to an organization that
had a legitimate event axed by your
decision. I hope you've learned from
your recent experience and have gained
a little humility with your brief realiza
tion of how the general masses feel after
an encounter with the "Loan Sharks."
Respecull sumitte,
Senator Hymi tf e Qua y
natbnepratdz
C.C. Reader