Making History On The Pynes, The USGA's New Putting Course September 23, 2008 By David Shefter, USGA Three putters from left to right: The Hackbarth, the Calamity Jane II and the Schenectady. (Ellie Kaiser/USGA) Far Hills, N.J. - Visitors to the recently renovated USGA Museum and Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History at the United States Golf Association's home in Far Hills, N.J., are introduced to various clubs used by great champions of the past. Interactive displays and multimedia exhibits highlight iconic moments from the game, whether it's Francis Ouimet's stunning upset at the 1913 U.S. Open, Bob Jones winning the Grand Slam in 1930 or Tiger Woods' record-breaking victory at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Now another element has been added to enhance the USGA Museum experience. When The Pynes Putting Course - named to honor Percy and Evelyn Pyne, who resided on the grounds of the country estate now occupied by Golf House - opens on Sept. 23, visitors will have an opportunity to take golf history into their own hands by using replicas of classic putters, including  Bob Jones' Grand Slam-winning putter, Calamity Jane II, which has been called "the most famous golf club in the world." Inspired by the world-renowned Himalayas putting green adjacent to the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, The Pynes Putting Course is situated steps from the John Russell Pope-designed mansion that is home to the USGA Museum. Designed by golf-course architect Gil Hanse, the 16,000-square-foot green features plenty of humps, swales and hollows, allowing for a fun and challenging putting course that will be reconfigured weekly. With their $5 green fee, Museum visitors receive a souvenir square-mesh golf ball and can play with replicas of one of four classic putters from golf history, each designed by Alabama-based clubmaker Tad Moore. In addition to the replica of Jones' Calamity Jane II, visitors can try a long-nosed putter designed and used by Old Tom Morris, the first greenkeeper of the Himalayas; the controversial center-shafted Schenectady (once banned by the R&A, though not the USGA); or the Hackbarth putter, a model popularized by Chick Evans, a three-time USGA national champion in the early 20th century. "We're hoping this increases museum-goers' appreciation for golfers of the past and their skills," said Rand Jerris, director of the USGA Museum. "It's a great way to get golfers hooked on the history of the game. For other visitors - families, especially  -  it might be the first time they ever get to putt on a grass green. It's not an artificial surface with a windmill. This is a real, genuine putting green. I'm excited about it." New Grooves Explained Myths About Grooves Golf In The Olympics U.S. Open DVD A Hot Seller Related USGA Insider Links

Four years ago, when blueprints were being drawn up to renovate the USGA Museum, ideas floated around the Museum Committee about creating a unique interactive experience. The question was, said Jerris, "What can we do to provide the visitor with a richer, fuller experience?"

The answer: a putting course.

"We pitched it as a Museum exhibit," said Jerris, who advanced the putting course idea with Museum Committee Chairman Jay Rains, along with former Executive Committee member and current Museum Committee member Win Padgett. Jerris then contacted Hanse, who volunteered to design the green free of charge and even spent 2½ days on a "shaper" creating the humps and bumps of the green.

"We didn't want the green to look like it had been dropped from outer space in the backyard of Golf House," said Hanse, whose restoration projects have included such landmark courses as Plainfield and Ridgewood country clubs in New Jersey and Quaker Ridge Golf Club in New York. "We wanted the green to fit into the landscape. It has all these great contours and stuff, but if you look at the edges of the green, they tie right into the surrounding landscape."

USGA Green Section experts Jim Moore and Dave Oatis oversaw the agronomic details, with Moore handling everything below the surface and Oatis taking care of the turf, ensuring the proper strain of grass and growing methods were utilized. "Declaration," a creeping bentgrass strain developed at Rutgers University with funding from USGA Green Section, was chosen because of its resistance to dollar spot and snow mold, two diseases that can affect greens in the north-central New Jersey region.

An early look at the green taking shape in the spring. (John Mummert/USGA)

Paul Ramina, the director of grounds at nearby Hamilton Farm Golf Club, and Hamilton Farm's superintendent Pat Husby also offered their services in training the USGA grounds staff on cutting-edge green maintenance practices. (View our Photo Gallery for details on the construction and growing-in process.)

"Just mowing it is a science," said Oatis, director of the Northeast Region for the Green Section. "You can see how severely contoured it is. And you can't just turn on the sprinklers. It requires a lot of hand watering because the mounds dry out way quicker than the swales."

For the key components of the putting course - implements and balls - Jerris turned to Tad Moore, who has been creating putters since 1963. The decision had been made that only historically significant putter designs would be utilized, so Moore designed the four replica models. "The manufacturing and reproduction of golf clubs is really quite a difficult task, particularly in the case of the long-noses," he said. "We had to go through a learning curve on how to do it properly. We spent almost six months getting the wooden shaft right before I even started making the first clubhead.

"These putters all have a very unique characteristic and feel to them," Moore added. "It should be a wonderful experience."

Moore also recreated square-mesh and bramble balls, examples of the early rubber balls that followed closely on the heels of the gutta-percha era of the late 19 ^th century. Though putting with the bramble ball feels surprisingly like putting with a modern ball, when struck with a modern driver or iron the bramble, with its raised dimples, "goes up in the air almost like a helicopter," said Moore.

Looking out at the lush green putting surface from his office on the second floor of the USGA Museum, Jerris can't help but feel proud of his summer's work. On June 3, Jerris orchestrated a grand opening of the new Palmer Center , with "The King" himself and other dignitaries from the golf world coming to tour the renovated Museum, which has received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its presentation of the game's history from its early days in the U.S. to the current era. Rather than focus solely on artifacts and implements, the Museum tells the story of American golf and of the USGA through its national championships and great champions, the iconic Palmer among them.

The Pynes Putting Course is a wholly fitting addition to the USGA Museum's golfer-oriented approach. By using the Himalayas putting green as an inspiration, the Museum tells an educational and historical story in a highly interactive way. The Himalayas has been home to the Ladies ' Putting Club of St. Andrews since 1867 and has long welcomed local families and visitors from all over the globe.

Jerris hopes this latest Museum exhibit will attract a new generation of golf enthusiasts to the USGA. Ideally, visitors will tour the Museum, play the nine-hole putting course and finish their excursion by strolling over to the USGA's state-of-the-art Research and Test Center, where they can see how clubs are tested for conformity in accordance with the Rules of Golf, which the USGA has administered for more than 100 years.

"You'll be able to spend a full afternoon in Far Hills learning more about the game and its changes," said Jerris. "This is the past, present and future of golf, and one that you cannot experience anywhere else."

The USGA Museum is located at 77 Liberty Corner Road in Far Hills, N.J., near the intersection of Interstates 78 and 287. The Museum is a 30-minute drive from Newark Liberty International Airport, and 45 minutes from New York City. Hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday and major holidays). For more information about the USGA Museum, including driving directions, go to http://www.usgamuseum.com/visit_museum/.