The lousy weather made it a good day for indoor activities so that's what we did today. Before leaving Easton PA, the home of Crayola Crayons Crayola Factory tours we went to another quilt shop.
After the quilt thing-a-ma-jig or whatever, we headed to the USGA Headquarters in Bernard Township, NJ.
Seriously though, Alice has had a wonderful time visiting the quilt and fabric shops around the area. She often commented about how the Amish people really underprice the quilts for the time invested in them.
The home of the USGA was originally a private residence, and now it is home to the USGA Museum. Other buildings have been built on the property to house the testing of equipment and the USGA Admin Headquarters. More has been added to the original home to include the Arnold Palmer room which was added in 2005.
Each year, companies that make golf balls must have them approved before used in tournaments played under USGA Rules. The balls are kept for 3 years before being cleared out and sent to schools to use.
We went to the Equipment testing center and were impressed with the equipment used to test balls and clubs. This one checks clubhead size.
This piece of equipment tests the time of ball contact with the clubhead...measures in microseconds.
The piece of equipment used to test ball speed called Iron Byron has been retired and replaced by Iron Rugge, named after its devoleper. It swings at a consistent 120 miles per hour.
The computer results of the golf balls selected show the clubhead speed at the bottom.(119.9 mph)..and the speed of the ball which in this case was 257.15 feet per second.
You can see how much the equipment has changed the average driving distance since 1996.
Some 3000 new clubs per year also have to be tested and approved for play. Many of them don't meet the obvious rules for club design. This one had a sole plate that opened to reveal a mini grass cutter inside. A no go from the first glance.
These are other clubs that didn't fit the obvious description and
specifications in the rules and didn't go on to the testing bench.
specifications in the rules and didn't go on to the testing bench.
These were the irons and putter that Francis Ouimet used to win the 1913 US Open
at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
As part of the testing, even the surface gets a close inspection checking for grooves that are too sharp.
And golfers and equipment go through all this for what? The prize. This one being the US Seniors Championship.
There is a wonderful library on site to pore through the many volumes of records...but the more important ones are visually displayed. Two of Tom's favorites are shown here.
Just one more picture to add. It was seen on a license plate seen in New Jersey.
I think it says it all.
We do care
Our daughter, Caroline, along with the rest of the team, will be running in the Twilight 5K on June 13th, in Portland, with a friend that has been stricken with this terrible disease. The money raised will help to continue the fight against Cancer. The money raised from their efforts will be kept in Maine. Tom will not be doing his Dempsey Challenge this fall so if there is anyone who would still like to donate to the cause in another venue, the link for her is Caroline's TwiLight 5K
Thanks all. Off to see my sister the Ice Skater.
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