US Open at Merion.

I'm not much of a full size (opposite of miniature?) golf fan. But when the US Open is in your backyard it's kind of hard to ignore.

The 2013 tournament is being played at Merion Golf Club. Merion Golf Cub is in Ardmore, PA not Merion, Pa. Ardmore, PA is partially in Haverford Township and partially in Lower Merion Township. Guess which part the Merion Golf Course is in. Of course it's in the Haverford Township portion. Makes perfect sense doesn't it?

About as much sense as this BLUE sign for the RED parking lot at Rose Tree Park which was originally slated to be a satellite parking area for the Open. RTP was closed as a parking venue on Monday after heavy rains caused the ground to become so soft that cars got stuck. The alternate parking lot is Granite Run Mall.

 

A few weeks ago I took a walk around the park and noticed this .... I wondered what it was for and now I think the mystery is solved. This new "driveway" allows - or would have allowed - the buses to get farther back in the pack of cars to load and off-load people.

 

A little research on my part these past few days -because golf really isn't my thing- and I can tell you that Merion Golf Club was the site of a win by Ben Hogan in 1950; 16 months after a head on collision with a bus nearly killed him. In 1971 it was the site of a playoff open between Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino that Trevino won. I actually remember that one. Sort of.

In 1971, the US Open at Merion was even more in my backyard than today. In the summer of 1971 my family moved from Havertown (right next to Ardmore) to Bala Cynwyd. I remember having tv's on in both houses as we lugged stuff the movers weren't going to move between houses.

In other news .... lol .... on my wander walk today I noticed a sticker on a stop sign. It simply said getlost.com. Has anyone else seen these? I am very intrigued.

 

Ok, now it's time to grill some steaks, bake some potatoes and make as salad. Happy Father's day to all those for whom that is appropriate.