2019 June US Open Week Memorabilia Auction - Father's Day
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/16/2019
Merion Golf Club Wicker Basket Pin Flag - Full Size
Merion Golf Club was founded in 1896. Featured in the club's historic logo, Merion Golf Club uses the red wicker baskets in place of pin flags to mark each hole of their East Course. Here is a full size red wicker basket on top of the red and white striped pole that is seen on the course. This club is perennially ranked in the top ten of 'Golf Digest's' 'America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses' and has hosted five US Open tournaments over the years. It has hosted some of the most important golf tournaments in golf history including the 1930 US Amateur (Bobby Jones) and the 1950 US Open (Ben Hogan). It has been said that the baskets idea of Hugh Wilson originated from his trip to England, where he saw sheep herders use them. The use of the wicker baskets was to not only herd the sheep, but keep their lunch safe from the sheep as well. The main advantage, as well as disadvantage, is that unlike normal pin flags, these are not affected by the wind of that day.
This example of the Merion red basket is in great condition, with little wear. It is 85" total in length, with the basket being 12" of that height. The basket is 8" in diameter and each red stripe on the pole is 1' long. The pole has a manufacturers mark of 'Pro-Line by Standard' towards the bottom of the pole. It is missing the red funnel that would would be bolted on the pole to keep the basket secure on the pole. It should be noted that it is unclear if the basket in this lot was used on the course at Merion or what time period it is from. Please refer to pictures of this item for all condition questions.
AUCTION CLOSING RULES:
This auction will end at 9:00pm EST Sunday, June 16th (Father's Day) with EXTENDED BIDDING to follow. All items that have received multiple bids in the auction will remain open until no items have received a bid within a 15 minute time period (at 10pm EST, the countdown clock will be adjusted to a 5 minute interval)
1. You must place your initial bids BEFORE extended bidding begins in order to bid on the item in extended bidding
2. During extended bidding, you are allowed to bid only on items you PREVIOUSLY placed a bid on.
3. All lots that are active in extended bidding will close at the same time, and those with only ONE or NO BIDS will close at 9pm EST
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