Sarazen Wanted 8-Inch Cup Long Before Nicklaus

L to R: Johnny Farrell, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen.JACK NICKLAUS WAS RECENTLY IN the news for fiddling with the size of the golf hole. Jack deviated from the standard 4¼ inches in diameter, nearly doubling the size of the cup to 8 inches at his Muirfield Village Golf Club. If that weren’t enough, the winner of 18 professional majors held 12-hole tournaments during Labor Day weekend. Players were required to finish their rounds in 2½ hours or be penalized for slow play.Jack said he’s thinking in non-traditional ways about an ancient game that is losing players in droves. Naturally, like a lot of people, Nicklaus is concerned and looking for new answers.But, as I discovered yesterday by accident, the Golden Bear isn’t the first Hall of Famer to look at that elusive golf hole and decide that maybe it needs to be larger. Seven-time major winner Gene Sarazen apparently promoted the idea in the first half of the 20th century, according to legendary golf scribe Hebert Warren W...