Experiments with an extra-long Stimpmeter suitable for use on higher fairway turf led him to calculations that proved how accurate a shorter Stimpmeter could be, too.
If the addition of the second hole seems like a no-brainer, the fact is that no one was clamoring for an improved Stimpmeter and its invention was essentially an accident.
Edward Stimpson, a Massachusetts amateur champion, devised the first Stimpmeter in 1935, after watching Gene Sarazen putt off a green at that year's U.S. Open at Oakmont and deciding it was unfair.
Officials at last summer's U.S. Open at Olympic in San Francisco used the second hole on a prototype version of the new Stimpmeter on two back-nine greens that weren't measurable with the old model.