re: The U.S. Open will feature wicker baskets instead of flags

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Wicker baskets
On the East Course, all pins are topped with wicker baskets instead of the usual flags. As the story goes, when Hugh Wilson was in England studying their golf courses, he happened upon local sheep herders and their flocks. These shepherds held staffs that they used for herding, and the staffs all had wicker baskets at the top. In those baskets, they kept their lunch for the day so that no animals could get into it. Wilson decided to use the idea at Merion. One effect is that the baskets are visible no matter which way the wind is blowing – but they do not give the golfer any indication of wind direction at the green. They have been used since the course's opening, and are featured in the club's logo.
The wicker baskets came from a woman who wove similar wicker items that happened to live in proximity of the course. She donated the baskets which have been used as the tops of the pins since.[citation needed] Anyone who wins a USGA event at Merion receives a wicker basket top. Wickers are destroyed if the wicker baskets are broken. The golf course assistant superintendents collect the wickers every night, so they will not be stolen. It is assumed the wicker baskets will be used in the 2013 U.S. Open.

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