The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-11-30
THE GAME OF GOLF.
What the Popular Sport Is and How
1T Is Played.

Briefly stated. the game Of golf
coI.S:s IS in .,lirinm y s,e'i :r,,t.a-
percha paii aroduI u course provided
with a number Of holes, generally
eighteen, from 100 to 500 yards apart,
by means of variously shaped clubs.
However tame this statement may
seem, the real game is brimming over
with life and jollity and strong ex-
citement.
The balls used in ancient days were
made of leather. and stuffed with
feathers until they were as hard as
stone; but the golfing ball in use to-
day Is of gutta-percha, painted white
SO that 1t may he seen easily, with q
corrugated surface, and its weight
varies from one and three-fourths to
two ounces.
At the bidding Of the golfer, this
little ball, sometimes called the
"gutty," flies over bridges and streams
and sand-hills, through thickets of
gOrse and, alas! sometimes into sand
pits, or even amid gorse bushes, from
which it is recovered with great diff
dculty, for these rules are inexorabIe,
and ball must be hit exactly where
1t lies. When hole is "made," how
ever, and the ball has settled into
WV SoeAA VI thS ployCl dulUllIOu, lC
Is Of course, impossible to play it for
the next hole until it has been re-
moved. A tiny pile Of sand or earth,
called a tee, is then made for it, lust
outside the hole, and within certain
fixed limits called the teeing-ground,
and the little ball is then ready to
set out on its next long journey. The
player or side that wins the greatest
number of holes in the entire round
has the game; or, in medal play, the
victor Is the side or the player making
the round in the least number Of
strokes; and as certain conditions
cause the loss of stroke, one needs
to be very careful how he strikes
Holes are punched out of the ground
with an iron especially made for this
purpose, are four or five inches in
diameter, and lined with iron. The
holes on the outward journey are
usually designated by white flags,
and those coming in with red flags
The space in the immediate vicinity
Of hole is very interesting part
Of the grounds, because, even il your
ball lies quite near enough or far be-
yond, and SO give that hole to your
opponent. This space is called the
putting-green. and the process Of
holing the ball from here is called
putting.
Perhaps you may suppose that the
golfing-ground or links has been care
fully prepared for the convenience Of
golfers, but no such consideration is
shown, and indeed the most impor.
tant feature of the game, and that
which adds it's greatest interest and
excitement, is the overcoming of the
various obstacles in the way of knobs,
hillocks; thickets, and sandpits to be
avoided, called by one general name,
hazards, which tax the players skill
to the utmost
But we have not yet skoken Of two
very important matters connected
with golfing-the clubs and the "cad-
dies" OF clubs there must be gen.
erous variety, though the tendency of
later years is to discard many that
were once considered indispensable.
the ball is capable of assuming so
many singular positions that the play
er must consider carefully what club
will best suit his purpose at the time.
A very important parsonage on the
links is the caddie, the man or boy
who carries the stout holland case or
bag in which are kept the various
clubs, also balls to replace those which
may be lost; who hands the clubs
when needed, and who usually gives
advice whether it Is needed or not
The ground best suited to golf IL
broad stretch of undulating land
with sandy soil, covered with short
turf and supplied with occasional
sand-holes and fair amount Of grow
ing bushes. The links Of st. Andrews
by the Sea, in Scotland, is the most
famous Of all golfing grounds, and
the town is not better known for it's
ancient university than for its golfing.
St Nicholas.