Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1894-08-03
THE GAME OF GOLF.
A Favorite Old Pastime of the
Scotch People.
1t ls Now Very Popular with Americans
Who Have the Time and Means TO
Play It-How the Game Is
Played.

Played.
Golf is fast becoming popular. Among
society people it has got to be quite the
thing. This favorite Scotch game can
be traced SO far back that the exact
date of it's origin is lost. While its
adoption in this country has been slow,
! II is now firmly rooted, says the Cincin-
natl Enquirer, and this season promises
to be its greatest. In their search for
something new the society folk have
seized upon il, and many are learning
the game.
Golf is not limited to any particular.
class of individuals. Ladies and chill
dren can play the game as well as men,
and in nearly all the golf clubs which
have recently been organized the wom-
en- show as keen an interest as the men
themselves. Its devotees claim there
is no game under the sun like golf, and
as a thoroughly health-giving exercise
it possesses all of the necessary quail
ties.
The first regular club organized in
this country was the st. Andrews Golf
club, whose grounds are now situated
at Gray Oaks, a short distance above
Yonkers, but within the corporation
limits. This club was organized in 1888,
and for the first few years the members
played on various fields around Yonk-
ers. This year. however, new grounds
have been secured at Gray Oaks, where
the game can be played on a more sys-
tematic basis. A farm of about ESQ
acres has been secured, and the old
fashioned farmhouse has been con-
verted into a comfortable and cozy
clubhouse.
The grounds, or links, cover a space
of about two miles, and there are In
this circuit nine holes. The holes are
about four and one-fourth inches In di-
ameter, and are placed in what are
called putting green's. These putting
greens are well-leveled plots of ground
hom forty-fve to sixty feet square,
and the object is to drive the ball into
the holes with the fewest number of
strokes. The circuit leads over hills,
sometimes across streams, bitches, rail-
poad tracks, as the case may be, and
fhe skill of the player is shown In
lofting his ball over these difficult
places or hazards, as they are called. to
position where he can get good
stroke to send it down to the next hole.
Each time the ball Is 'holed" 1t is
taken out and placed on what Is termed
the ''teeing" ground, a short distance
from the holes. The player, In start
ing his ball again in play, may, II be
desires, take a little soft earth, and,
making a mound about half an inch to
On inch in height, place his ball on top
a. l. ii l.. Al
drive 1t as far as he can toward the
next hole.
While in play the ball must not
be touched or moved from the spot
where 1t falls. Should the ball land
on one of the hazards, as In the bottom
of ditch or close to a railroad track
or stone wall, 1t may require several
strokes to place 1t in more favorable
position. 1t will be seen that such q
state Of affairs may count seriously
against player, since 1t is desirable TO
make as few strikes as possible.
The balls are made Of gutta peroha,
very hard, and about one and one-hah
inches in diameter. They are struck
with clubs, with long, slender shafts,
at one end Of which are projecting
heads of hardwood, backed with lead
or malleable iron. There are several
different shapes Of the striking ends,
adapted to the varieties Of play, as
long drives, raising the bali In the air
10 clear an obstruction and others.
When these various features are un-
derstood, together with the fact that
before finishing a game the player
walks fully two miles and sometimes
more, and that. too, over hills and
many rough places, there is no question
about the exercise afforded by golf.
Then, as there is no time limit, the
players can rest as much as they
1hlease In going the rounds Of the links.