The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1897-01-27
THE GAME OF COLE.
Ii IL Really a Linguistic Discipline
Learned Out of Doors.

LcArhG0 O0N OF D0oE6.
\ celebrated metaphysician once said
tnat the Hegelian philosophy consisted
entirely of a scientific terminology
which no two people interpreted in the
same sense, hence its value as source
Of endless discussion" The more you
talked the further you were from
conclusion, but you had grand train
ing in dialectics." II is eminently
proper that the game of golf should
originate with the metaphysical race,
the Scotch. for it consists partly of
hard rubber ball, a number of peculiar
curved sticks and a becoming negligee
costume, but chiefly and primarily of
a vocabulary. 1t can be played, but
not properly played, without master
ing the vocabulary. It cannot be thor
olghly enjoyed unless the name
golf is rightly pronounced, but. as no
one knows how to do that, and all think
they do, the pronunciation is matter
of comparatively little consequence.
The proper use of the technical terms,
however, is a matter of vital impor-
tanee.
The principal words in the new Ian
guage are: Driver, putter, cleek, loft
ing iron, niblic, mashie links, tees and
caddy. One who has thoroughly mas
tered these words and wears costume
is golfer" To confuse their mean
ings, to speak, for instance. of "holing
a caddy" or "lofting links" or call q
putting green" "niblic" is as serious
a breech of good form as it would be
TO call fishing rod Ash pole, as boys
did 25 years ago. before the tyranny
I of the technical term set in. To be
sure, you do walk about out of doors
and strike the ball with the clubs, but
the real essence of the game lies in
wearing the costume and using the
words. A thorough mastery of them is
liberal education.
Other subjects have their peculiar ter
minology, but in none of them is it so
extensive and of such educational value
as in the game ot golf. An eminent
authority defines an electrician as one
who thoroughly comprehends the word
potential and the notions collateral
! thereto" If you go into the woods
and live on canned food and crackers
you must speak of the place where you
try to sleep, not as a "shanty," but as
"a camp" The name at once elevate.
the place into the region of sylvan po
etry and makes discomforts enjoyable
1t really is a shanty; call it so, and tn,
result is complicated discomfort; call I
camp, and the result is happiness
The right words are still more vital il
golf because the vocabulary is NOR,
extensive, though perhaps not con
tanning any word of the peculiar po
tency of the monosyllab,e, camp
But take the entire technical vocabular,
of golf, ii is more productive of a larg
amount of lowgrade JOY than any othe
agency in the world Low-grade 10,
is far better worth attaining than high
grade joy or excitement. The grea
value of the game of golf can be read
lily seen. 1t presents all the advantage
of studying language. 1t is less dit
ficult than Latin or French, and
learned outdoors. 1t is called game
but in reality it is a linguistic disc
pline undergone in the open air VI
consciously, accompanied by modei
ate pedestrian exercise and the weal
ing of very sensible Scotch uniform.
, Hartford Comm Courant.