Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-11-04

shore. The distances, the arrangement
of the hazards, the size and quality OF
the green's, were all admirable in their
way. The only criticism that he could
make was that the greens were not
quite as good as they looked The
grass was inclined to be a trife wiry,
and the mechanical brushing ma
chimes did not improve them. 1t was
like a, boys head brushed the wrong
way, and time and time again Taylor
found all his calculations particular
ly as to strength upset by the resist
ance offered through the unsupported
stiffness of the turf. But Taylor was
not alone in misfortune. The scores
were generally and surprisingly SO on
the high side, and the universal ex-
PLANTATION was, Couldn't get them
down." In the first round vardon ac-
tually missed the ball itself in making
a short putt, and was quite as much
ast0nished as any Of the spectators at
the phenomenon. Taylor's explana-
ton is that there must have been an
unusually thick bunch of this stiff
grass just back of the ball. and that
it actually prevented the putter- blade
from going through. How else can one
account for the astonishing fact that
Harry Vardon failed by good two
inches to hit his ball, and on the put
ting green at that?
The impartial critic, while acknowl-
edging freely that Vardon won and de-
point out that Taylor's game was al
most destitute of that desirable ele-
ment called luck He made his holes
In, h,,f ~ Ii
from mashie pitches, and his long
puts could be counted on the fingers
of one hand. On the contrary he lost
several strokes on the putting-green
through the ball trimming the cup, and
this happened four times in the second
days play. Four strokes look big
when your adversary is Vardon.
Taylors long game was almost fault
less. In the first eighteen holes Hutch
inson outdroYe him, but Taylor held
his own pretty steadily in the subse-
quent rounds. Hutchinson's best ball
would be anywhere from ten to twenty
yards in front Of Taylor's, but the
Shinnecock man was so cratic that
what he gained in length he generally
lost in direction. Taylor drove his
normal ball low and straight, and
starting with the velocity of rife
shot. 1t was especially effective Fri
day morning when the wind was blow
ing strongly, and Vardon was slicing
and putting all over the course. Moth
ing could be finer than to see Taylor
making a long brassy straight into
the teeth of the wind. Again the only
comparison is that of the rife bullet.
Length is not Taylor's best card, but
he can average ITS yards and straight,
and that is quite enough.
But if Taylor surpassed expectations
in the long game, he also fell below it
in the short game, and especially in
what was supposed to be his very
strongest card-the approach. 1t was
not often that he laid his ball near
enough to the hole to give him a
chance to save a putt, and when he
did, he generally missed 1t. In other
words, he made the great majority of
his holes in par figures, but there were
only eight IS and no rs on his card for
the two days play, and 8 is par for
the ninth and tenth holes, at which
seven of these IS were made. This is
steadiness indeed, Bat not brilliancy,
and something betterthan par golf was
needed ito win out.
Tt is true that the. Wheaton course
does not give much opportunity for
the exercise of the cut approach, which
is Taylor's most individual and telling
shot. In this stroke the ball flies I'M
usually low, and yet with strong
spin, which reduces its run to a min
imum. 1t is plain that the stroke can
not be attempted unless the way is
20, 4, l,<xJ0 I. ~,
ly every green is protected by cop-
bunkers. Consequently Taylor was
constantly playing full shots or high
pitches over the bunkers to reach the
green, and he had but little opportuni-
ty to use the cut approach He would
have had better opportunity for his
speciality at Onwentsia, for the greens
at that course lie more open, and the
turf is much softer than at Wheaton.
Summing UP Taylor's play, it was
characterized by remarkable steadi-
ness of the tee and through the green,
but it was not much above the ordina-
ry in the quarter game. He made but
one or two really bad shots, but most
Of the others were only indifferently
good. OF course this comparison is
based only upon the very highest stan
dards. Taylor is a great player, If not
the greatest in the world, and he is
only to be judged according to his own
past performances. With more COM
mand over his mashie-shots and a lit
tie luck on the putting-greens, he
would surely have been first instead of
second in the race. AS it was, he put
up a game fight, and never quit for an
instant until all hope was gone
Turning now to his great rival, it
must be freely acknowledged that he
won out with something to spare, and
that does not mean the mere margin of
two strokes. At the end of the third
round, when Vardon led by four
strokes, it was apparent to the observer
that he was going strong, and likely to
better his position il necessary. while
Taylor was playing a losing game. 1t
was the kind of golf that Vardon was
putting up that inspired his hackers
with an unlimited confidence. He was
certain of winning, and his confidence
was contagious. The only thing against
him was the wind, which had much
more effect upon the high ball that
he drives than upon Taylor's.. bow
shaper rakers. But pull or slice, he
was always ready with a grand recov-
cry, which as often as not turned de-
feat into positive triumph For exam
pie, In the last round he drove into
the bunker at the seventh hole from