The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-07-05
ODD STATISTICS ON GOLF.
AMERICANS MORE DEVOTED TO IT
NOW THAN ARE SCoTcHMEN.
A Tremendous Amount OF Money spent
Annually ON THIS sport-There Are
100000 Players In This Country -
Sixty Square Miles of Courses.


The most remarkable feature in the |
history of sports In this country dur
ing the past five years has been the
enormous increase In the scope and
growth of the game of golf. In 1895
there were hardly twenty golf courses
or what were called such by courtesy
in those days, in the United States,
and the game was mildly played by u
few hundred expatriated Engllshmen
and Scotchmen, who. not coming to
this country young enough to interest
themselves in baseball or football,
were forced to fall back on the only
sport they knew which was adaptable
to their circumstances.
Now there are over 100000 players.
and with customary enthusiasm the
American is more devoted to 1t than
even its godfather. the Scotchman.
There are to-day 1900 regularly organ
lied clubs with memberships ranging
from so to 1900, to say nothing of all
the private links scattered throughout
the country, for nowadays no rich
mans country place is complete with
Oul III ltdSl " NuuAots
All this has come about in five years.
The clubs and balls with which the
game is played are so inexpensive that
one never thinks of the tremendous
amount of money annually spent on
this sport, nor of the amount of wood,
iron and gutta percha which Is re-
qulred TO supply the demands of Il sea
o. .Nf hn in
vested I'm land and club buildings. A
few moments mathematics. however,
will serve to show that they are trc-
mendous.
TO begin with, there are easily 20O.-
600 players in this country. Each
player averages to carry with him
eight clubs, and he usually has at
least as many more at home. This
gives grand total of 100000 clubs
in this country.
Accidents are constantly causing
shafts to break. Even the best Of
wooden heads will give way in time,
and as there Is no one In the world as
particular and changeable In all that
pertains to his clubs as a golfer, il Is
SuIt W dSSullt luul tuCll VI iliN =NVs
600 will acquire four new clubs II
year. This means 100000 clubs. and
as the proportion of irons at Sl.5O
each is about equal to that of wooden
clubs at $3.50 each. the clubs will av-
erage 50 apiece, or $1,600,000.
This Is for the purchases of 1900
alone, the expenditures in obtaining
Al "a I..,,- -l,a.
which brings the total for clubs to
date up to $S,00O,OOO. OF these new
clubs 100000 are of wood and 100000
of iron. The wooden clubs will aver
age A inches in length, so that placed
end to end they would reach 22,000,O0O
inches. 1888, 1913 feet, Gil. i'll yards, OF
347 miles. The 100000 iron clubs av-
erage 40 inches in length, would reach
il placed end to end, 12,000,000 inches
1000 900 feet. 333.33;, yards, or 1Sa
miles. If the total number of new
clubs that Americans will buy this sea
son were, therefore, put end to end
they would reach 536 miles, or from
New York To Buffalo or little lao
yond.
or the 100000 old clubs in this
country. 100000 are of wood ant
100000 of iron. Surprising they NV
erage the same length as the new ones
although as matter OF fact they arc
probably an inch longer, due 10 the
Vardon craze for short clubs, we fine
that the old wooden clubs placed enc
TO end would reach 52,S00.O00 inches
100000 feet, 1,466,666 yards, or So
miles. The old irons would reach 80,
100000 inches, 6,666, ,666 feet, 2,222, 222:
yards. or 1868 miles. The wooden ant
iron clubs together, then, would reacl
2097 miles. or from New York to Den
yer. Add on j36 miles of this season
clubs and you have line which woul,
reach from New York TO Salt LAX
City. AT the present rate of speed |
would therefore take about eight.
hours, or three and Il half days, +
make the trip by rail.
Clubs will be found to weigh on al
average fifteen ounces apiece. On thi
basis the total number of clubs al
ready on hand would weigh 4S,00000
ounces, or 5000, 900 pounds. A frelgh
car will carry 10000 pounds. so tina
it would take train of 1000 cars t
transport the weight AS one engln
finds twenty cars a very tough load
fifty would have to be attached I
t;is monster, and 1t would reach 1913
Yards. or nearly one mile.
If the clubs We're packed in boxes O
so, as II Is usual for the manufactui
/ ers to ship them, for they cannot b
, packed tightly enough to allow 5000
pounds weight of clubs being place
! in car. the car would hold 21,O00 al
proxlmately. This would mean Ia
cars with eight engines. giving a toti
/ length of 60S0 feet, or about a mil
] and one seventh. TO carry the 10000
. clubs to lie sold this year would II
2 uuire 3S cars, which would give toti
I of 100 cars with 10 engines, whic
. train would reach 5000 feet, or Il mil
| and Il half.
< If all the clubs our golfers will hay
Y at the end of the year were made lnt
o one big one it would be 166,S00,0t
inches long, 2,000.000 inches thick ;
the thickest point. and 12,0O0,0'
inches wide at the widest. Reduce
y to feet we have a club i3,900,000 fe'
, long, 168,666 feet thick and 1.0OO,OI
: feet wide. Reduced once more
u miles. we have club 2G33 miles Ion
uaarlv All miIaa thick and 1870 mill