Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-06
GOLF AT ST. ANDREWS
HOW ACCESS IS GAINED TO IT'S
LINKS.
Overcrowded at This Season-Customs
Of the Course-Stories
Of Players.
From the London Telegraph.

And he added, there never were so
many players First and foremost of all
is the old course, on which you can play
only II you have been fortunate In the ball
lot which you have entered overnight. or II
You have the energy to start before 3
o'clock. sufficient disregard for your di-
gestion to begin during the luncheon hour
or the patience to wait till after o'clock.
And this brings me to the grievance of the
casual golfer. The adjective Is meant to
include all save those great and good men,
the members of the Royal and Ancient Golf
Club. Suppose you are arrived at St. An
drews, your rooms secured-no easy matter
your Norfolk suit of more or less striking
pattern donned, your hob-nailed boots on,
your clubs under your arm, and you are ar
rived at the first tee. Your troubles are not
over yet. Overnight, before o'clock, you
have lodged a card stating the hour at
which you wish to start. You scan the
timetable list In vain-your name does not
appear among the hundred and odd couples
who are to be sent off at stated four-minute
intervals. 1t is among some sixty or more
couples in the "supernumerary list" which
means that you either wait to take remote
chance Of being sandwiched in If there is a
blank before luncheon, or you betake your
self to the new course. there again to wait
your turn. Day after day the process is
repeated.
Favored Entries.
A London friend of mine has been staying
here for four weeks and has been only once
In the list. Yet, being observant, he has
notice that certain names appear day after
day in the list at convenient times-say 10
o'clock and 2:3O. And these names are those
of members of the Royal and Ancient Club
or of some of the earth's favored ones Now
the ballot Is taken by five members Of the
Royal and Ancient Club, with the assist
ance, more or less perfunctory, of two men,
bers of St. Andrews town council And they
are all honorable men, But another friend
finds no dift1culty In getting away every day
he has a particularly keen match to play.
Instead of describing himself in the appli-
cation card as Thomas Smith of some hum
BILE lodging in quiet street he writes 1T.
Jones-Smith esq.-Hotel," a huge place
which he occasionally visits for a modest
refreshment in liquid form. And, as IL by
magic, three times out of four he is one of
the fortunate ones in the ballot. 1t is I'M
fortunate that any such impression should
prevail as has been indicated. But that it
does exist five minutes conversation with
any golfer at st. Andrews will demonstrate
The old course, unlike the new which be-
longs to the Royal and Ancient Club, is
iralienably the property of the public and,
| as St. Andrews depends largely on the
summer visitors, the st. Andrews town
council should make 1t its business to see
that the grievance under which the average
visitor thinks he labors should cease. No
doubt the grievance is imaginary but a lit
tie publicity would harm nobody and would
dispel discomfort
The Imperious Caddie.
Suppose this morning you are fortunate
your next business is to secure caddie
You may secure them all ages and all sizes
from the tanned and grizzled veteran, who
has wandered these links for a general ion
to the barefooted urchn scarcely the length
of your driver. But, old or young, he knows
every bunker every lie on the green hands
| you the appropriate club. advise you
whether wrist-shot with the iron or a
half stroke with the mashie is the proper
| policy under the circumstances. Hitherto
| you may have thought yourself free and in
dependent. Now you realize that you have
appointed to yourself lord and master
Some will have it that the old race of cad
die. whose expression of opinion was candid
and caustic, is dying out; that the education
act has stamped out humor and character
and produced cigarette smoking urchins
But specimens of the old race survive, and
seeing that the dull ones of past days are
forgotten, and only the bright ones remem-
bered. they may be humorous as ever
Your caddie enters as keenly as yourself
into the spirit of the game; If he knows
your play and your opponents he will
even, sad to say, back your chances to the
extent of modest shilling or two Then
you have caddie In a thousand He will
show you the safe line to drive, tell when
| caution is imperative, and when to risk
| your all on carrying the bunker looming
ahead, and on the putting green he will
| point out to hairs breadth the line to get
the necessary fall from the slope. But he
| is imperious.
Instructed His Lordship.
1t is a very stately and dignified Scottish
| Judge that they tell the story on-only it is
a North Berwick story-ef how he once
| failed to negotiate 1.-The dyke with his
drive, and lay under it's shadow a few yards
| away. Give me the spoon, boy" Your
| spune!' exclaimed the youngster. What
| wild We dae WI your spune? TAX your
| cieek, an TAX short grip ot.' His lord
| ship, before whom K. C.'s quailed, obedi-
emily took the club handed him. The ball
| sailed over. Man, 1 tell't We; wha wild We
haze done wi your spune?" exclaimed the
| young tyrant. And his lordshp felt humble
| But if you are duffer and hopeless your
| caddie is at small pains to conceal, and even
| on occasion to express his disgust. A caddie
| with an outgoing foursome met a brother
engaged with foursome approaching the
| last green. Hoo are we gettin' on?" he
queried. oh" was the reply. we're up
| but it's awfu' gowff. He felt there was
no credit in the business. Then, again, a
| player more noted for energy and muscle
| than skill was laboring In vain to get his
ball extricated from The Principal Nose
| a deadly bunker ''Hoo's he dom % asked
| an acquaintance of his caddie. Fine; he'll
| be doom at the bedrock directly Many a
! player If he could hear his caddie's verdict
| as delivered to his fellows in the caddies'
| shelter would be a humber and better
| golfer.
At the First Tee.
Still waiting at the first tee there is much
| tc soothe ones nerves and increase his no.
| ton Of his own merits as he waits his turn.
| Impatient men swing their clubs to "open
| their shoulders In that their style is
| magnificent. Man. that would have been
| a grand shot if you'd struck the ba'," was
| a caddie's ironic remark. Here you may
| see all styles. from an exaggerated st. An
| drews swing to the half swing of the man
| who has taken late in life to the game. And
| the result is not always in proportion to the
| swing very unpretentious swing and
| mo waggle' will send the ball flying with
| a clean click a good $50 yards; a tremendous
| flourish as often as not is a "sclaff," which
| makes the ball trickle fifty yards and lie
| on the road forty yards more. To drive off
| the tee for the first time at st. Andrews Is
about the best way to understand what
| stage fright Is like. Once away some of
your troubles over. But not all of
them. Before you have gone far you have
| to wait at hole after hole, for at this time
| OF year the congestion is such that some
/ thing must be done to remedy it. To draw
| the line between the male duffer and the
| male who Is not duffer would certainly
| surpass the wit of man. like a certain po-
litical problem But, ungallant as may be