The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-23

always had good luck in them. John NJ.
Ward is suspected of being slave to this
superstition, for In no other way may his
devotion to certain pair Of well-ventilated
shoes be accounted for: In the other de-
the championship Of the New Jersey State
Association, he was Beau Brummel, but
the shoes were Of a type valued by waders
for the ease with which water may flow in
or out; At the Apawamis tournament.
fame than he had beaten in New Jersey.
he wore a glaringly new pair Of russell
shoes. 1t is any odds that when Ward
next plays at a tournament he will again
stand in the lucky shoes.
Many players nurse along, from match
to match. ball that has been lucky one
to them. When the i'll fated stroke comes
that splits the ball, the golfer often feels a
real regret, and. should he lose the match.
with the ball. On the other hand, should
the ball last out until the golfer has won tho
cup, the player may have 1t gilded or else
mounted In gold or silver. to keep as q
for Of the gef tSs day rn pnsra i
brought misfortune, but 1t is bit OF logic
in which the effect Is blamed instead of the
cause.
To explain. when player is golfing we'll
and hitting every shot true, the ball will
hardly be marked at all. and while in this
masterfu vein it is inevitable that the player
will be winning in the matches. But when
the tide turns and the golfer meets one who
Is more masterful than himself. in the
his way again, the player. will begin to press
his shots. A topped stroke is sure to follow
and a general decentralization In which the
ball gets the blame instead of the topped
shot that has put it out OF business.
the player to hit the turf before the ball.
thus killing the stroke. This Is called
hard luck, but the true explanation is usually
In bad play, just as when loser names of
proofs Of bad luck. Usually, as has been
said, the fault rests in bad play, but the ex-
cepton in the latter instance Ia often caused
by the ball Kicking OF the true line. A
carrom to the right or left caused BY con-
a stin blade Of grass Is termed by golfers
@kick." That there Is an imp Of the per-
verse to control such happenings is con-
conceded by. every player, and. as a sop to
the evil spirits. more than one golfer as he
essays long put murmurs to his ball, Kick
speed you."
kicks" are so potent in influencing the roll
from approach shots that there seems often
to be something uncanny to control them.
or weak putting does. II often happens,
green after green that the mashie shots will
strike the green on practically the one spot
and with the same force. only to have one
player Dau KICK away from the nOl0
and the others ball bound toward 1t, as
though eager to seek the seclusion Of Its
depths.
With players evenly rated in skill, luck
seems the agency that controls such balls.
All players are superstitious to this ex-
tent, but thus far they have no antidote for
the baleful power Of the sprite that leads
their best shots astray. Bad temper will
| not cure the trouble, although, when pa
tienoe ceases, 1t ia not unusual for golfer
to fling his mashie with a malediction after
the erring ball.
Sometimes the impatient golfer will
thump the turf with the heel OF the mashie
while the bel! ;s soaring in the Air, as though
to whip Mother Earth into submission and
force her to receive the flying atom with a
kindly welcome. Less abstract, but per-
haps even more forceful TO prove the belief
in putting luck held by golfers, IL a some
what general habit Of crossing the fingers
| as an opponent Is putting. This, the charm
Of the Italians against the evil eye, is a sign
to ward of bad luck that crops up in the
superstitions Of many lands, No worse
luck can befall golfer than to have
an opponent hole out a long put on the
4like" his stroke on the odd" having
stopped dead to the cup, and few will blame
the player who in this plight crosses hiA
fingers to make the put miss