The Washington times., 1906-01-28
GOLF HANDICAP
SOURCE Of WORRY
Everybody Takes a Fall Out
of Committee.
SUCCESS AT CHEVY CHASE
Wide Distribution of Prizes Shows the
Allowances Were Well Made Con-
cerning Good Players.

Handicapping fellow club golfers is
not as easy matter as a great many
players think.
There is no : stem by which COM
mittee can regulate It's thankless task
and II more contestants could and
would only realize this there would be
very much less Kicking than there Is
at present among few who think they
have been SliEhted by those who make
the club handicapS.
The object of a handicap is TO put
contestants in any sport on a parity
and not 10 give the large handicap. or
in fact any handicapped contestant,
sure chance to win Scratch should
have al least an even chance to win.
but in one line OF sport at least. ana
that golf il seems 10 be the opinion
that the scratch man should be so
penalized that anyone else but the best
player viii win This is not the object
of handicapplng. either at golf or any
other game or sport.
Prizes Well Distributed.
The handicapping at Chevy Chase
Club last season has been found highly
successful and interesting. The notice
able points are as follows.
Only once did a player win more than
one event In this case the contestant
won only three events out OF about
thirty showing that the prizes were
well distributed among the large nuLnoel
OF competitors. About tnree-nfths or
the contests We're won by those with q
handicap ranging from II TO y. and
the remaining high and low hdndi-
cap men divided the other prizes Seven
or eight ties had 10 be played of dur
ing 1903 for first and second prizes, ana
once four men tied for the best net
score There are about l5O names on
the club handicap list Visitors nave
won as many handicap prizes as home
PLAYERS in open amateur tournaments
so il viii be seen that they have not
! been treated badly.
Then. again. the players do not helm
| the committee by handing in all their
cards If this were done II would much
/ simplify matters
Freak Scores Not Considered.
| When some long shot has turned
| in a very low score. it is because he has
| played better than he knew how" by
/ from four to seven strokes. II is much
easier for a poor player to cut down
/ his best score than a fair or good golf
| er. The Siamese cup the principal
| handicap tournament of the year, was
won by a man receiving large handi-
/ cap who DI ed very consistent golf
however on THANKSGIVING Day the
prizes went - the medium players WIN
| handicaps of eight TO ten. while on
l Christmas Day the low handicap man
of the club won.
/ The best prize went 10 a high hanGi-
| cap man. the SECOND best prize went
| TO the medium handicap golfers. while
| the prize OF the least value went to the
4 scratch" man OF the club This order
| really should have been reversed. II
| possible SO tkat the best player should
| have won the best prize.
! II is TO be hoped that the number OF
/ golfers who think that their handicap
is given them in order that they NAV
| capture prizes instead of giving them a
/ chance to win. is on the decrease. II
| all handicapping We're perfect then out
.F aT=rsaac
| the odds wound be thirty-two TO one
| against any one man. At all the open
| amateur events at Chevy Chase. no one
| is given more than eighteen so thai
| this would of course decrease the odds
| unless all the entrants happened tC
| have a handicap of eighteen or less
| Handicaps are changed from time tC
| time by the committee when in its
| judgment a m@p or woman should havs
| improved u gone back. All handicap
| ping in golf must of necessity be more
| or less arbitrary. but il is done in good
faith and in the hope it is for the besi
interest OF lse game.