The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1908-07-22
GOLF EXHILARATING,,
TAFT ENJOYS LIFE
Rural Virginians Speculate
as to Where the Real
Sport Lies.

HOT SPRINGS, Va, July 22.--WilIiam
Howard Taft's devotion TO golf has
brought the game into a prominence II
never before has enjoyedNin the Ameri-
can mind Already he has received let
tiers from curious old farmers in the
backwOOds asking him what In tar
nation that game is"
Hot Springs is an ideal place for a
solution OF that question. Golf IS a
game which was invented in Scotland
and perfected by the wood and iron
dealers II was invented in Scotland be
cause the Scotch climate is such as to
permit Of only two amusements, golfing
and hot whisky. IL was perfected by the
wood and iron dealers because they
saw a chance 70 make fortunes out OF
the number Of clubs each really up-to-
date devOtee of the game must have in
order to play it as it should be played.
His Modest Score.
The other day a man somewhat well
known in Congress went into the caddy
house. threw his clubs aside with a
nOnchalant air, and remarked indifrer-
emily:
IT made the eighteen holes in seventy
four"
Near by stood The old darby who has
been looking after the caddy house for
years
sam, what do you think of that?"
asked one OF the hotel guests. who had
been daily employed in trying to make
1t in less than l30-
Well" said sam. ''ef he done il, he
WIZ alone when he done it"
But, aside from the moral problem
called up by golf. the physical aspects
OF the game are absorbing. In order to
play II Ia mode. you get yourself up
like tramp, build a little thing that
looks Ike a mud pie, set your ball OF
It, take your driver from the bag of
implements manufactured BY the wood
and iron dealers, and then wiggIe for
fifteen minutes. After you have Wiggled.
you shout "FCrei" In a terrific and
warning tone. You do this as an indi-
cation that you have no idea where the
ball IS going, If yOn are lucky enough
10 hit IL II anybody is ahead of you on
the course, they pay no attention to the
warning. because they don't believe you
can hit II and they are sure you can't
knock 1t anywhere if you do hit It.
When You Hit the Ball.
If you are a novice. you hit the ball
and then tear over the hill after it as
If you were entered for a 1O0-yard dash.
But, If you are an old hand at the game.
You saunter forward slowly. You do
this because you know you have about
three miles TO walk. You also do ii
because you want to hit on a suitable
thing 70 say to the caddie to make him
lie for you when you tell the score
Then you hit and chase the ball over
"bunkers,' natural hazards" plowed
fields, briar patches, and stone fences.
After building eighteen mudpies wig
Cling nine miles. and losing your temper
fifty times, you have played a game
of golf. Nobody has been playing
against you. No cheering thousands
have encouraged you from the grand
stand. No one in the whole wide world
has cared a cent whether YOU out the
bali with all the skill Of the man who
wrote the game, or whether you have
been lying under a tree dreaming
dreams
You have merely COmmuned with ma
ture, and a little white ball. Your only
has been a little colored boy.
whose lethargic walk indicated the
calmness of the contest between you and
some vague thing
But those who love the game swear
by if. Mr. Taft has been playing II
about twelve years, and he loves it
NJ L. ingalls,. who Is full of money ana
railroads, climbs up and down the links
with the widest enthusiasm The won-
en- put on short skirts and go forth TO
play every day.
Therefore, there must be some charm
about this perambuiating solitaire, this
mad movement to get a ball into a tin
can buried in the ground, this game
that was invented by the Scotch and
perfected by the wood and iron dealers
Undoubtedly. there is something in il
for the caddies.