Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-08
TRAveRS' VIEWS ON GOLF
BEGAN PLAYING ON LINKS
WHEN NINE YEARS OLD.
Champion Talks of His Learning
the Game and Gives His Opinion
on Various Golfing Subjects.

From the New York Evening Post.
In response TO a number OF questions
recently put to Travers. the Montclair
man made the following statement:
Il was twenty-one years old last May.
and began to play golf at the age of nine
on my fathers estate at Oyster Bay. II
was only golf of a desultory kind. how
ever, and l did not begin to play the
game In earnest until about year later.
when I started on a nine-hole course be-
longing to an organisation then known
| as the Oyster Bay Golf Club.
With regard to the question asking
| IL ever looked up to any particular IN
dividual as my ideal of a golfer. and il
tried to initiate his style. l would say
that there was a home-bred professional
at the Oyster Bay Club by the name or
Willie Mahon. who possessed beautiful
swing and style. These | tried to ini-
tate. but years ago he gave UP this
means Of livelihood, much to my disap-
pointment. From what 1 saw of his play
with the old solid ball, / am thoroughly
convinced that IL he had kept up his
game he would have developed into one
of the best players this or any other coun-
| try ever produced. / am grateful of this
| opportunity to pay him compliment be-
cause he assisted materially in fashion
ing and bringing out my game
Credit for Alec Smith.
ST also give Alec Smith, the Nassau
| Country Club pro- great credit for bring
| ing out my game. 1t was at Nassau that
1 began to take golf more seriously. and
Alec and 1 played hundreds OF matches
there. Rounds with a good professional
are always helpful to the amateur. The
professional, of course. Is almost in
variably the better player. and that makes
| one strive all the harder to win.
I'm my opinion. the most difficult stroke
| in golf to master Is what you might well
| term a betwixt and between shot when.
on account of the distance. you are forced
| to spare the stroke. For instance, half
midiron.
when engaged in an important com
| petition. such as championship strive
above all other things to keep cool and
not lose my head. It. of course, goes with
out saying that one can never hope TO
| meet with any great amount of success
unless he holds his head still and keeps
his eye on the ball.
James Braid Greatest Player.
1T consider James Braid the greatest
golfer in the world. He has won the open
championship of Great Britain four times.
and his recent score OF 291 for seventy two
holes was most remarkable Finishing the
round In seventy-nine, after taking eight
for the CARDINAL was a wonderful per-
lOT1QauCc, anu SHOWeu Tic IRON nerve Oh
this man, who achieved a well deserved
victory.
Generally speaking. 1 regard the present
system Of running off the amateur cham
pionship the best they have tried so far.
but 1 should go further and in some way
eliminate that one match-play round of
eighteen holes. Why not have sixty-four
qualify the first day and the second day
let these sixty-four play thirty-six holes.
| when those with the sixteen best scores
could be selected to finish out In thirty-six
hole match play rounds?
Mind, l do not want to go on record
as saying that this is the best way of
doing away with the one-match round of
| eighteen holes. but simply offer 1t as
suggestion. The element OF luck enters
SO largely in the single round of eighteen
holes that for q championship, at least.
I guess nearly all golfers will agree with
me that almost any plan whereby all OF
| the match play contests could be extend
ed to the double round would prove a
desirable substitute. 1 do not claim that
my suggestion has any especial merit.
| but as various other methods have been
| tried In the past and found wanting. there
might not be any harm in seeing how
| this one would work OUT