The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-11-01
GOLF MAKES RAPID STRIDES
Devotees of This Pastime Regarded as
Curiosity Decade Ago, but Game
Now Popular.

Although golf in America is still in
its swaddling clothes as compared
with the game on the other side OF
the Atlantic, it has much to be proud
of, for unquestionably the. royal sport
has worked wonders in compare
lively short time. 1t is doubtful IL
even the most optimistic devotees OF
driver and iron ten years ago would
have dared to predict that in 1910
golf would give employment to thou
sands and add to the attractions of
hundreds of towns and villages. Had
he ventured such prediction he
probably would have been placed in
the same category as the man who
prophesied that heaVier-than-air ma
chine could fly from New York to
Philadelphia.
Time has shown that golf is not a
pastime to be taken lightly, but,
rather, seriously. Practically every
other game has its limitations as to
season. Not SO with golf, for only a
foot or more of snow viii prevent
the golfers from making his rounds OF
the links, and weather is never too
hot to prevent it, either.
No longer does the man in the
street gaze at the golfer with his set
of clubs as a curiosity, says writer
in New York exchange. Nor is the
hockey player" remark SO frequently
heard. One might hear a man Of the
navy type inform his friend that
golf is rotten game" but even this
lis sign of progress, for he knows 1t
lis golf and not hockey
The huge strides golf is making and
has made is conclusive proof of Its
fascination. Ten years ago the
golfer had to travel much longer to
reach golf course than he does at
lpresent- Every town of any size at
all has its golf course. No seaside
resort is complete success unless it
has its own links, and 1t is the knowl-
edge that gorf is to be had that fire.
lquentIy brings the visitor and his
family. This is also true of many in
land resorts. This means business
for the resort or the village in or
near which the course is located.
Even in ten years Garden City has
made big strides in the way OF i'm
provement, and much of ii is due to
the golf course there. Incidentally,
Garden City now has two courses,
the second being the Salisbury links,
over which the recent tournament of
the Eastern Professional Golfers as
ISOLATION was played.
This is by no means an exceptional
case, for there are great many other
cities .and towns where similar in
stances might be cited Land own
ers are quick to realize the fact that
the ground they have hitherto looked
upon as being scarcely worthy of
consideration is valuable from
golfing point Of view. and they
charge more per acre for it than they
did for their best agricultural land.
With regard to the employment
that the game provides. it Is difficult
to estimate. Professionals and their
assistants, groundkeepers. caretakers.
fron-head makers, golf-ball makers,
etc. are dependent upon the game,
while there are thousands of boys,
and even men, who make their living
as caddies. The list could be consid-
erabIy increased, even 60 those who
earn their livelihood by making mix
lures for the determination of worms
and other ground pests.
1t seems a pity that the expenses
of golf are such as to debar those
who have scarcely more than a COM
Portable income from participating in
the pleasures of the game, but even
this may be relieved, for at present
there are public links which are very
well patronized by persons in ordi-
nary walks of life. 1t is quite possi-
bile. however, that in few years
various municipalities will take more
or an interest in the sport than at
present, for, rapid as the growth of
the game has been, it still is In its
infancy. 81
From the health point Of view golf
lis a weILknown preserver of youth.
not only being prescribed by physi-
clans as a health restorer. but be-
Ing nYaved by physicians themselves