Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-09
NEW BALL CHANGES GOLF
Bunkers Are Good Hazard for Rubber
Cored Balls.
MOST GREENS ARE TOO LARGE
An Effort is Being Made to Bring
Golf Courses Closer Back to
the Way Mature Built
Them.

NEW YORK, Jan. S.-Golf courses with
us Americans usually either fail to come
up to a high enough standard to provide
a real test Of championship skill or are
made so extremely difficult and almost
impossible as to be of no interest except
to. experts willing to pitch their way be-
tween bottomless pits and cribwork bunk
ers which seem as unnecessary as they are
hideous to look upon. The fact that the
majority Of courses are too smooth and
parklike, all Of which has cost money to
produce and costs more to maintain,
seems to lead committees to listen to fool
ish advice regarding trapping. A few years
ago they were advised to put high cop
bunkers to be carried from the tee, and
second cop bunkers short of the green to
be pitched over on the approach. Thus
equipped members were informed that they
had a golf course, though it really more
closely reSembled a hurdle track than any
thing else.
Under these conditions so long as a man
could slug he could play with impEity.
The turf for yards around the greens was
kept closely cropped and any ball within
reasonable distance of it could be rolled
up with a putter Just as easily as II it had
been accurately placed on the green.
Inc lulIpuuCllOi OIL lle rubber COTeu Dali
made this hurdle jumping golf a farce, for
with the lively ball nearly everybody could
make carries heretofore almost impossible
except to the expert. Hazards which de-
pended upon mere distance for the deadly
penalties ceased to be feared except by the
duffer.
Refinement in the requirements of the
game to meet the new conditions came
along slowly, but on lines that generally
permitted the safety on the straight line
and heavy penalty at the sides for defec-
tive direction and about the green's. AS a
matter Of fact, nowadays, almost anything
will do until the near approach Of the green
is reached. Nature, left TO itself, will pro-
vide all the penalties that are necessary
at the sides. Rough grass and bushes along
the sides will as effectively hold TO pena-
lie a bad shot as a dozen pot bunkers.
1t is in respect to the near approach to
the green where a course is generally put
down as good or bad. Among the larger
clubs the tendency is to have the greens
too large; 50 large, in fact, that a wild
shot will frequently get almost as good
a reward as a good one.
Rough Grass on SIDE.
The first consideration should be to pre-
vent this wide possibility for equalizing
good and poor shots alike, by either reduc-
ing the size Of the greens or making them
80 that they really represent two or more
separate putting surfaces. This can be done
by either allowing strips Of rough grass
TO grow across in various directions, by
running long mounds or IL the nature OF
the soil will permit, sinking deep and IT.
regular traps in the green itself. The net
result of this treatment H that a ball mus
be played to a certain part Of the greer
to be reasonably sure OF going down II
two puts. II ii reaches another section n
cannot be often played with a putter, tn,
same as the more accurate n correct
shot.
Among the smaller class OF clubs the put
ting greens are held down to reasonabl,
proportions, and surrounded by stubbl,
grass, demand accuracy in order to reaci
the exact spot and trickle up comfortable
near the pin. Where this is not the case
and even where IL is. the Introduction o
traps, on eelther side OF the short approach
and occasionally around the sides and bacl
Of the green will tend 70 improve matter
in demanding the exact spot that shout,
be employed 10 get safely home. The gras
off the edges Of the smaller greens Shout,
be quite long. so as to call for the use o
the mashie or iron. and prevent the US
OF the putter just the same as II the playe
had gained a position where he was entitle,
CONTINUED ON seeonA PaQeA