Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-07
SPORTING GOSSIP

The recent action of the United
States Golf association in drawing up
a code of rules for bogey play has
occasioned a lively discussion on the
other side of the Atlantic. Now we
are told that the rules of golf COM
mittee, without the sanction and au-
thority of the Royal and Ancient club.
has followed the American lead and
also based set of bogey rules on the
special rules for strike play. The ar
gument is that bogey play is match
play and as such should be governed
by the rules for match play. A golf
authority who has been watching the
progress of the matter as an advocate
of the match play idea now comes out
with the following:
'That the United States Golf asso-
citation has decided that bogey play
should be governed by the strike play
rules Is not surprising, because tne
American genius for sport is dlfferent
from our own. With the exception of
a. few players who have imbibed the
true golfing spirit and traditions, the
American golfer prefers the scoring
game and finds the completest gratln-
cation in trying to get record tie
prefers stroke play to match pay
and even in a match is more interest
ed in keeping the tally of his strokes
only natural, therefore, that In any
variation of the game he should in
cline to a view of it which is IN ac-
cordance with his own predilectlons
and whatever new feature IL presents
that he should endeavor to eliminate
those elements which prevent MN
from following his natural proclivitles.
.eWhi1e we are far from being in
sympathy with American views OF
golf, we do not shut our eyes to the
fact that there are many gol1erS IN
this country, especially in England,
who share the American preference
for stroke play. But it is not a httle
surprising to find the rules of goif
committee following the American
lead and drawing up code of rules
for bogey play based on the speclal
rules for stroke play. We say 1t is
surprising, because if stroke play had
not been invented it would never nave
occurrerd to any one who Wlsheo TO
preserve the integrity OF the game 10
make a code of rules for DOGGY pay
on any other basis than that OF match
NAV and as no one will accuse the
rules of golf committee Of any view
of golf we are driven to see If there
are any other considerations Whcn
could have influenced its action.
Not only does the United States
Golf association show disposition TO
ignore the new ST. Andrews rele ABOUT
the form of clubs because 1t debars
tbe Schenectady putter, but 1t Is going
tn depart from the procedure adopted
here of playing bogey under match
NAV rules. In America bogey is to be
played under the special rules Tor
medal play on the ground that tnere
are no styrnies in a DOGGY matcn'
that bogey cannot lose ms pan OF
suffer from an unplayable ball. Lib
70 Inn frfUpn fn a DlAXeT. 1nere-
fore. to lift his ball and tee 1t under
a nenalty of two strokes, with the
right to play a second ball when the
first is lost, with the loss of stroke.
This is not only a complete reversal
of our system, but radical mlscoh-
ception of the object Of DOGGY play"
The University of California Rugby
football team has been invited TO play
a series of games in Canada for the
Keith cup and the championship of
the Pacific coast The Victoria-Va
couyer game winner has for four years
plaved the winner of the Stanford
GCaiifornia, game. The Victoria team
and the University of california won
their series this year, 1t is expected
that California will play at Victoria
on Christmas day and New Years
day. while a game at Vancouver may
be arranged December 2S.
"The batting helplessness Of pitch
ers." remarks Mordecai Brown, the
Great three-f1ngered hurler of the
Cubs. 'has been a rich joke for thirty
years, and no doubt will continue TO
he SO as long as the old game is
played. Why are pitchers SO feeble
with the stick? Why are they lemons
with the bat and on the bases?
"The average man outside the game
would think that pitchers should be
the best batsmen in the world. They
know all about the tricks of throwing
the hall. they should know just what
is being sent by the other pitcher and,
therefore, being educated, as it were.
tbev ought to be exceptionally good
| hitters. But as q rule they are mis-
erable punks with the stick, and are
getting worse instead Of better as the
years go by.
''The reasons for the weak batting
of pitchers are numerous; so numer-
Gus, in fact, that any one Of them
| would seem wholly logical as an ex-
cuse. For one thing, the pitcher, es-
pecially in a hard, close game, is
about all in as he comes back from
the slab at the end of every inning.
He is painting, half dizzy, nerves and
muscles throbbing, and how can
man in that condition be expected to
go up and hit the ball?
"There is good reason for helpless
ness on the part Of a great many
pitchers. Then, again, many hurlers
are specialists and students of pitch
ing and nothing but pitching. They
spend all their practice time learning
the tricks of the slabmans trade,
thoaa and nOthfn0 mora They can't