Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-03

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nave parts set aside for the exclusive use
OF women. lockers, dressing and bath
rooms, as we'll az giving them Joint use Of
other parts of the house and--not to be
ov~erlooked-the spacious verandas.
So the days sport starts with a social
side TO It; the friendly lunch OF players
often In company with women. Then the
game itself.
The American spirit OF fun simply win
not accept the British tradition Of silence
and solemnity as Il condition Of the game;
few matches start on our links without
some preliminary chatting, 1oculnr b~oastins
and final dickerlng about odds or handicap
ping. Naturally this leads to wasers, srlall
but arranged with great detail and pre-
tense OF mutual sacrifice,
A word or two about those wagers may
allay the alarm Of some who fear for the
morality Of the game in this regard. II
must DO admitted hat there is some rVls-
lively high betting, but more high In terms
h in resulting payments, Yankee
shrewdness does not admit Of a player max
ing a hopeless bargain in a golf test-more
than once against the same opponent.
The club handicap list Is supposed 10 de-
termine the strokes ono player must give
another, but It does not always do so. IL
A has a handicap of 70 and his proposed
opponent 3 has but 8 the handicap would be
under the rules in a match game 4; that Is,
two-thirds of the difference. But b con-
tends that there is not much difference in
their actual play and over coffee and
cigars there II an adjustment.
The former ordinary bet was a ball a
hole, which might mean the loss by one
player of eighteen balls. but which usually
works out a loss OF two or three balls by
the defeated player. The more common
bet now Is what is termed q ball Nassau.
That Is, a ball on the result Of the out
play, a ball on the in play and a ball on the
game. Men with plenty Of money to lose
OF course, bet differently; a ball a hole, a
ball on birds Zone under bogey). on eagles
1.-TWO under DOGGY, on crows 1.-TWO over
bogey) and 30 on. But the ordinary bet
works out to small losses and winnings.
so the game starts and goes on with a
rattle of talk and laughter, the injunction
to silence being observed only when a
player has taken a stance and until he has
made the shetland not always then.
However, the game may have gone, even
IL one side has won away back on the
twelfth Of fourteenth hole, there is con
tinued interest to the end, because 1t has
become the almost invariable practice for
Americans to play the last hole for some
thing" the cigars, caddie fees or maybe
such stimulant as a middle aged player
thinks his doctor would approve of his
taking after three hours physical exercise
in the open air.
I Golf has greatly promoted one British
custom IL It has ignored others; the custom
OF afternoon tea has taken strong hold al
the golf club houses. Mothers and daugh-
ters OF many players wait for the men to
finish that last h~ole-watch them finish II
frequently-and then there are many tea
parties made up on the verandas, where
the game is of course played all over again
with much good nature.
on some links, the majority perhaps. in
the nelghborhood Of large cities women
do not play on holidays, this by tacit agree
ment sometimes, by local rules in some
cases. Just why this should be so is not
easy to understand. The apparent reason
is that women play more slowly than men
and on a crowded course would congest IT..
But it would take a long search to find a
links where On crowded days there were
no more than one mems match moving
more slowly than the average women's
match moves. And only one slow match is
enough to congest a whole course because
the general movement can be no faster
than the slowest match.
But women players accept this practical
exclusion from the course with good nature.
They have many opportunities during the
week to play and the club house Is open
to them even when they are denied the
use of the course. They may lunch, tea,
dine there on crowded days, play tennis
where courts are maintained, make allerlea
and generally add to the picturesqueness
and sociability Of golf.
BY the way. when women do play they
are a much prettier sight than a male
golfer In action, Partly because they are
naturally more graceful In motion, partly
because that wkward twist and crook OF
knees which accompanies a full golf stroke,
so painfully apparent In men, Is mercifully
concealed when woman uses her driver or
brassie.
Our British cousins may marvel and criti-
else, but Americap golf viii not mend TO
suit them. The solid foundation and much
OF the ornamental superstructure Of golf in
America are supplied by men and women OF
mature age. They are a social, a laxative
II you Will. Mr.. Balfour. generation. They
play for fun and exercise. not FOR competi-
tive honors. quite incidentally. OF course.
they are glad 10 see the links they maintain
used by youngsters who are developing into
high-class golfers. But II Is the social slide
OF golf which gives Il vigorous life in
| America.