The Washington times., 1911-02-17
GOLF
RULES DISCUSSED
Goling Editors Abroad Are Taking Up Proposition of
United States Association to Arrange an Inter-
national Code and Seem to Favor It,

Golfng editors abroad are now dis
cussing the proposition of the United
States Golf Association to confer with
the st. Andrews Club or other recog-
nized national association to frame an
international code of rules.
The editor of Golfing seems to lean
toward the idea, saying:
! Upon the decision of st. Andrews on
this question will depend the whole
course of golfing history in the future
! Two obvious attitudes are possible for
| them. The first is the Little Scotlander
attitude. Golf is our game; we make
and amend its rules. If you like to ac-
! cept our ideas. well and good. If not,
/ again well; it does not matter an In
dian coin of small intrinsic value to us.
Play your own game in your own way.
Only.it is not golf There has long
been something of this spirit recosniza-
! BILE in the st. Andrews attitude, toward,
for instance, the bogey code, and l do
not think that 1t is a spirit which has
done any harm to golf as long as the
game was confined to places where the
St. Andrews tradition prevails.
But even in our own country we have
got far beyond that Golf of the ira
ditional st. Andrews fashion may be
l think myself, it is-the best kind Of
golf, but it is not the only kind. Among
other nations and on other soils it
ceases to be even a possible kind. The
question comes TO be then, VIII st.
Andrews choose to be the leader and
moving spirit of a body which will con-
slider and minister to the needs of all
or will 1t maintain its own ancient
privilege so as to destroy its own USE
fulness and shatter into fragments the
dream of federation of the goIfing
world?"
Golf Illustrated, however, smites the
proposition hip and thigh, saying:
The more one considers the proposal
of the United States Golf Association
for a universal code Of rules drawn I'D
by worlds conference, at which the
Royal and Ancient Club the United
States Golf Association and any other
recognized national association should
meet on an equal footing, the more one
wonders how a common sense people
like the Americans could ever have put
1t forward. The United States Golf As
sociation complains that American ideas
are not considered in the framing of
the rules, but one would like to know,
in the first place, what are the American
ideas. Are they the ideas of the United
States Golf Association or of the West
ern Gold Association and of the numer-
Gus golfers and clubs who disown these
ideas and are endeavoring to suppIant
the parent body with a national asso-
citation, and frame what they call "a
snappy American code abolishing the
stymie and other cardinal features of
the game? It occurs to one that before
the United States Golf Association de-
mandS an equal voice in the making of
the rules it should at least be able to
say that it represents American ideas
and opinions
But even supposing that the Ameri- |
cans were agreed as to what the laws
of golf should be, on what principle do |
they demand that We should submit the |
laws of one of our own Oldest national !
games to their criticism and amend
ment? 1t is, no doubt, a misfortune for :
golf that the Americans can neither /
agree among themselves nor follow any |
longer the st. Andrews rules, but the |
is much more Americas !
than ours, and the attempt to fasten the |
onus of disruption on st. Andrews is |
neither candid. generous nor Just
But supposing that the worlds con-
ference was agreed on, and that the
American, Irish, Welsh, French, Ger