Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-07-31
GOLF GOSSIP

l.
| ers who appeared in the British cham
picnship at St Andrews came in for.
no end OF praise at the hands of the
writer's of the British daily papers.
and a liberal amount of comment In
the various golfing magazines on the
other side of the Atlantic, the Ameri-
can professionals who competed in the
open championship at Hoylake were
ell but disregarded by the daily prints.
As the various golf publications
reach this side, however. the interest
attached to the appearance Of the
Americans Is shown TO have been UNI
usually great, and the experts over
there speak with great respect of the
American golf displayed. Probably the
most interesting is the comment OF
Robert H. K Browning on THE Amer
lean Invaders He says, in part:
Il was naturally more interested in
the methods of the American octet
than those with which was already
familiar, and 1t is appropriate to say
something about them In connection
with the qualifying rounds rather than
elsewhere for the simple reason that
only two OF the eight pulled through
and neither of these two by any con-
spicuous margin of safety.
Lest this should seem to be sheer
at their play. let me hasten to add that
the unanimous opinion of our own pro
fessionals Is that the Americans es-
pecially the three homebreds are
jolly good players. But five of the
eight had to play in that crowded first
oo.fS<.~ <~,x<1t&f<S.,- ~.
probably more unfavorable to them
than anybody else and there 1t was |
Even McDermott only qualified by a |
margin of about two inches, that be.
ing the distance by which he cleared |
the bunker guarding the last green
when he had not stroke to spare.
Americans Quiet and unassumine.
Let me say here that there was no
thing at Hoylake of that Yankee
swank' about which some very aillyI
things have been said. 4 quieter.
cans 1t would be hard to find, and,
indeed, the only obvious popularity /
about them is their costume No
white shirts today. said one Of their /
English rivals when the rain came I
down, and instead the Americans
we're all wearing close fitting sleeve /
,Rdistcoats Of knitted wool. braided as /
to the edges and pockets, and migiltyl
delicate and tasteful as to the color
ing This. together with their whital
or gray flannel trousers Of q quite /
American bagginess, made q highly /
picturesque costume which contrastedI
strangely with the quieter modes OF /
our own men, Il was noteworthy i
that they all adopted the same drill
sergeant style of putting heels close
together. stand at attention. grasp your
aluminium putter at the top, tap the
ball gently into the hole. They did +
not seem to putt either better or worse
than the English players"
Another publication has the follow
ing to say about the American con
tingent: Cardigan jackets were i
worn by all the American competitors
In the championship except John I
Jones. Jones, who is little more than
five feet in height and of enormous
proportions, sported a gray alpaca
jacket and a big white sun hat. He
did not have the figure Of golfer, but +
he certainly played remarkably well.
even though he didn't qualify. Where
he was beaten was in his lack Of |
length from the tees. Jones. curiously
enough is q native OF Hoylake. He /
omigrated from there many years ago.
"McDermott, who was unquestion- +
ably the best of the American contin-
gent, has two strong features in his
game. his iron shots up to the green
and his putting. His play with the
iron was some of the best seen during
the meeting His attitude while putt.
ing is unusual in this country, al I
though the method is commonly asopt.
ed in America. He stands quite i
straight, with his heels close to
gether, and he grips his club at the
extreme end of the shaft 1t looks as
il he would have no control over the
club. He does, however, for it is very !
seldom that he misses anything under
a couple of yards.
Elsewhere in this same issue q i
writer says that McDermott is to. be
congratulated in being among the prize
winners, "as We feel sure that he does
not get many opportunities of playing |
Under such weather conditions"
Putting by the Americans.
Somewhat of question seems to /
have been raised in the British mind |
by the putting of the Americans, for
one of the analytical writes comments
as follows: The most consistent and |
successful putters at this champion
ship are the American professionals, |
although their methods cannot be
called attractive to watch. They all
putt in the same way, standing up
right, with their feet close together,
and they hold the putter by the ex-
treme upper end of the handle, which. |
again, is pressed hard against their
'tumnlies., 1t almost seems to be a |
case of You press the button and the |
putter. does the rest They also hit |
the ball with descending club. so |
that at its start the ball is slightly
pinched against the ground, Never /
theless, they lay the long ones dead