The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-11-08
THE FARMER: NOVEMBER 8, 1913
YES, THE GOLFER
 IS LOONY-BUT ITS GREAT TO BE CRAZY!
By "GraVy''

When young Geary Steffen, alias l Willie Ritchie, took to the golf links
 to train for an important bout, he set 1 an example that may well be follow | ed not alone by, other boxers, but by people of all ages and conditions who | desire to improve their physical and | mental efficiency. The lightweight champion declares that the Scotch game has all other training stunts | beaten by a mile, and what is good for boxer is good for all, since life itself is battle, and strength, health and nerve are qualities much needed in the fight for business or professional success as in the ring.
 Scotland has long been famous for l a certain brand of appetizer that is put up in a bottle, but it does not com pare with the old f'Scooch croquet. ' After few hours on the links the
 average golfer is prepared to devour raw meat. As a recreation for the tired business man, musical comedy
 now has a threatening rival in the golf course.
 Visit any links and you will find business and professional men she'd ding their worries and cares-and som etines their coats and waistcoats and entering into the game with all the zest and spirit of boys playing three old cat" You will, if you re- peat the visits, see fat men growing
  You will see old men, who ought by rights be sitting in chimney corners, prancing about like colts. with cheeks flushed and rosy, and inan ense1y proud of their prowess.
 At first acquaintance golf may not Seem attractive, but after a little ex- perience on the links the beginner feels the enthusiasm that sent Willie Ritchie back to Van Cortlandt Park day after day, in the earnest deter imitation to make the first hole in
 five. It has been said, by cynical on lockers, that golf is a disease, but if so 1t is a most benefieent one that proIongs instead of shortening life Anyway, there is no demand for a serum to cure the disease. Golf exercises and develops most of the vital organs and the principal muscles of the body, and in addition the long walks in the open air are naturally highly beneficial. The man who would take cab or street car to cover three blocks in the city will walk ten miles over a golf course, and finish strong and hearty and able to sit up and take nourfShnent in large quantities.
 The skill and accuracy that must be brought to bear in driving and put ting necessitate steady nerves and a keen vision, and the exercise makes the golfer gulp down vast quantities of ozone. This takes the kinks out of decadent lungs and makes deep breathing habit. On the links a fat man develops suppIeness, and many gradually decrease in weight, and a multitude of women inclined to obesity have found golf the best reducer.
 The late Tom Morris, who was known all over Scotland and England as t'the father of golf,'' was an ex- cellent example of what golf will do in warding off the disabilities of old age. He was nearing four score and ten when he died, and when well past his eightieth year his arm was al most as strong and his eye as keen as ever. His life was devoted to golf, more than that of any other man who ever lived, and he reaped the reward in a long, contented and happy life, practically free from illness
 There are many books telling how to play golf, and some of them are excellent. A perusal of one of them, merely to gain a general idea of the game and its technical terms, is de- sirab1e, but do not be discouraged if the writer makes golf seem to be very complex. The best way to learn to play golf is to play 1t. At almost any golf course you will find plenty of willing critics, whose advice,5 if none too complimentary, will be of value and will goad you to greater efforts.
 You will remember those who sheer at your style of play, and it will be happy day, and one long to be treasured in memory, when you have so improved your game as to be able to defeat one. of your former detract- ors. You will not mar the pleasant occasion by rubbing it in'' on your vanquished rival. Far be it from you. Yousnay casually remark that he does very well for one of his size and in telIigenee, using the same tone af- fected by an old man when he pats a small boy on the head and calls him e'bub'' You will magnanim ousIy promise to take a day off some day and give him a few lessons. But you will not be spiteful nor mean, nor say anything that might hurt his feelings or recall to his mind the aspersions he once cast on you. Of course not.
 Golf has a moral danger, however, in the temptation to the beginner to use his hands or feet, instead of his niblick, in getting a ball out of diff ffcuIt place. If nobody is looking, what difference does it make, you say to yourself. Doubtless many men who have enviable regulations for honesty have chated themselves in this manner. Then, too, there is the inneetive to make use of such lurid language as you may have picked up by association with bad men, when the pesky ball, with the uncanny devilishness of inanima;te things seeks refuge on the most difficult spot on the course. Not even a, collar button can use such apparently impish and maIevolent intelligence in searching out a hiding place as the little pellet of gl1tta. percha that answers to the description of a golf ball.
 Not until you have overcome the wild des1re to cheat yourself and eradicated from your system all tend ency to cuss words, can you claim a place among the imperturbabIe elect, fol. there is an unwritten law that the true golfer must have moral as well as physical and mental self control k One of the most attractive things about golf is that it looks so easy, to the novice, to swat the ball precisely on the trademark and drive it in any