Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-02-06
MODERN GOLF
SUPERIOR To
ANCIENT CAME
Evans Describes Contest on Isle
Of Wight Between Present-Day
Players and Veterans.
Bv "Chick' Evans.

a WONDERFUL change mas
"A come over golf since the days
of the hard ball. Scores dur
ing that time were much higher, but
We are assured the gutta percha lent
itself more readily to the short game
and putting must have been great
deal easier. A novel four-ball match
nook place the other day in the Isle of
Wight on the course of the Royal Isle
of Wight Club at Bembridge, Eng
land. 1t was called Ancients vs. Mod
ems. The Ancients were c. Jacobs,
the Chicago professional, and Gallo
vav the professional at the Oakley
Country Club in this country In the
summer, and who spends his winters
in France and Switzerland. The An
clients used gutta percha balls and
some old time clubs belonging to ia
coos. The Moderns were Stanley ia
cohs and Lionel Galloway, sons of the
-Ancients and these up-to-date young
men had an up-to-date equipment Of
clubs and rubber cored balls,
-
y clients belong to a set used by old
Tom Morris so years ago. among
them a brassie made by Tom Kidd,
St. Andrews celebrity. Unfortunately
age had not improved the condition
Of the clubs and a McEwan midspoon
and Tom Morris short spoon broke
at the neck. These accidents left the
"a ol,,l t0
proach except a Carrick lofted cleek
with head six inches long.
The gutta halls were hand-ham-
mered Goudie and a twenty-year-o
Silvertown. With these the Ancients
reached the green's on the long holes
in three, apparently they found the
heavy balls much easier to control
than the elusive rubber core, for they
putted we'll and were only bunkered
twice. The breakage of the clubs
probably cost them the game for the
MOderns were three up in the eight
cen holes. They had score of IT,
one over the scratch score of the
course. The Ancients made 81. I I'M
derstand that when their equipment
was in use at Bembridge the scratch
score was "a.
The Ancients were rather pleased
than otherwise with the old fash
toned clubs and they believe that a
little practice with them would en-
able a modern player to use them to
pretty good advantage on an up-to-
date course.
JACOBS has a fine collection of old
J cluos, in addition to a number of
Tom Morris favorites, he has a Nc
Evan spoon, a Robert Forgan long
spoon, a McEwan putter, a Carrick
nbliek and a club with somewhat the
same loft as a midiron, but with a
longer and deeper face. This club
was called a sand-iron and was used
from l ~ yards down to a chip from
the edge of the green.
Jacobs oldest club is a Jimmy AL
Ian long brassie that formerly be-
longed to Henry Lamb. The old irons
are wonderful to look upon. The old
woodens have very whippy shafts and
this fact handicapped Jacobs and
Galloway in their recent match.
The Ancients versus Moderns' four
some was not only interesting in it
self, but it was doubly so because
Of the opportunity it gives us for
comparison of the game before Mr..
Haskell made his interesting inven-
ton and afterward allowing for the
poor conditions of the old clubs, the
lack of practice with them and the
hard ball, the result does not show
that we have so very much the better
OF our forefathers.