Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-02-03
GOLF GOSSIP

IN ulScuSSIDS TIRE 'ulII6FSDCe DSINSSu
the present golf and that Of half a
century ago, Harold Saunders takes
up the point that the modern game
makes even. greater demands on the
player than the old one He writes
in the World of Coli:
$50 far as big events are concerned
| the season is at an end. There does
not remain single championship
even in Switzerland-still to I've de-
cided.t The celebrities who aspire to
these distinctions return to their WIN
| ter quarters, and for the next few
months we shall hear of them no
more, except possibly as the winners
OF uninspiring club competitions. The
neglected monthly medalist comes
Into his own again. Most of us are
rather proud of the fact that golf is
played all the year round, but think
| 1t must be regarded as a wise dispen-
sation OF Providence that we are al
lowed brief respite from the per-
formances. which now tumble on the
heels of one another when the season
| is at it's height. This year more than
ever before it has been nothing but a
Hong series of surprises. If it had
LASTED much longer the ordinary news
Paper reader would, have been worn
tout, like poor Mr.. 0uimet. For golf
has become almost Tas strenuous and
Iexciting for the man who follows it in
1.-THE papers as it is for the player who
competes in the events on which the
attention of the world is focused.
"A Serious Game.
/ Golf is essentially serious game.
The pictures Of the ancient worthless
| who used to play at St. Andrews and
Musselburgh show by the firm look of
their mouths that they played in any.
thing but a light-hearted spirit. But
their seriousness was as nothing com.
pared with the high tension of the
golfer of today. The aneients used e
lball which behaved itself as soberly
as the players themselves. The mod
Tern inventions are simply compressed
energy. They are fall of life and sen.
sitiveness, and they impose a degree
i of caution on the player which would
fhaye been unimaginable to the user OF
the .'feathery' or quite. A respect
fully sympathetic gallery watched
the old golfer make his recovery from
d bunker. Now the player In stint
/ lar position finds himself hinged about
with a battery of cameras. They
click simultaneously as the shot Is
made. u. ~
s. How tremendous is the ordeal oil
playing in big tournament particu'
larly If you happen to WINS shown
! by Mr.. 0uimet. There are good
many men who cannot stand It.
know of one who went through sew
teral rounds Of the amateur handicap,
and whose relief when he was ulti
mately beaten was certainly as great
as the elation of the successful final
list. The ideal temperament for golf
is a never-failing topic of interest
simply because no two people are
agreed as to what is the ideal tenn
/ permanent. Perhaps there is no such
thing. To ordinary players with, han
dicaps of anything from, say, 10 to "a
the ordeal of crowded first tee on
a Sunday morning is about as severe
a test as could be imagined. You see
them making practise swings as they
/ wait their turn, obviously trying te
/ obey all the laws they have read in
the textbooks. ! know how they feel
also know that IL you start with a
determination to obey all the rules
/ for making successful drive the
chances are that the ball will scnffle
! ANONYMOUSLY into the rough 80 or 4t
yards in front of the tee.
Il
BE Natural.
For the player who has acquired nc
very great ability, it is better not tc
allow considerations of SLOW back
and the thousand and one other things
| that ought to be remembered to be
come an obsession. The shot that is
| made with comparatively little
] thought is often far more successful
than that in which all the rules are
4 consciously obeyed Doubtless, as the
authorities tell us, the principles are
| subconsciously observed. 1t is wheI
4 a player aspires to the highest hon
ors that complete concentration is nee
! essary. No one can play as most o.
the assistants played in the "Perriel
| Water" competition with much hope
of winning a championship. They
gave one the impression of playing
golf as naturally as duck takes &c
| water. and they entered on a round
! very much in. the incdnsequentiaI
| manner of one of these birds entering
a pond. This was how Duncan used
| to play. But before Duncan could
| come into his kingdom he had to exer
else an extraordinary amount of self
! discipline. This is why the modern
game is such business to the mer
| who hope for fame.
Stephen T. Williams widely known
AS the first business efficiency expert