Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-02-11
JOHNNY McGRAW ESSAYS
THE ROYAL AND ANCIENT
By cHRIsTY MATHEWsoN.

BY CHRISTY MATHEWSoN.
Capt. T. L. Huston, in partnership
with Col. Rupert, purchased the New
York Americans and then he turned
| around and bought a set of left hand
ed golf clubs, which he presented to
John McGraw with these words:
Here you are, John. Pack up these
| clubs and go down to Havana and
| play golf. Sorry cant go along to
teach you the game"
Capt Huston, who made a big repu-
tation down in Cuba as a great con-
tractor, having spent lot of his life
fixing up the harbors of the island so
that regular sships could get in, real
ICES that right now he has one of the
! biggest contracts on his hands that
he ever undertook win cham
pionship with the Yankees.
As part. of the cast of characters
Honus Lobert and I came along to as
sist in any little way we could in the
effort to teach Mac" to play golf
with left-handed clubs. and our pres
ent address is the Havana Country
club and links.
McGrsw Abuses the Ball.
In the first place, McGraw, in my
opinion, Is not of Just the right tenn
permanent to play the Scotch game
perfectly. since he insists on talking
to the ball as If he had personal
grudge against it and talking to his
opponents as If he had a personal
grudge against them. He has already
made his first stab at the sport ana
with his opening shot he narrowly
missed hitting an innocent golfer who
was standing almost abreast of him
and just off the tee. He thought he
was safe, but you cannot feel altogeth-
er secure even right behind McGraw.
Left handed golfers are like left-hand-
ed pitchers when they start-neither
one has much idea where the ball is
going.
IF had pitcher as wild as am,
declared McGraw to me after his first
attempt, che would go back to the
bushes after had had one look at
him."
A few holes of golf wears MeGraw's
voice all out-he is that kind OF a
player. To hear him talk after he has
finished round you would think that
he had been at an afternoon tea of
umpires, he is that hoarse. The links,
following his first start, looked as if
the Allies and Germans had been
fighting over them and digging
trenches. However, MAC" is deter
mined to stick to it and see it through.
the one hard drive he made the first
day convincing him that he must
continue until he got another three
Dagger if il took him the rest of his
life. I think it may, too, from the
prospects now But he has fine eye.
His swing is little short but he will
get the knack of it. Too bad he has
to play left handed! That is handi-
cap. As McGraw stood on the first
tee the opening day and numbered
his driver he looked at the rest of us
and said: =
Doesn't Want o'Day to Know.
Who would ever have thought that
/ would come to this? Don't let Hank
O'Day get picture postcard of me
or / win never win another argument
from him as long as live. He will
have it on me. I'd like to meet John
D. after little practise and take him
on" Mac is nothing if not ambitious.
That one good drive on the first day
has caught McGraw He had never
played golf before, and he has always
believed that the game was bad for
ball players, especially the hitters.
He never minded the pitchers playing
SO much if they did not go round the
links on the mornings of days when
they had to work. It is true that Is
or Sc holes of golf will take lot of
the snap and vitality out of a man
when he has to pitch a game of ball
in the afternoon. / discovered this
last season and cut out playing on
DAYS that I expected to work.
Some of the players on the Giants
used to get UP at 5 and o'clock in
the morning and go out and plav a
round and be back at the Polo
grounds in time to report for morning
practise at 1890. AS a result they
We're dead on their feet in the after
noon. For these reasons Mac shut
down on all golf playing.