Evening star., 1915-06-21
FANClES IN GOLF SHOTS
CHANGE WITH SEASONS
Long Driving Commands Most Attention
Now, Though Once Putting and
Approaching Had Their Day.

Opinions of golfers concerning the
relative merits of certain shots change
with the seasons, writes John Ander-
son in the New York Sun. Shots are
in fashion or out of fashion. 1t seems
a trife incongruous, too. that the vary
ing ideas should be controlled, not by
sane thinking. but by the spectacular
excellence of some one or two players
who win a championship or two, or
else startle their community by an un-
wonted but timely excellence In shot
which may not, however. remain an
established fixture 1t is not my in
tention to speak of the pros and cons
of the arguments in favor of the vari-
Gus golf shots, but rather to trace the
attitudes of the golfing mind during
the past twenty years and show how
all of US drift back over the beaten
path.
Today finds us where we were twenty
years ago, when long driving was the
capital thing When golf was first
introduced into this country driving
was the all-important element. To be
able to send the gutta percha ball a
distance of 175 yards gave a distinc-
ton which seemed well merited. and
little attention was paid to whether
the short game was worth a fig or not.
The introduction of the rubber core
ball gave an added impetus to long
distance driving, for it was possible
for the former short driver to outdis-
| tance all previous records of the cham
pion gutta driver. 1t was not long,
however. until the necessity of learn
ing how to stop the ball on the greens
became quite evident, and the credit
given to the far smiter was handed
over to the man who could put stop"
on the ball. Harry Vardon's visit in
1901 gave an inkling as to how the
ffrht Jx1 1
also that the short game was most i'm
portant If low scoring was to be done.
Then came the year 1904, when Wal
ter J. Travis carved his name in i'm
mortal letters on the Sandwich green's
and won the British amateur cham
pionship. Both long driving and the
short game were thrown into the dis
card. SO far as the premier position of
concerned. week after the title had
been won IT impossible to get
Schenectady putter anywhere. Yet it
was not long before the trend of
thought shifted Willie Anderson.
pionship of the United States, was a
! marvel with his irons, playing a back
spin approach equaled only by Aleck
Smith with the pneumatic ball in his
, palmest days. Anderson, with his
powerful yet extremely supply wrists
seemed to have premium placed on
his approach play, and popular opinion
again put that part of the game in
favor.
sv
Some Long Drives .
Then came another change, which can
be traced as much to the manufacturers
of golf balls to anything else When
people said that the short game tin-
cludins putting and approaching) was
the all ll-important thing the balls nut
out were of the old pneumatic type.
which were supposed to putt as did
the old eutta and fall dead when, land
ing from an iron When these were
too dead to give satisfa etion, and, also
when the courses were being made
longer and harder. the balls We're de-
signed for extreme lIveliDess. Then
came the reports of the remarkable
length OF driver shots. w II. Horne
of Chertsey. with his 3S3-yard shot in
a tournament, and James Brdids 400
yarder at the last hole at Walton
| Heath and George Duncan's 379-yard
| shot were emblazoned in every adver-
tising way, and soon in our own land
we began to hear about wonderful
drives being made. Gilbert Nichols.
| Otto Hackbarth and others of few
wears back made tremendous drives,
which Were heralded everywhere, and
| so it was no wonder that allegiance
mel.
But not for long. The four time win
ner of the amateur championship, Je-
| rome Travers. welding his trusty put
| ter mana ged to slice into traps, to hook
| into the rough, and yet never was
| beaten until he had missed his putt To
| his splendid iron. play was added the
acute and sensitive touch. a sort of
sixth sense, which enabled him to run
down puts with amazing regularity,
His success and that Of others gifted In
this manner caused Travers. in an
article, to term it THE Winning Shot
Few disagreed with this dictum. and
although personally / agree with Fl. H.
| Hilton that the decisive shot, if there
is one. is that "shot up to the hole
still we find the putt holding firm in
l the hearts of many thinking golfers.