The Washington times., 1915-06-13
SENSITIVENESS NECESSARY IN GOLF.

Personally, 1 am satisfied that, in or
der to be q champion golfef, d person
must have a good deal Of sensitiveness
in his nervous system. The man OF
sluggish disposition, the player with a
truly ''phlegmatic temperament" Chat
phrase which is SO often used approx
ingiy In regard to the Individual who
remains outwardly calm in a crisis)
would not be likely to rise to great
OF all games, golf is the one that
comes nearest to being an art. 1t Ia
pursued with deliberation and method
creation, since he is never called upon
to strike a moving ball the action OF
which has been Influenced by his rival.
It demands the greatest delicacy and
circumstances. the power to hit hard.
An art requires q sensitive nervous sys-
tenn. and in golf the difference between
the two sections Of frst-class players to
that one can keep its nerves under con-
troll during the most trying period and
the other cannot.
! must confess that It Is sometimes q
as much as anything for a kind of stub:
borness; a determination not to start
considering dozen possibilities and a
dozen different ways of achieving q pur-
pose at what the player feels to be the
membered that there is plenty Of time to
think at golf (you are not asked to
hurry over your stroke II you want to
reflect on ~. and It IL just this fact
sons favorably situated in tourna-
ment. As you walk up to your ball. in
stinctively you observe the kind OF shot
that Is wanted. II. then, you begin to
think about alternatives. or to pay too
IA xualI- M n n n
sells of a caddie, the chances are that
you will become flurried and confused.
And then your nerve will go.
The Value of the Undivided Mind
In Golf.
Let me tell a little story illustrating
the value OF what we may call an un-
divided mind. In the first champion
ship ever won land the first Is by far
the hardest to win) had to play of
with j. H. Taylor at Muirfield for the
title. We had tied In the competition
proper. Nearing the end, 1t was still
a question as to who would triumph,
and on the seventeenth green ! was
faced by long putt which had to be
played over undulating ground. I'm
mediately ! decided just which slopes
would take In order to reach the hole
wy 1oils "hV vas Soti yhi6
for me. pointed out a line which was
entirely different from that which ]
fancied. It was critical putt, for II
one went the wrong way the ball might
start off a slope and finish a consid-
the profoundest respect for my broth
er's gifts as a putter there have been
few better than Tom on the green), but
/ did not want to be shaken at this
stage. No" I said I'm going my
The putt was holsd, and 1t practi-
cally settled the championship. just
"cussedness," perhaps, but 1t is a use
full trait in the golfer. I have seen men
almost trembling with excitement al
the critical point in contest. and ye,
selves as to observe at once the best
thing to do and to play the shot per-
fectly.
For the great majority of persons. II
Is in connection with short pstts thai
nerves attain their most painful activity
There is nothing else in sport quite like
the short putt at golf. You know that
there can be no reasonable excuse fol
failing to knock ball into hole foui
feet distant cSsn Sna yet ns aa herf Here Is
haps, / may be permitted to remark
that the higher the reputation of the
player, and the more, therefore, that IL
expected of him. the greater are the
tTlalS OF tne bnOIL putt roT ali lHt
skill that II requires, he has no advan'
tage over the 2i-handlcap man, aand ht
realizes that, II he misses 1t, there will
be no chance of recovery. II will be
a hole lost or stroke gone.
Successful Putting Mainly a Matter
Of Confidence.
In all sincerity, | express the opinion
after having undertaken two lengthy
tours In tho United States, that Ansri.
cana ksitsra ere hsttss helsrs-eut thar