Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-01-30
Little Real Joy Out Of Golf.

Little Real Joy Out Of Golf.
The facts had been most correctly
stated. Among the women who play
ed at Enslewood that day. especia lily
among the best of them, there had
been a total absence of that morose
masculine stolidity which character
ICES all of our male-conducted tourna.
ments. Both from experience ana
from close observation ! can say that
of tournament golf. They may quarrel
with this statement, but the truth OF
il is undeniable.
when men play in a qualifying round,
the spectacle Is not only ,, im pre- into
a bunker brings to the player an an
euish beyond all words. A sliced drive
means intense suffering. while sliced
putt. close to the hole, pierces the poor
mans heart with the poisoned arrow
ola woe that may not be assuaged.
When men play in tournaments they
move from tee to tee and from green
to green with the gravity that one
might feel in msSching out to bury the
The sky may be blue, the earth may
be green and the surrounding hills
may be white or crimson. but their
strained vision looks only ahead-to
the ball and to the flag in the distance
beyond OF friendly conversation there
is little or none. They are at heart
much like the two Scotchmen, one OF
whom at the sixteenth hole finally said
"Dom," as he missed a putt. only to be
berated by his partner for being
Now, I don't mean to say that wom-
en- esteem it an abiding bliss to top a
mashie into bunker, or to miss a
short putt. but if one of these unhappy
events should take place 1t is not near
~ SO tragic a circumstance as when il
takes place with man. And II any
annoyance is shown or felt by women
| il is quickly dispelled by a laugh or by
some good-natured comment.
That day at Englewood, when Miss
Ravenscroft or Miss Dodd or Miss Hol-
Inns had driven from the tee. they were
off down the course, laughing and chat
ting together as if they were solely
bent on being happy and not on win.
ming a silver mug.
A Reply in RebuttaI.
WELL" you might reply in rebuttal
| their game shows the effect of intro
ducing such a dangerous element as
| fun into tournament play"
Quite so, and yet that afternoon, with
| strong wind scurrying across the
course and conditions against good
medal play, Miss Ravenscroft returned
| an 81 on her first round trip. Her
mind had been sufficiently upon the
long. in two shots with very favorine
| wind: a result that should satisfy the
| mental concentration Of any masculine
| player in the land. That tournament
was not the only exhibition of the fem
| mime golfing temperament which
| have in mind.
Shortly before the Englewood match
| the woman's golf championship of the
United States had been staged at Viii.
| mington, Del. Miss Dodd AMI Miss
, Ravenscroft were entered, and 1t was
| almost certain that one Of the two Wis
| itors would win. They finally came to.
| gether for a great test match. Under
| the same conditions. two men, on the
| night before. would have. been keyed
| up to a high nervous pitch, sleepIess
| perhaps. and certainly under a heavy
| mental strain. Here was a champion.
! ship at stake for which two young la.
dies had Travelled 5000 miles. Let u,
see how impressive the occasion was t.
! them.
| Well. the night before the tourna
ment they went to a dance, stayed
there until 3 o'clock. and took the first
tee the next morning as II they were
Miss Dodd played very badly and wa:
soundly beaten, but. in SO far as any
dispiriting effect upon her could BIZ
discerned. she was having the time Of
drive she almost invariably laughed
complimented her rival on a good shot
and then the two together went arm II
arm down the course. with the loser ir
as good humor as the winner
| When the match was over the Loser
was effusive in her congratulations
and II she was insincere her form wa.
as remarkable as an actress as it wa.
as golfer. and-according to no les.
an authority than Harry vardon-hel
golfing form is not surpassed by tn.
best man player alive. She had ONLY
recently won the woman's champion
ship of Great Britain, so it was not Z
case of her submitting to an expected
jdefeat.
Can Learn From Women.
1t Is not my purpose here entirely I,
indorse the feminine attitude as exem
Iplified in the instances mentioned above
but II the average masculine collie
could come a trifie closer to that atti
tude he would not only have a mucl