New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-02-07
By HEYW Cd BROUN.

When you come to the ethics Of sport
golf seems to Us incomparably the
highest in its morals. a player goes
his way without any attempt TO beneht
by the weaknesses of his opponent.
The fact that A has driven 80 yards
makes IL no whit harder for 10 do the
same unless b is peeved into pressing.
There IS nothing of the strategy Of
baseball or football abou. golf. II
profts man nothing 10 brandish a
cleek i'm full view of his opponent and
then suddenly shift TO spoon. Nor IS
there ever any doubt about players
intention.
aims at the back Of he cup and
there 4 will attempt to 20 rather than
10 surprise b By attempting TO skirt
the edge Of the green.
Again the pitcher winds Up chiefly to
make II difficult for the batter 10
gauge the angle from which the ball
is coming. but the preliminary waggles
OF the golfer and the swing which fol
lows are innocent Of any deceltful IN
tent. Even though the caddie be an
adviser. II is forbidden that he should
shout "..t a boy when his man sinks
putt. or holler "Take i'm OUT just as
the opposing playe' is AZ the top OF ms
swing.
OF course the point may be carried
out much further. 1t would not be
difficult 10 show that football. particu-
larly the eminently uccessful laugh
ton brand is based almost entirely on
deception. Mathewson would be will
ing. and in fact pleased. 20 admit thar
his success as a pitcher lies. or shall
we say Law, In his ability to do some
thing which the batter did not expect,
10 fool him with a curve or bewilder
him with speed.
The golfer can make ball curve
much more sharply than any break
which Matty ever turned from his
wrist and a half topped drive comes
taste than Walter Johnson's best, but
the golfer finds no merit in these ac-
complshments.
II the non-golfer Viii admit that golf
is the fairest of all competitive sports
we will make him a concession. In
spite of the games lofty ethical stand
ards defeat in golf bears more Sc
yerely upon tho vanquIshed than In any
other sport. \ beaten football team
usually has certain amount of respect
for its adversaries. Boxing is even
more noteworthy In its ability 20 pro-
mote good feeling. 4 swing 90 the jaw,
if hard enough. has been known to cs-
ment many lifetime friendship. In
fact, boxing tends not only to bring
friends closer, but 20 Danish enmities.
The participants in grudge fight in
yariably shake hands at the end of the
battle.
But the loser in a game OF golf has
nothing but loath.ng for the man who
defeated him. lie has not been cowed
by the superior physical force of the
opponent or outwtted 20 such an eX-
tent that he must confess that he has
met superior intellect. II his defea.
has been By any margin less than seven
and s.N the yanquished man will talk
of luck If il has been by more than
that margin he will merely think OF
luck.
When d lighter has been severely de
featcd he invariably demands a return
match. but he does not mean IT, The
golfer does. No matter how badly be
may have been worsted. the beaten
golfer is confident that IL will be differ
ent next time. We have been losing
80 cents out. 30 cents in. and 81 on
the match TO the same man every other