The sun., 1918-12-23
AMERICAN is MOST
RABTD OF GOLFERS
John Anderson Cites Many In
stances Of Yankees De-
vOt.Ua to Game.
BY JOHN G. ANDkpsoN.

BY JOHN C. ANDkRsoN.
The Frenchman COLTS when the mood
strikes him, the Irishman when he IL
sure there will be a gathering and n
nineteenth hole discussion afterward, the
Englishman goes at the game nationally,
the Scotsman minds neither rain nor
mist 80 long as q match Is assured. but
the American representatives OF this a.
turing sport not only defy the elements
out often insist upon golfing when
practical common sense seems to insist
upon staying at home.
This particularly is true when winter
sets In. The INKS. when bare Of snow.
| md many devoted followers of the game
moving hither and thither despite almost
zero weather. Where the real pleasure
| comes in is question which two golfers
can discuss in perfect accord unless one
happens TO be a winter golf bug.
IL yOu are a snow and Ice enthusiast
you will hearken to the true story OF the
man who played over the Slwanoy course
Just year ago to-day, In the Snow Bird
Cup competition. and who managed TO
| hole out on the fourth hole in 81 strokes.
The ice around the hole, placed un-
Willingly on n slope. made the putting
matter of at least 40 feet every time.
somewhere near a record, / should mag
inc. and after this he went serenely on
! his way as IL n 5 or a had been his
portion.
Now we hear of a Christmas open
| tournament arranged by Linde Fowler,
chairman OF the tournament committee,
at the Wollaston Golf GLIB. near Boston.
doubt not that II the day is at all
| pleasant threescore OF golfers will bundle
10, taSa
and a lot of other impediments, and.
leaving their home with never muir
mer OF regret, HE to the links.
Home of Golf Enthusiasts.
| Surely the power of this game Is con-
clusively manifest. While we may .ad-
nit that the golfers OF other nations
display at once both hArdlhood. interest
and love toward the sport, we must grant
the claim of America ana her golfers to
the devotion champiohship. In other
lands there are golf tends. but not 30
many as are with N. We outnumber
them ten 10 one.
Where else will you ind such golfing
cranks-the term 10 used In friendly
way-as those who spend their lives,
we might almost say. at our goIfing
hotels7 Hundreds OF them now are
planning to go South after having been
golf visitors at summer golf hotels FOR
months. How some of these thousands
keep a voting residence 10 difficult to ex-
plain, for the golf seasons overlap and
the first and the last OF the seasons find
, these old boys right on deck.
There Is one squad Of fifty or 30 with
a regular routine and route. They come
I'D from Palm Beach to Bellealr. thence
to White Sulphur Springs. New London,
Manchester. Vermont and then repeat
We know of another group which makes
Pinthurst the goal. taking In Hot
Springs and Manchester. Mass. A third
body of golfers tours Eastern, Southern
and Western resorts whose names are
bywords in the golf travellers vocabu-
larry.
Nowhere else IN tho wide world Is
there such extravaganza Of devotion,
such strenuosity OF effort to be IN at
the beginning and the finish OF golf
events. When the day is over and the
golfers are seated round the dinner
table or stand watching the evening
dance party they talk OF naught but
golf II is as astonishing MS true, but
proves that more Americans can be
found who love the game to distraction
than In any other cline Continental
hotels and resorts have not as yet de-
| veloped this mania attraction.
"won on Last Green"
One significant feature is that very
few of these par golf enthusiasts arc
better than fair players, although with
out an exception all have stories OF big
matches won on the last green. Need
| less, perhaps. 10 say. all these chaps
have enough money to avoid worry,
which is a good thing in the case of a
few, but bad for Others. since 1t gives
| them the whole twenty-four hours II
necessary TO worry about their game.
which spoken worries, II put Into print,
would fill countless volumes.
stu II IS a grand thing for the E1me
Of golf to have such men and to have 90
many OF them. Thousands OF golfers
follow the reports OF how such and such
a. golfer Is playing. although they have
never seen him. but the many times that
! he has played at such 4 place or IN
certain tournament makes his name a
| familiar byword and gives to tho game
| itself standing of greater honor and
praise.
Across the water the most ardent will
find time to discuss politics for some
! portion OF the day. but in our land. be-
! fore the war at least, any such disputes
would have been broken In minute by
some impatient chap asking the gather
ing Aow to cure a slice. The gentleman
OF part leisure in Great Britain and on
the Continent was moro wont to divide
his spare days between rod and gun
the men of similar financial station in
our own land more often than not play
golf and then more golf. It's lucky
thing tho game brings health. or the
nerves would react numerically. Here
are q. few facts which may interest golf
ing brethren abroad who may question
In,a IN tho deviation fifiA
Some Ardent Devotees.
In the last Ave years a dozen men
whom know we'll have spent less than a
month at their own homes Golf at
hotel courses provided for the remainder
| OF the year. Fifty golfers easily selected,
have never missed tournament at sew
eral of the famous Southern resorts. A
dozen golfers, not competitors, never
have missed an open or amateur ma
tIonal championship, although IL meant
| in some cases travelling thousands of
miles Others play golf 1928 days In
every year. These are statistics which
deal with four or five score OF golf trip
pers, and there are hundreds like them.
American golfers as a class how down
with unctuous respect before the shrine
OF golf Some day we may produce a
| figure who will rival In enthusiasm old
! Alexander Mcclellan, often called the
Cock o. the Green,
| Mcclellan lived when golf was young.
He was a player who brought fame TO
himself as we'll as to the game because
OF his intense enthusiasm. II the
| -,.a thar would Mt all nermit he would hA