The sun., 1919-10-12
WOMEN GOLFERS
SOON TO EXCEL MEN
John Anderson Declares Fair
Players Are Making More
Rapid Progress.
LIVELY BALL BIG AID
Miss Hollins Has Developed
Into One Of the Longest
Hitters in Country.
LIVELY BALL BIG AID
ny JOHN G. ANDERSON.


will travel when resuming Its forme,
shape. and beyond that average leng.i
city the crashing smash of a Herror
or Guilford can send the rubber coreG
pellet
On these latter occasions there is sci.
dom long run after lighting. 1t is far
different with the more gently hit ball
Runs of forty TO fifty yards are not un,
common, and when the turf is firm oil
, hard. It Is simple matter for a short
low driver to keep UP with a free hitter
whose every distance is all carry.
Women golfers as general rule, can.
not get into the drive with enough aban.
Don and punch to secure an immoderate
carry. Miss Hollins has developed LATE.
~ into long hitter from the tee, rival.
ling almost Mrs. Quentin Beitner, per.
haps the hardest hitter among the ranks
OF lady golfers.
But the great majority Of women play
ers are content to hit the ball soundly
depending upon run of thirty to forty
yards to bring their drives up to the
200-yard mark. At Shawnee, In spite
OF an unreasonable stretch of weather
which left the turf soft. the average
drive OF the qualifying contestants In
the championships was over 1856 yards
| with that distance as n minimum, to 21O
as maximum average for the play
over eighteen holes.
That Is, thirty yards farther than was
had Ave years ago, most of the added
distance coming in the perfection Of the
golf ball, with not over a fourth per.
| hhps, in the skill advancement of the
Players themselves, for we doubt very
much If the golfers OF to-day surpassed
In driving power Miss Curtis, Miss
Hecker (now Mrs c. T. Stout, or Miss
| Bessie Anthony.
But, whereas the average difference in
| driving distance between the men and
the women was over fifty yards five
years ago. the yardage differences to-
day has been reduced to thirty or
thereabouts. The crack which the ex-
pert gives the ball nowadays imparts a
terrific underspin, which In a measure
precludes much run after lighting. The
gentler hitter keeps the ball OIL a more
even plane. so to speak. and there is a
| consequent following run after landing
EVIDENCE of this was seen in the final
! and semi-final rounds of the Z. G. A.
championship, where only Mcleod, who
hit the ball less severely secured much
or a run from the tee--with Macdonald
| and Barnes carrying far. to drop. or
| rather droop, to earth with little fight
| left in the run OF the ball.
Denied Ball Ideal for Women.
1t is we'll known, of course, that an
easily dented ball with a plastic centre
is ideal for the women and there are
plenty OF brands on the market to satisfy
| their wishes in the securing long drives
| 1t Is quite as difficult for a male golfer
to hit ball of 80 pennyweights as it
, Is for woman golfer to play with a
"3l." as sheer weight prevents the club
head from going through with the neces-
sary speed hitting the heart of the ball
as II we're.
But it is quite withR the province OF
| a woman player to use a 49," which is
the same weight used by half the male
golfers. The superiority OF added dis
lance in a ball IL thus swallowed up at
once and only the science and strength
of the different golfers form the basis OF
comparison. We believe that ten golfers
from that list of qualifiers In the ma
| tional championship, say Miss Stirling,
Mrs. Vanderbeck, Miss Holiins, Mrs.
Gavin, Mrs. Barlow. Miss Caverly, Mrs.
Stetson, Mrs. Jackson. Mrs. Let's. Miss
Rosenthal or Miss Peacock. could meet
and defeat quarter of a million male
golfers in this country. that they would
not only output. but actually outdrive
this number and be able to hold their
own with the next hundred thousand.
Shawnee was a good test of the game
and nearly every one OF the players men
toned had more than one round under
SO. At most of the metropolitan links half
the membership cannot play round under
95. In their defence, however, II may
be said that most OF them have never
taken lessons and that 95 per cent. OF
women have. which is an object lesson
for those who would scout the efficiency
of the teaching of the professional
pnf Ia ha hal oh
has enabled the women players to as
sumo rivalling position in sport.
Women to Play Men.
We had thought that some effort would
be made last season for a match between
ten representative men golfers and ten
women stars. This contest would have
been held II the war had lasted, we
know. but the ending Of hostillties ended
the great need for securing funds for war
purposes and the effort languished.
However. we may say with surety
that in 1890 there will be a match OF
this kind. which will determine just how
near we are to the truth of the state
ment that the standard of women's golf
in America Is high enough to discount
the stroke every other hole, which has
been the usual handicap allowed in Great
Britain in contests Of this nature
ouimet to-day Is little better than he
was In 1913 at the time of his playoff
with Vardon and Ray. Evans did not
indicate In his golf this year that he
was better than his 1915 form, and the
same was true OF many others, but It
was a different story with the women.
There were many more of them nearing
the heights of ambition in golf. none
seemed to have lost much ground. while
the general average Of play. to our way
OF thinking. taking into consideration all
the Journeys which were held this year.
was Is to 20 per cent higher than in
any previous year
It must always be remembered that
golf is three-ouarters science and skill
and one-quarter strength, and II the wo-
men continue TO take lessons year after
year there will be still greater improve
ment looking toward the time when as
a class they will excel the men that Is.
the general average for the number of
women players will be higher SO far as
their part Is concerned than the standard
for the men.
The Shawnee tournament produced
better putting than any previous cham
pionship for women. Since It Is agreed
that putting is 80 per cent. or 30 OF the
game there Is no handicap involved there.
Competition has made women less ner-
vous and more capable with the putter,
while, as we remarked before, an equal
ling process has been evolved through
the evolution Of the lively rubber core
Nineteen hundred and nineteen will
go down In feminine golfng history as
the year Of rapid progress plus the rise
OF a new group OF golfing youngsters