The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-11-03
THIS GOLFER WANTS
STANDARD BALL
Replies to Argument Against
Regulating Ball to Curb
Driving.
BY INNS BROWN.

tern of mouse traps toNthe League OF
Nations, including the playing of golf,
is a fairly essential condition to. prog
ress and a highly prevalent situation
in these turbulent times. Wherefore
is invited to letter recently
received anent the discussion OF stand
ardization of golf balls. An enthusiast
of the game, who tells of twenty-five
years of experience and signs himself
20. A. c." writes in as follows:
Dear Sir: In this mornings issue
I read your article re Standardizing
the Golf Ball. do not agree with
you that golfers Opposed to Stand
ard Ball." All my experience (since
1890 has been that players are anx-
ious to get down to something
standard. We have a standard
baseball. football tennis ball, rae
quet ball. basket ball, &C.. so why
not have a standard golf ball? That
Greenwich mans remarks on long
drives is all tommyrot What diff
ference does it make whether you
drive 40 yards or go If you fall
down on the other strokes? Ac-
curacy is what counts.
Many time have seen player
get off long drive while his OPP
ponent topped his, yet the latter gets
to the green with ''the like" and
wins the hole with one putt while the
long driver takes two or three.
Therefore, I maintain that long
drive Is not essential: there Is moth
ing In this Babe Ruth stuff. Golf is a
science, not a smuggling match. and a
standard ball, in my opinion, would
do the game a world of good. Let
the manufacturers go on improving
the ball and whoever gets out the
best one make that the standard.
o. A. c.
The writer of the above lays himself
open to convincing arguments on more
points than one In, the matter of COM
par ison between the medium of play In
golf and that Of the several other
games that he names, the answer &c
his argument may be found easily. In
all OF the games he mentions the bal
is a common medium of play-that is tc
say, each opposing force must use the
same ball Plainly it would be handi-
cap to one football team used to heavy
ball to make it play with another much
lighter to which the opposition ia used
to playing.
Cases Not Similar.
Likewise in tennis, basketball, base
ball and the others each player usei
the same ball. In order to make con-
ditions in this respect as fair as pos
sible for all, 1t has been good common
sense to adopt a standard medium Of
play. But these conditions do not hold
in golf. Each player is free to U.S.
whatever ball suits him. Some want 6
heavy ball, others light one. Let each
exercise his own choice. Golfers have
the privilege of trying out and adopt
ing the ball best suited to their play
which assures that none are handl
capped in the matter.
AS to the value of a little extra dis
lance, it Is hard to reconcile 20. A
C.'s" observation on the matter of Ions
driving with an argument in favor o.
Standardization. What he says of tn,
longer drive is frequently quite true.
fine drive doesn't mean the winning o.
a hole, even though the opposition hal
topped his drive. But the writer doesn'
recall ever having made the acquaint
ance of a player who preferred to SCI
his ball go hopping along into the rougl
in front of the tee rather than have 1
sail far along the fairway. And thu
fact that the player who got the gooC
drive eventually hubbed a shot or TIVE
and let his opponent make up the handi
cap of a poor drive isn't any argumen
either for or against Standardization. 1
merely suggests that the fellow had bet
ter put in a little practice with hi
mashie, midiron or whatever club h,
used on his subsequent shots to tn
green.
Driving Important Feature.
The writer has never advanced Al