Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1922-07-12
GOLF is IN THE
FORE RIGHT NOW
1t is Wonderful Health Restorative
And a Maintainer of
Health.
ALSO CLEAN AND
SPORTSMANLIKE GAME
Nothing Anybody Has Ever Been
Able to Say in Last 700 Years
Has Stopped the Golfer
From His Game.

Golf, says an exchange, is receiv-
ing considerable attention from the
outside. A Minnesota official of the
federal government condemns the
game as breeding idleness." He
pulls the ancient gag that similar
exercise may be had with hoe. Over
on Long Island the golfers are en-
ploying girl caddies. The New York
Tribune draws picture of six foot,
200 pound athlete staggering across
the links while 10 year old girl
staggers under his load of golf clubs
As to the hoe and the exercise,
that's very old stuff. Grandmother
used to make remarks about house
work when the girls played croquet.
Grandfather imagined he had work
ed long and faithfully to see his
substance dissipated by "those boys
of Bill's" who insisted on playing
baseball now and then. It's all as old
as the hills. Doubtless when Cain
and Abel ran footraces Father Adam
made mention of the exercise con-
tingent on picking apples or some
other activity of the fruit business in
Eden. Laban probably told Jacob
he could be in better business than
peeling wands and setting them up
by the spring holes but Laban un-
derstood later that Jacobs little
game was no child's play. Another
thinG. that SHOULD ha ,,nantionad asa
fact bearing on the situation - that
in ninety-nine cases out of 100 the
person who so glibly recommends
the hoe hasn't one and wouldn't use
lit if he had. In most instances he
eats too much and takes sleep in
the afternoon. And we all know
what that does to him.
About those caddies now-it does
look like encouraging laziness" to
see a powerful man striding along
while four foot kid drags his clubs;
however it doesn't encourage laziness
in the kid. On the contrary. More
over the kid likes it. There's money
in it. 1t makes for thrift. He or
she has money of his own. There's
two sides to that also.
Nothing anybody has ever been
able to say in the last 700 years
has stopped the golfer from his
game. Old Henry VII made the
archers quit it because they were
falling down on punching holes in
Frenchmen at a quarter of mile
with their arrows. But it came back
strong. 1t emigrated to America a
few years ago with mashie and a
heavy Scottish accent and like most
Scotch attained immediate citizen
ship. Not even baseball gained in
strength and standing more rapidly
than golf.
There's a reason, and more rea-
sons. First it is a wonderful health
restorative and maintainer of health.
1t is also clean and sportsmanlike
game. 1t is simple in its essentials
as all great sports are. 1t requires
concentration, nerve, self control,
mental courage. 1t is out of doors.
1t offers the sedentary man health
with pleasure. 1t trains muscles, eve
and mind. 1t creates appetite and
the digestion that should wait on
appetite. 1t makes a physically fair
man better and recreates the physic-
ally incompetent. So thoroughly has
1t won its place in these respects that
municipal links are multiplying and
will continue to multiply.
Never mind what any one says, un-
less ne says "Well, make it three
o'clock at the clubhouse"