The Washington times., 1922-01-08


home, was making great sacrifice,
Although had read letters from my
brother Tom, who came to America q
few years before / did, and who de-
scffbed IN glowing terms the posi-.
bilities Of golf over here, I doubted
that he was really serious, or being
serious, whether he was not overly
enthusiastic. anyway. took a
chance and came over.
This was hare than fifteen years
ago and shorti, after the beginning
OF the new cent? ". To be raised
on the links of St. andrews and to
pass my boyhood days there and then
come to America to finish my golf
education Is privilege and O pleasure
that few boys have.
Learned Much i'm America.
! Thought that, knew considerable
about the game when 1 landed. but
! have realized many times since then
that / didn't. must give America
full credit for any honors that have
achieved at golf. 1t was in this
country / learned how to play the
game as 1t should be played although
do not want my readers to gather
from this statement that figure
am through ledrnlHB. NJ piayof oNoA
is while he can walk. d.
NY many friends back home couldn't
understand when told them America
was q bigger golf center than Scot.
land or England, and they were re.
luctant to believe we had any courses
over here that even half way com
pared with the old course at ST., An.
drews. They were inclined to regard
my statement as pure fabrication or
over of a former home
boy with a desire to rub in his sue
cess and justify his wanderings.
II. Is. difficult for one who has mol
actually seen golf In both countries 70
understand this fully. st. Andrews
represents all that Is old, and golf
traditions of bygone days, still per-
sist while here II is the new golf with
the modern idea of the game. But
will describe this In another story
Ar Ear as L know, I am the only
American who happened to be pres
emit at our winning Of the two British
championships-the amateur and the
open. had the pleasure Of seeing
Walter J. Travis annex his famous
victory at Sandwich In 1904, and l
was. of course. on hand last summer
when the British open was won at
st. Andrews, as ] happened to be
the winner.
We thought in England the victory
of Travis was calamity. had gone
down to Sandwich as a caddte and
saw q great deal Of the play after my
man had been eliminated. Travis
game Impressed me very much, espe-
ciaiIy his short garae, which was un.
canny. He did not attract much at
tention at first, bTeause no one be-
lieved he had the ghost of chance
to win, but, when be came out vic
began to take notice of his pecu-
liar style.
Walter Travis Ireat Triumph.
1t was not an orthodox style. 1t
was not what we had been taught at
st.. Andrews, but it was effective and
1t was certain. AS recall his game
now, I do not remember seeing him
dub a single shot. In his match
against the long.driving Blackwell, he
was barely getting over the bunkers
and usually he WIS outdriven from
twenty to fifty yards. 1t seemed to
be a lot Of distance to give away, but
after the second shots were played,
there was not such a great difference
between the balls and the third and
fourth attempts found the American
gaining an advante &c
Travis owes his famous victory TO
his putter This peculiar looking I'm.
plement caused sc nsation, especially
when 10 was seen to perform in such
Q masterful fashion for its owner.
It was a Scheme, tady and like all
Of it's style was Ger yer shafted. This
~F--.. -t.,x. I~fa -
on the hole. have used q putter sim
liar to the one Trdv's had many times
over here and know it's advantages.
The ivwere that be In Great Britain,
which In the royal and the Ancient,
seemed to realize it's possibilities, too,
as II was barred at once from all COM
petition In Great Britain. Had Travis
failed TO- win that championship the
putter would hardly have been no.
ticed. I
Talk Of Both Continents. T
The veterans remarkable vectory,
was the talk Of both sides OF the
Atlantic for years. Attention was
forcibly called to the Importance of
the short game. It surely was food
Tor reflection. All of US who followed
the final round that day little dreamed
Travis could hold out against the
ramous Blackwell We had under.
rated his ability with the mashie and
the putter. .sA
Skill with these clubs alone enabled
him to dispose Of the Inen great Hill.
ton In the fifth round by the decisive
margin of 5 and 4, but the experts
looked upon this as more or less OF
a fluke and were not prepared to give
him any edge In his next match with
Horace @. Hutchinson, one Of Eng
lands best amateurs and former
champion. He was an older man than
Travis but still a great player. He
had been runner up the year before
at Muirfield, Travis, however, re
FUSED to be awed by his greatness and
swept him aside by the decisive margin
OF and 2. The Engllshman's skill
with the wood and the iron was not
10 be compared with TrEvtS' talen,
with the Schenectady whit. T. by
this time become an eye-sti, 20 the