The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-02-09
Frederick Haskin's Letter
The Most Popular Game.

his early teens, showing a brs,5
of golf which amazed every e,e
Dave Heron. another toDnotcbo-
among the youngsters, was % vears
old and Bobby Jones was 10 VIZ
they were opposing each other l.
the final match at Oakmont In 1g7a
The next year Ted Ray, the Rrsat
English golfer, won the tonrns
ment at Toledo when he was -
years old, with Harry Vardon an
other Englishman, tied for secons
place. Vardon was then 81
Age Cannot Conquer Good Coli
1t has been clearly establish
by the hard test of experience tbst
a golf player may be at the ton -
his game at the age of So This
age is little extreme for the bar5
work Of tournament play, perhsns
where Is holes must be DlaVa5
morning and afternoon for a perio1
of several days. Aside from tbs
nervous strain and the mental con-
centratiOn necessary to good go,f
the actual distance Travelled nm
hill and down, day in and day oni
is enough to wear down an oIdar
player after a couple of days. ami
then it is that youth takes adj
vantage of its greater endurance
and ability to conquer fatigue.
F. Harry Vardon, whose name every
golfer breathes with a feeling not
far from real awe, succumbed 10
age last summer at Inverness
After travelling at top speed for a
long time, with only little way
to go to tuck another championship
in his pocket, he faltered and his
game deteriorated into mediocrity
when the physical strain proved
his undoing. VardOn was in a posi-
ton where if he could play three
of the last seven holes in par he
would have won. He was faced
with this necessity after playing
every other hole that day in par
figures. But the years were too
much for him: he faltered, and the
prize slipped out of his grasp.
But the fact that a golfer can
not reasonably expect to win cham
pionships when close to so does
not mean that he is through as a
golfer. 1t is still possible for him
to reel off single rounds in just as
good figures as he was able to &C
complish when 40, or 80, or in his
teens. There is many a golf en-
thusiast still playing the gam9
regularly, week in and week out,
who is well beyond the allotted
Of hV7
man life.
EndeavOr to Cut Costs.
Officials of the United States
Golf association are now turning
their attention to trying to reduce
the cost of golf. 1t is a safe state
ment that there would be many
more than the estimated 100000
American golfers if the cost Of the
game were reduced, and if there
were more places and more conVeH-
lent places for them to play. The
officials of the golf organization, Of
individual clubs, and the sporting
goods houses are trying to bring
the cost of golf sticks, balls and
clothing down to the lowest pos
sibIe mark. Not only is the Origl-
nal cost of the necessary articles
of play to be brought down as far
as possible, but the final cost Of the
game reduced through making
these articles so durable that they
can be counted upon to last
longer time without replacement
or repair
Another thing for which golfers
all over the country are striving
is the reduction of golf course
costs, so that men and women u
means may join clubs
without the haunting fear that they
will not be able to remain mem
bers on account of the strain on
their purses. New clubs are con
tinually springing up. One OF the
greatest advancements Of recent
years in giving golfers place to
play has been the establishment n
links in many Of the
larger cities of the nation. These
courses invariably are crowded dur
ing the season when golf is at all
possible. On the public links IT
this city it was possible TO play
golf almost until New Years day.