Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-04
BAD lies REQUIRE
PLAYING THE SHOT
BETTER THAN USUAL
VardOn's Title Winning
Motto Was to keep on
the Course.

To those carefully watching the rapid
progress of golf the fact has become
more and more appreciated that the
old game has done well to avoid the
many pitfalls and hazards strewn
across its path in this. as some have
seen fit to express it. degenerate
age If, for a while. influences were
at work toward making the game too
easy, it may be said that o there
are positive signs pointing toward the
swinging of the pendulum in the OPP
posite direction.
Advocates of the old school. ever
firm in the belief that the ball should
be played where it lies, no matter how
badly, are seeing more encouraging
signs now than they have in a number
of year. That Of course, makes for
better golf; playing the ball where it
lies means adapting oneself TO any and
all situations. Undoubtedly in bygone
times when courses were rough and
implements crude, the golfer to reach
a standard of excellency has had to
learn to extricate the ball from stu
atoms, regarded by the average pre-
sent day player as well nigh hopeless.
How unlike young Tom Morris, the
wizard of his day. whose favorite re-
mark was to the effect that when the
ball was not lying well. the only thing
to do was TO play the shot a little
better"
Courteous Going Through
Possibly there is no more selfish
ness in golf than in any other sport.
though the former unquestionably af-
fords more scope and means by which
one can throw light on a mans true
nature. Apparently the slow player is
even in greater evidence now than
formerly, or maybe it only seems that
way because of the constantly increas-
ing number of players. Most assuredly
a few procrastinating players. showing
no desire to keep their places. nor let
the faster ones through. can soon
gum up the whole works.
1t is 10 m sight to see some
slow pair. or worse still, four ball
combinations gradually lose ground
until there are two clear holes ahead.
while looking in the other direction can
be seen bunch after bunch of wrathful
golfers about whom it is possible to
detect a sulphurous haze. How much
more pleasant it would be if those who
for one reason or another cannot keep
their places, would give way to those
being held up. Besides being the
courteous thing to do. it is also part
of the etiquette Of the game.
Keeping on the Course
While watching the progress of tour
nament golf year after year the OBJ
server gets the impression that players
are just as human as formerly. They
slice, pull and top with %impunity. get
bunkered and find the rough in the
same old way. In other words. less
attention is paid to keeping on the
course than to the more alluring pro
spect of getting distance. For many
years Harry Vardon's motto was keep
on the course and it won him more
than one title.
Doubtless a large percentage of the
ills resultant from poor direction can
be directly traced to a tendency Of
many golfers to play their lofted shots
to the pin with the suggestion of a
pull, yet n ball hit with the opposite
spin will stop much more readily and
that in nine cases out of ten is what
is wanted when approaching the hole.
On the theory that a pulled shot runs
further and consequently makes for
distance, it has become customary for
course architects to pay a deal more
attention to penalties for slices and
too little for the pulls that 60 scooting
off to the left Of the fairway.
), Provided the holes are of proper
length it will hardly be necessary to
dig a nest of trouble for a sliced drive,
as the han will have heer so short as