Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-02-11

WASHINGTON, ID. c., FEB. o.
Twenty-Five years ago 10000 Amer
leans had to put up with a lot of
good-natured joshing because they
played golf. These pioneers
their beloved game labelled Cow
pasture pool and a host of other
names supposed to be clever and
funny. 1t was called a1 old mans
game and open amazement was ex-
pressed on every hand about just
what pleasure was derived from hit
ting a little white ball, trudging at
ter it, hitting it again and again, un-
til it fell into a prepared depression
in tho earth.
Today it is estimated hat there
are no less than 1000, 900 golfers in
the United States. In Scotland every
boy and girl is a potential golfer,
and the hold of the game in England
and her possessions is remarkably
strong. The royal and ancient
game" is spreading throughout the
civilized world with truly amazing
strides.
The flood of fun and ridicule polk
ed at the game and its devoteeS a
score of years 81 has dwindled
away to a trickle-is practically
dried up. The trials the game has
survived have proved it's worth in a
convincing way that cannot be ques-
toned.
Perhaps the underlying reason for
| the hold the game has is the fact
that no one grows too Did to play,
and no boy or girl old enough to
take care of himself or herself is
too young to learn the fundamentals
and start to play. There is no other
form of athletics in the world of
which this SO truly car be said.
Baseball deservedly enjoys ire
mendous popularity. Every school,
college and sandlot has its teams,
and the ranks of professional base
ball contain the cream of the ball
playing talent of the country. Yet
Hans Wagner, the great Pittsburg
shortstop of the past, after a ca
reer of professional baseball which
caused throughout the
length and breadth of the land be-
cause he came back" year after
year, finally had to quit the game
at the age of 43. The idea of a
golfer giving up his game at this
age is ridiculous.
Too Few Play Baseball
The criticism made of baseball IS
that most of its followers are simp-
ly spectators, deriving no physical
benefit from their devotion to the
I Sdlilt anu tliC NttilSo " 1880 70
that team. 1t a be safely said
that the percentage of followers OF
golf who are not themselves golf
ers is about on a par with the
amount of alcohol in soda fountain
drinks.
Contrast with Wagner's profess
sional baseball record the golf rec
ord made by the E~nglishman, John
Ball. Jr. lie won the British Anna
tour Championship in 1883, when
he was % years old. At the age OF
AZ, a span of "a years, he again won
the championship. The next cham
pionship tournament will be held
over the course where MIR. Ball plays
Regularly. Although he is nearing
the three score year mark, Mi. Ball
ia bound TO be a strong contender
for the championship again. MI.
Balls championship at the age of
AZ was the eighth time he a won
and worn the British Amateur crown
Another of the .marvels of golf
is the American. Walter j. Travis.
lie did not begin to play the game
until he was 50 years old, by which
time the average professional base
ball player has gone the whole route
, in his sphere of sport, and taken to
some other means of earning a i've
lihood. Then at the & of 60 years
he turned in a score of IS. ASK any
golfer what a card like h a means.
The growth of the game in popu-
larity. is not due by any means SOLE
ly to the act that players do not
have to abandon the game because
of advancing age. Boys and girls
took to the game with avidity'
Bobby Jones of Atlanta won the
Georgia state championship in his
early teens, showing a brand of goll
which amazed everyone. Dave Her
ron, another %topnotcher among the
youngsters, was % years old and
Bobby Jones was 10 when they
were opposing each other in the tina
match at Oakmont in 1913. The
next year Ted Ray, the great Eng
llish golfer won the tournament al
Toledo when he was 43 years old
with Harry Vardon, another Eng
llishman, tied for second place. Var
don was then 81.
Age Cannot Conquer Good Golf
1t has been clearly established by
the hard test of experience that
golf player may be at the top of hi:
game at the age of SO. This age
is a little extreme for the hard WORK