The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-08-05
hCL0SE-UP" WITH GENE SARAzEN
 AND OTHER GOSSIP OF THE LINKS

that the foreign born entry in toruna- ments are becoming alarmed. When Kerrigan scored a victory in the Massachusetts open 1t was another triumph for the clan.
 In the recent open at Skokie Gene Sarazen, a homebred, won in splendid style just as Walter Hagen had won the British title abroad. At Skokie there were five homebreds among the first six players.
 Last winter down South the Ameri- can boys began to make themselves prominent in tournament play. Lit tie Gene Sarazen, George Kerrtgan and his brother Tommy and Walter tournaments. There were in all ten played and homebreds flashed to the front in seven of them. This sum- mer an American won the British open. and an American won the Amer ican open, and an American has won the Massachusetts open.
 The tine~has come when American golf is becoming Americanized and the time also come when we should Americanize the rules well and refuse to be led by St. Andrews long ago relegated to the rear as a golf1ng centre.
 Because St. Andrews like this or t-does not like that should be no con- cern of our. The barring of this club and that club just because an Ameri
 can won title with 1t, is pretty small business.
 '"The time will come" says a prophet, ''when England and Scotland will look to us forgolfng ideas, and at no far distant date either" Walter Hagen the British champion is satisfied that in the near future no special clubs or no particular ball will be barred by either the United States Golf Association or the Royal and An cient Association at St. Andrews. The failure of the powers abroad to stop the American invasion because they used ribbed clubs was noticeable at St. Andrews Hagen himself has be- come quite fond of the ribbed clubs; yet when he was forced to play at Sandwich without ribbed clubs it made little if any difference. It is reported that Hagen thinks well of the steel shaft Out at Skokie where the ground was 50 hard that there was great danger in using any wood en club on the fairways or even the irons he remarked that the value of condition besides being for all around use.
 If you have a. steel shaft and want to pick the ball up off the turf your chances for success are very much greater than if you were using club with tortion. The hickory shaft will twist enough to spoil the shot. Many golfers in playing with wood en shafted clubs off of hard ground such as we are bound to encounter in the summer months will find the club twisting when too much Of the ground is used in making the shot, The result Is that the shot goes wrong and ninety-nine out of hundred do not know the reason therefor. + The steel shaft should speed the clubhead through just like bullet. The follow through will be 100 per cent perfect and this is what every golfer dreams about
 Walter Hagen and Joe ktrkwood have won six straight matches on their tour of the world and done some remarkable playing Perhaps the most interesting match In which they
 participated recently was at the Youngstown. Ohio, country club where they had as opponents Elm
 Fownes captanied the American amateur international team ana French the professional team whicn competed last year in the matches with Great Britain played at Sano- wich and Heylake. They formed a strong amateur combination and only because Hagen did a course record were they defeated, and l..
 In the morning Hagen did eb, two strokes lower than the former record held by French and which he euuaIled twice in the match against Hagen and Kirkwood. At Hamilton, Ohio, at the Butler Country cup, Kirkwood took a turn at dong a DO; Hagen and Kirkwood de1eaIe9 9 Francis Ouimet and Jesse Guilford, and 2 at the Engineers club, Roslyn, Long Island and Kirkwood played a brilliant round of TO. The Eng1neers course is one of the most d1fhcuit Tn sthe metropolitan district. The nation al amateur championship was con- tested over it, two years ago.
 Hagen and Kirkwood will play more than 60 matches before the hrst of November.