New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-07-08
By Royal Cortissoz

liberty Of having some doubts. I dsr. |
swear that what one Of these ladies |,
will achieve will be, first and last, sue.
cess, triumph, and that that win b |
all that will interest the world.
Now, consider the difference in golf
Hagen came back, praise be. winner
But look at the scores and ask Il
there were no other laureIs. Thr
were all over the place, and MAR
tain that that was what made the b
tie OF Sandwich thrilling. They wen
SO abundant for no other reason tha.
that golf is striving after perfection
struggle in which each individual
shot has its status, its interest. Again
it is in the nature Of things and agais
we glance st that little matter of pre-
fessionalism. The course was crowded
with "pros," with stars, men who maks
their living by golf. snd they all
played to win; yet, parsdoxically, whils
they SO played. the genius Of the game
still kept their eyes glued on nothing
but an ideal OF perfection. Grantland
Rice, WHO knows, Is forever noting the
moral poise Of this or that master OF
the game. He shows US men ike Hs-
gen and Barnes going devotedly after
the crown, but playing eseh stroke as a
painter might lay on his brush. He
speaks Of their competitive ardor. But
always, with them, there comes frst
the rigor Of the game, the calm, we'll
considered making of the shot. How
can 1t be brought off so well II the
mind is fretted by external things.
Putt, Don't Talk
! have observed, in one Of tbs eons
monest Of a golfers foibles, the efees
Of variance between the grasp at per-
lection and the grasp at success. Two
players separate at the tee ard meet on
the green with, say, ten-foot puts
and a six-foot putt to make, neither
knowing the state Of the others score
on that hole. The man who is away
sinks his putt. "Whst was that" says
lis opponent, and, On learning nov
hard pressed he is, remarks deiiansiy.
well, I'VE got to sink this for hali.
Tense with anxiety, his misses his putt
and loses the hole He would have nsd
better chance, think. If he had keph
his mouth shut, for then he would have
been thinking only of the putt. When
he finds out what he has to match OF
beat he gains, If you like, an added in
centive, but ne also takes on a hanar
cap.
| Professionalism in short. does neS
consist In taking pay; in consists ~
doubling sport with an irrelevsas
preoccupation. 1t is the confusion o.
an art with its reward, whether the
latter be cash. applause or the chs~
pion's insignia. II is the degradation
Of technique to an end foreign 70 III
spirit. 1t tinctures all games, and !
would not pretend that 1t has left gclf
utterly untouched. But in golf ~
chances Of working evil are siighssN
because its antidote is more ehvfousis
and potently present. Let the reaaes
who questions this test it for himssn'
Let him observe how he is affected ~
his various clubs from tee to green; nov
the driver, the hrassie, the iron, tns
putter, each in its turn ccnfronts nm
with q problem and lures him into enc
less study. What Is It that abssros Anna
demanding all his attention-hss own
shots or his opponents. the garae itssas
or the score that lis piiing up, success
or perfection? Is not his hope o. A'
one dependent on his approximation -
the other? OF one thing ! ann sure
/ IL he is blind to the distinction m
yolved it will be revealed, infalli01se
in his score.