Decorah public opinion., 1922-12-06
THE SPORTY
GOLF COURSE
Who Plays Golf Knows
the Curious Psychology of
the Game.
THE DUB" GOLFERS
In THE GAME
Story Of a Course Too Sporty for
Those Under Obligation to
Support Ii.

WI. blgttIle mas ndfneQ NAMES. 90
shall we. 1t so happens that we be-
long to gold club located in the en-
virons of Philadelphia. 1t was a gooo
course-gniddling sporty with two or
three holes entitled TO invite favor
able comparison with the curly wolf.
1t mas a membership around 800,
good fellows and good citizens ALL
OF the 800 plus members, 200 or
more never broke 80 and never will.
And yet this fall the course has been
trapped and bunkered out of all sem>
blence to its former topography. The
increased hazards will add 10 stroke.
to the game of the average member.
Everybody who plays golf knows
the curious psychology of the game.
The new trapping and bunkering lays
a hazard Of moiling and toiling-of
annoyance and eXasperation--for
every "dub" golfer in the club. The
only thing achieved is tha. on the
occasion of annual tournaments or in
the infrequent appearances o, gentle
men who wreSt handsome liveli-
hood from the game but contribute
nothing TO its upkeep, somebody will
say, you've got a sporty course
here"
The dub players who keep the !
club alive were not consuled or Civ |
en- opportunity to express their opin-
ions as to the changes. Their |
wishes were not consulted. Those |
in authority responded to the ma
tional tendency to predicate the game |
on the performance of the few to the |
annoyance of the many. 1t is the |
thing that is going on in nearly ev-
cry community in which golf is play |
ed. We write of it out of no per-
sonal grievence. We play about the |
same kind of golf on a sporty"
as we do on one presenting fewer |
difficulties. What We wish to COM
bat is the tendency to spoil the game |
for the financial backbone and sinew |
of the sport-the gentlemen vino
have never broken 90 and never will. !
The Cobbs Creek Golf Course,
Philadelphia's municipal links, IL
another example of the national ten
dency against which we inveigh. In
the nature of things the man who |
plays on municipal course is likely |
to be a beginner and ouffer, The |
coqrse on which be plays Should. ,ns
=
qaId out with the idea of affording
him the maximum Of recreation and |
enjoyment But somebody told the |
authorities responsible for the crea-
ton of Cobbs Creek that what the
beginner needs is sporty course.
So, one was created for him. We
have played most of the courses in
the vicinity of Philadelphia. To us
Cobbs Creek is the most difficult of
all. Every fair day in the year hun
dreds Of those who are, from golf
ing standpoint, lame and blind and
halt go out there and try to play a
course which gives professional
pause.
Last summer we We're marooned
four days in Windsor, VT. They
had new golf course in which it had
invested much money and upon
which it lavished great civic pride.
They told us at the hotel that we'd
find it pretty sporty. That was the
thing they were so proud of-they
had sporty course. And in that
respect their pride was justified; ii
is a sporty course. In the three days
we played it we saw many other
golfers-virtually the entire mem
bership-moiling over it. They did
Mt play much golf; most of their
time was devoted 10 search for lost
balls. But there wasn't golfer in
the lot who could play that nine
hole course under 60. All they were
getting out of the game was the ad-
4 mission Of the occasional tourist that
it was a sporty course.
As we have indicated, this diatribe
is poised on no personal grievance.
The thoughts here expressed have
been in process of mulmination a
long time. We had long talk along
almost identical lines with Emerson
Carey during the Republican Ma
tional Convention of 1920. Emerson,
who is the salt millionaire of Hutch
| inson, Kan, had come as a delegate
to the convention full of bitterness
and conversation. His concern was
not for politics. His town was laying
out a new golf course and they were
making it too sporty for the dubs
who were under obligation to sup
port it. There was nothing personal
in Emerson's complaint. Day in and
| day out he shoots under S5. He was
concerned about the rights Of the
dub golfers who would be cons
PEELED to stand the upkeep.
We did nothing about the outrage.
There wasn't anything We could DO.
But Emerson acted. He went home
and built a golf course of his own,
and he built it according to his idea
of what a golf course snould oe.
They say any dub can play Emer-
sons course and derive some sat-
isfaction from the experience.