The Washington times., 1922-08-29

or between the teens and thirty
Jack Britton, sre the exceptions
One Of the peculiarities OF golf 10
that, while It II the most difficult of
sports to master, the masters attain
their best game at an age at or near
thirty-fiye years. This would not In.
dicate that stars in other sports
would reach their best at similar
age IL they kept everIastingly at It.
as the golfer does.
The real reason II takes the
golfer longer. think, is because
golf Is a half a dozen games in
one. all practiced on the basis Of
taking oxygen on the hoof" as
the eminent health authority, DIR.
william Brady. expresses Il. This
develops the players entire physi-
cal makeup gradually. In other
endeavors in athletics the player
develops particular parts Of his
body to an extraordinary degree.
Golf does not overdevelop any
muscle in the body. 1t gently
stimulates the whole muscular sys-
tenn SO that in time the golfer Is
possessed of strong, wiry muscles
and great enduring qualities. He
has to have-these to carry on in
a sport that REQUIRES several miles
Of "hoofing 1t" while ne plays.
fessionsI golfers rather than
amateurs. Our three reigning
professionals are Hagen, Hutch.
inson and Barnes. Day In and
day out, no players In America
can let loose q better game than
these men are capable Of.
Barnes and Hutchinson are each
about thfrty-five years old. Hagen
is just past thirty, and undoubtedly
his game will improve some In the
next four or five years as II has i'm.
proved in the past Only q few years
back Hagen finished fifty.fifth, l
think II was, In the British open
championship. This year he won IL.
The amateurs come on with a ter.
rifle game at a younger age because
the amateur gives most of his time
to playing golf until he is some twen-
ty-five years old. Then business life
puts more and more claim upon his
time, 80 that the amateurs begin to
fade out OF the picture by the time
they attain thirty.
At this years national open cham,
pionship In Chicago we had rare
picture for one OF the pagessof spor,
history. Three superb golfers fought
II out, and not until all of them had
| holed out at the last green was the
championship disposed Of. On the
one hand was John Black, Of Califorr
MIA. who is past fifty years of age
He held the lead the first day and
well into the second day.
Against his game was the playing
Of Bobby Jones. the star youth from
Atlanta, who In now about twenty
years old. Gene Sarazen. the Pitts
burgh boy professional. twenty-one
years old, won the championship by
one stroke from both Jones and
Black. g.
Bobby pulled one into the woods or
the seventeenth fairway. and that
one shot. costing him a stroke, was
the narrow margin by which he
missed championship. or at least @
tied score, which would have given
him another chance at the title.
But John Black won rs much rs
the title when he demonstrated
that one Of his age could be capa.
BILE Of the fine game he brought to
the meeting. l have always
thought II thrilling 10 see some
youth like Jones come on with a
great game. but Black gave me
more Of . thrill, I think, than any
OF the youngsters ever did.
This player has introduced ar
entirely new element into golf. II
makes me wonder what Hagen and
Hutchinson may be doing when they
are fifty years old. since these play
ers undoubtedly will give practically
all their time to the game for the
next fifteen to twenty years.
We hear a good deal Of discussion
after each open championship as tc
whether seventy.two holes of media
play constitute a fair test for the
title. Undoubtedly the test is fair
That championships are won by one
stroke Is not unusual. Baseball
games are won by one score, by one
hit.
In golf the man who can make
four rounds Of near-perfect shooting
wins, and deserves to win. The mar
who falls just short of It by one bad
shot fails at the time when he
should not fail. The baseball pinch
hitter hits when he needs q hit.
p. The golf champion makes 2st