New-York tribune., 1922-01-29

II our widespread friend, the duffer,
would only sit down some day and
check over certain events In golf he
would not be nearly so pessimistc
over his own case as he frequently is.
He would soon find that at certain
stages of competition even the greatest
Of golfers can break completely in two
and play after the manner Of fifteen
or twenty y-handicap men, struggling in
the throcs of broken form or scattered
concentration g 3 that panicky feeling"
leaves them surrounded and cut off.
The duffer, for few examples,
might check OFF these startling epi-
sodes:
|. Jerr Travers in the British ans
teur, 1914, taking 80 for his first match
against Palmer, when Jerry had nsed-
ed but 72 the day before
2. j. J. McDermott, twice open cham
plon Of America, taking SO at Hoylske
In 1918.
8. George Duncan at Shawnee taking
II for one hole and needing SO for the
first nine.
4. Jim Barnes in California cham
pionship taking puts on twelve
greens.
5. Walter Hagen at Deal In British
open averaging 83 for four rounds.
8. Roger Wethered taking over 90 at
the Engineers Club in ouali7 ing round.
7. Francis Ouimet taking puts on
tour successive greens at ST. Louis
AGAINST Jimmy Johnston on last four
holes.
9. Jock Hutchison being and 7 by
Young Homebrcd in recent P. G.. A
championship.
8. Bobby Jones taking SO at Hoylake
against Hamlet, when for eight rounds
he had averaged 73h.
Why 1t 10
Golf Is hard to master for many rea-
sons. But one of the chief reasons ia
that too often one forgets all his many
lessons and his corrections in the
course Of round.
Before starting out he recalls tho
TACT that he has been swinging too fast
he means to watch this fault.
But in the excitement of competition
by the second hole he is swinging fast
er than ever and wondering VIII, he is
all off again.
He remembers that he has been short
on his puts too often. He makes up
his mind in advance that he viii hit
the ball firmly and decisively.
But, once on the green, keen and
eager, tense and taut, with his mind
blur, he has again forgotten that he
was to hit the ball up to the hole.
IN the excitement of play most of tho
needed lessons vanish beyond the far
lying horizon. Only the few start with
q firm grip upon the situation, keeping
their mental poise under control, think-
ing only Of the stroke at hand.
Leading Example
Here Is leading example Of what
We mean. All through the early sea-
son Walter Hagen had been putting
poorly. >
When he came to Columbia IN tho
United States open he was still strug-
CLING to correct this let down.
We happened to play q preliminary
round with him before the champion
ship.
For the first few holes everything
went or IN magnificent shape.
And then Hagen missed q short putt,
not over two feet. A worried look came
TO his face, and Hagen happens to bs
one OF the most confident and we'll
posed OF all the golfing tribe.
On the next green, with another
short putt to hole. in his esrerness to
get it down, the blade Of The putter
on the back swing came back 1T nearly
twice Its normal speed. This fast back
swing was followed by hurried lab at
the ball, and again he missed the putt.
From that point on Hagen never re-
covered his putting stroke until tho last
TOUR or ave holes Of the ssvsnty-two-
hels tsst vhsn hs suddenly began