Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-11-25

there danger that the game of golf
will be commercialized?
The United States Golf Associa-
ton seems to think that there is,
and through it's executive commit
tee has issued a warning to that
effect. The men who rule affairs in
this great outdoor sport want a halt
called on the practice of putting up
unduly large purses for profession
ais to contend for in tournaments
and in special matches. Unless this
is done the committeeman fear that
the money interest soon will pre-
dominate in the game, with alto
gether unwholesome and democrat
izing results.
In a formal statement issued as a
bulletin from the association the
committee predicts that If golf like
other sports is allowed to be COM
mercialized by the professionals,
| popular interest in the pastime,
which has attained phenomenal
proportions, will be nullifed to a
great extent.
Those who have followed golf de-
velopments in the United States
within the past two or three sea-
sons have seen the game blossom
into a garden of rare pickings for
the men who make a business of 1t.
Salaries have doubled, trebled and
quadrupled, and the money rewards
of the winners of the big champion
ships have increased in even great
er proportion.
Gene Sarazen, who won this
years national open championship.
is said to be taking the money In
with both hands. Wealthy clubs
are bidding for his serviceS as a
professional until he a almost
name his own figure, while he can
pick up a thousand dollars OF 80 for
an exhibition match any time he
wants it. Not so bad for a youth
who was a caddy boy but a few
seasons backl
Walter Hagen, Jim Barnes, Jock
Hutchinson, Joe Kirkwood and
| others of the top-notchers are find
ing golf a verttable money tree and
the large earnings of these leaders
have had a decided tendency to in
crease the emoluments of all pro-
fessionals. A craze for special
matches in which at least n of the
stars will display his skill and
prowess to the wonder and awe OF
the average club members has
spread all over the country, and as
the demand for this sort of thing
has grown naturally the cash prizes
that must be offered to attract the
best of the talent have skyrocketed.
Started by English Invasion
An English invasion is held large
ly responsible for this craze for ex-
hibition contests. All the English
professionals are not Scotch, but
they are all canny and when they
saw the chance for rich pickings in
| the United States they were moi
slow to take advantage of 1t. Harry
Vardon and Ted Ray were about
| the first, If not the first, team tC
come over from England to play
series OF matches throughout the
United States. These eminent ex'
ponents of the ancient and honor
able game were managed and rout'
ed like vaudeville stars and in al
played some eighty or ninety
matches. They received not les:
than four or five hundred doilar'
for each of these exhibitions, 1t !!
understood, and the bankroll they
took back to the old country witt
them was something to make a pro
fessionaI there decide that he woult
come over here to get a bit of thu
easy money If he had to swim thu
bloomin' Atlantic.
Duncan and Mitchell and other'
soon followed and then the profes
SIGNALS here found that they, too
could cut in on the exhibition
game and the process of CONNER
cializing golf was well under way
Wealthy men intent on getting thu
best of the talent entered in tourna
ments that were little more thai
exhibition affairs began Offering
larger and still larger prizes, unit
the climax was reached recently j
a tentative proposal to put VI
$4,000 for such an affair nea
Washington.
That is something different from
the days, not SO long ago, whel
$500 was all that the man got VIII
won the open championship of tn
United States and the reward 10
carrying off the English open wa
approximately the same. And 1t i
that sort of thing that led the ex
ecutive committee of the q. 8. g.
to declare that 1t had watched wit
misgivings the practice Of .offerin,
unusually large purses INDUCED y
by member clubs and sectional as
sociations for the purpose of Undue
ing golf professionals to compel
in open tournaments and exhibi
tons