The Omaha morning bee., 1923-12-31

The ordinary golfer Is apt to
imagine that the professional reaches
degree of expertness that renders
him immune from bad holes.
This Is not so. There are times
when we all go to pieces. one DAY
we may be great; at another time we
areas the slang expression is-not
so good.
In 1922 l set a. course record or
e6 in the practice rounds at skokie'
A few months later, at Ashyille, N.
lC., required 10 strokes Ito play a
single hole--a 135-yard one, at that.
At that rate I would have needed lso
strokes for Is holes.
OF course, I didn't do as badly at
that. Nevertheless, this one mis-
played hole. which ] have since call
ed my Perfect Ten put me entirely
out of the running In a tournament
which was much worth winning.
Strangely enough, this nightmare
followed a tee shot which was, so far
as distance and direction were con-
cerned. as satisfying as one would
want.
The Incidents that led up to and at
tended the play were amusing. The
dav before. watching Clarence Hack
ney. the Atlantic City expert. playing
the hole-which was the second
kidded him numerically because ne
ran up five strokes.
you'd better be careful" he re
torted. cor you'll take double that
number tomorrow"
When I reached the second tee. the
next day. had completely forgotten
Clarence's warning and had no pre-
monition OF disaster. There was a
heavy wind blowing directly TOWARD
the tee, but I was not worried by
| that.
As said before. my tee shot was
perfect so far as distance and di-
rection were concerned. l had made
only one mistake. had put too much
backspin on the ball.
Dropping within easy putting dis
lance of the hole. 1t hoped back
ward. rolled off the sloping green and
landed in a drain hole. 1t lay In an
almost unhittable position. II took
me seven strokes to get back on the
green and two puts to hole out.
| Maybe Hackney didn't give me the
Taught
Tho worst of It was that I learned
next day could have removed my
ball from the drain hole without pen
atty.
MY oldest Play I'm 1923.
| In a previous installment of this
series. Bobby Jones described an un'
usual play he made at Hoylake In
England. He banked a billiard shot
against n stone wall and placed his
hall nicely on the green after he had
gotten himself into seemingly impos-
sibIe difficulties by hooking to within
foot of the wall. with road and
sand trap Intervening between his
lie and the hole he was so anxious
/ to reach.
The most unusual play | had last
summer called for a billiard shot.
curiously enough, II popped up in a
| match with Bobby Jones. IL was In
a practice round at Inwood. just be-
for Bobby won the 1923 open title.
| On the number hole. distance 223
Yards. with out-of-bounds to the right
and left Of the green, demanding an
accurate tee shot to get n par three,
I hooked my first against tree at
the left. There was absolutely no
way to hit the ball In the direction
of the hole except by playing 1t off
,bo trao turned my hack puilarely
on the pin. made a successful billiard,
dropped the ball on the green and
sank a four.yard putt for par.
The billiard stroke IL one that
every player is likely to need. sooner
or later. When IL confronts you, take
your time and study out tho angle
the ball must take most carefully.
A tree In apt to be more difficult
to play than wall. Most trees have
trough surfaces. Moreover, they art
rounded, not level. This complieates
matters
The Most Pleasing Play ] Ever Made
I consider the best play evel
made was one which enabled me t'
tic Abe Mitchell, the great Britisner
for the southern open title. In the fal
Of 1922.
Coming up for the 18th and las
hole at the Belle Meade Country club