The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-03-25

lcopUight 1872. New York Tribune. INC.
81 GRANTL.AN RICE


kcluded III the amount Of confidence
that follows the blade of the pulitzer
through the hall.
Ia Great Britain Il III often ex-
tren1eIy upsetting t0egO boldly tori
the cup even when only six Or EIGHT
feet away, as the result may leave
When II doesn't rain for 8 fesk
days IN England or Scotland the
unWatered and unaoftened green's
get as fast ais lightning flashes. and
IL d brisk wind III blowing confident
putting lasts only q little while
AT Hoylake in 1921 the Ameri-
can team started out putting ex.
trerneIy well. at times with great
briIltance. The HOylake green's
were like marble floors, burned to
q light orange. Bat shortly after
the claaInpi onship got under way
American putting became extremely
weedy. going finally from bad toI
worse.
The golfer might be putting vel.
with confidence and holiness, as
Wright and Hunter were ii their
early matches, but IL was interest
ing to see the sudden change that
came after one or two puts went
astray.
From that point on the collapse
was usually sudden and pronounced.
1t was no great matter to take
three puts from ten feet away.
Fred Wright for example had been
putting 90 well as any one IN the
field. better than most. With only
eight survivors he was up on
Darwin at the tenth hole. His Sec
ond shot here was ten feet from the
cup and he seemed To have this
II farfnS
in this match Wright took 3 puts,
missing tWo-footer, and from that
on It was mainly 8 puts to the over.
throw on the nineteenth green.
Putting Is 81 far more narrowing
experience on many OF these hard
coated Wind-swept British greens
than Il il ordinarily In the United
States, although at the National
Links the keenest sort OF touch is
required.
THE RESULTANT EFFECT.
Many Of the putting greens in the
United States. even during cham
ptonship tests, are softered too
much.
Many Of them are SO soft that
but little skill is required to hold
the ball. even full spoon shot
rolling but two or three feet.
firm, except when heavy rains make
this impossible, and always reason
ably keen. They should not be too
tricky, too slippery, but at least
fairly fast where no bludgeon blow
is required to get the ball up.
Where the British go a trifle too
far in one direction we go a bit
too far in the other.
The speed and the condition of
the green's may have something to
do with American success at put
ting, but this won't tell the whole
story.
Ted Ray has been great putter
on any type of green because he
tad the right stroke. Hagen,
Barnes and Hutchinson. have putted
as well in Great Britain as they
have in the United States, and If
Hagen played all his golf in Eng
land and Scotland he would still be
fine putter.
Without any question the weak
est part of British golf is putting,
and this applies to Duncan and
their golf after they had been in
the United States for many months.
1t might be that confidence de-
stroyed by the harder, .keener,
windier green's isn't built back up in
few months, that this lack OF con-
fidence may grow into habit as II
did in Vardon's case.
Yet is seems to us that sufficient
practice and the right way of hitting
the ball should go a long way to re-
store confidence and bring results.
American golfers undoubtedly
practice more around the greens
and the ensuing reward in bound to
follow. There isn't an amateur IN
the United States to-day near up 10
the putting mark once set by Travis
and Travers, who spent hours a. day
acquiring this knack. No other
amateurs have worked as hard, and
with most of our leading amateurs
putting is also an in and out per-
Torrance, with Guilford now prob
ably the best.
1t VIII be interesting to see just
how the American team fares upon
the British greens at Deal and st,
Andrews this coming May.
Good putting consists mainly of
these acknowledgements, a tran
quill mind, keeping the head and body
still. starting the blade of the putter
back without hurry and then tap
ping or swinging firmly through. |
This isn't the entire story, but 1t is
about 90 per cent of the same. Stone
walls don't make a prison, but they
help an awful lot. If the first golfers
out upon the green's this spring make
habit of practice putting at every
chance, of starting the season with
some confidence, they will soon see
marked difference in the results.