The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-08
Tee, Fairway
and Green
GOLFERS NEVER FORGET
BY CHICK EVANS

GOLFERS NEVER FORGET
Does a golfer forget his game if
| obliged to give it up for any consid
the swimmer thrown suddenly into
water years after his last swim finds
that he still has his stroke; the skater
can skate after years of abstention
but the golfer, more particularly the
expert, constantly complains that he
cannot keep UP without long and
steady hours of practice: the moment
he leaves off playing, if only for a
week or SO, he finds his game pro-
| portionately falling off.
Yet, in spite of these statements,
1t surely is not true that the man
who has gone slowly and painstak
ingly up the long hill that leads to
good golf playing should lose all his
labor if obliged to forego his game
for few short months, or even days,
If the most querulous can be believed.
In my opinion, the only lost time
in the practice of golf is when the
strokes are made in a slipshod man
ner and even that time is not wholly
lost, for the players health is bene-
fitted by the fresh air and exercise
A Difficult Game.
Golf is the most difficult game in
the world, judging point of skill by
point of skill. 1t requires long and
careful practice to build. up a game.
and, like any other strong building
ones golf game needs a solid foun-
dation, and l believe that solid
golf foundation will last practically
lifetime. Once we'll grounded in
the game, no golfer need worry about
his future pleasure.
pr,t Of hi
expert means when he complains
about his lack of practice. Golf at
its best is the result of extraordinary
co-or dination-everythi must work
together for the perfect game. When
one stops playing for a time his very
clubs seem strange when he tax es
them up again, and even the outdoor
light is confusing. He swings too
hard, or not hard enough, or does
this or that, much short of perfec-
ton. In other words, he lacks finish
and this finish is the result of prac-
tice; 1t is this that sends you straight
down the course and gives 20 yards
difference on your second shot.
O O O
Practice Essential.
Every one who has seen first
class game has noticed the machine
like character of the play, and this
math ematical precision of stroke is
only reached by unremitting prac-
tice. No golfer of championship
skill would enter championship
tournament without a great deal Of
preliminary practice. Thus 1T can be
seen that 1t is the finish that wears
off and needs constant looking after,
but with a good foundation the out
of-practice player can easily get go
ing again.
John Ball won the British amateur
championship eight times, and his
last success took place after his
fiftieth birthday. No, golfers do not
forget their game. but they do lose,
when out of practice. that fine finish
which Is the friend of consistency
they forget. perhaps. few tiny gol-
den rules and small faults creep in:
but the essential features are not
forgotten.
1t requires little time in the
spring for our northern players to
round out their game, but when that
is done 1t compares favorably with
the games of those who went south
and played the winter through. Time
spent on a golf course is not wasted !;
it is a sensible preparation for life
time of pleasant enjoyment.
Copyright John F. Ollie Coz