Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-11-14
The Song That Broke Bills Heart

went to work on it. He studied it
night and day, till he had it all
down pat, and his game began to
improve. In two days he was ready
for Dugan.
went along to referee-at Dugan's
request. He trusted Bill, but he
wanted an authority on rules. The
rules were all 1 knew about golf,
but l had them down pat.
Bills strategy was not to reveal
his secret at first, but to let the
game go on it's merits for a while
and luli Dugan into false sense
of security. Then he aimed to burst
out into song. He lost the first and
tied the second, and made a terrible
slice on the third. BY then he Figured
it was time to get going.
Dugan was standing right behind
! him when he took out his brasse
after he had pitched in out of the
rough Bill was a quick study, as
the actors say. He didn't need the
book. He just gripped his brassie
and began to yodel:
Swing your arm in circle true
and.
Have YOU gone dotty?" said Dugan,
coming UP to him and looking at
his eyes.
How about it, referee?" asked
Dugan of me. rs this some crooked
stuff"
There's nothing in the rules about
slnging,"I said.
Bill began again, finished his song,
! and got off a screamer. Dugan
scowled and followed along after
/ him. sH
When they came to the bunker he
took his niblick, walked up to it
; and sang:
'Wallop the sand with all you've got
And you'll make a perfect explosion.
shot"
! And blamed if he didn't. He laid thea
ball so close to the pin that it
was only n blade of dried grass that
kept it from rolling into the cup.
'T claim a foul" said Dugan. "Pve1
been framed, Therell be no more1
of this song, service in this game"
Its all fair" said Bill. Anything
against it in the rules, referee?"
Nothing, whatever I said.
"I'm framed" said Dugan, 'T can
see that. How can I be thinking
about my next shot when this guy
is giving an imitation of Gigli." He
pronounced it Giggly.
There's nothing to prevent you
singing if you want to- said Bill.
Dugan knitted his eyebrows He
lost the next hole-in silence. But
when Bill began to warm up on the
next with:
look at the ball and not the pin
And every putt will go rolling in
I Dugan came back with:
"Only mutt
Could miss that putt
He said that while Bill was syn. 4
cronizing for his putt and of course,
being of a. different wave length, !,
it threw the shot all out The BALI
went half way off the green. 4
TITS not ethical to talk when
another man is putting" said Bills
red in the face .t.a sy.s4
IT'S ethical to sing. amt it?" said
:Dugan. :
Bill did not reply. He hestitatedl
on the next shot, then he gritted
his teeth and mumbled through them
Away to the right the ball liwl fly
Ii Off the ball you take your eye."
'It- amt so nice
To get slice," warbled Dugan.
Look here" said Bill, IT don't
sing when you are shooting"
Sing if you want to-" said Dugan,
planting long mashie on the green
Fair for one is fair for another"
Bill protested to me, and I warned
Dugan that he mustn't sing when
Bill was making a shot. He yelped
good deal about it, but consented
The mischief was done, however
Bill remembered Dugan's stuff instead
of his own, and the meter didn't
give him time to >attune his shot
to it. He just kept jerking his arm
for the rest of the round, and Dugan
beat him seven up, which was $35
in its commercial aspect.
When we came in, wilbert was
waiting. for US.
We'll" he said, "you won nicely,
. didn't your
4 Bill said nothing. He merely walked
up to Wilbert and gave him terrific
smash in the nose