Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-03-29
B Billy
EN\AZAAS2
lAHS- +
Huggins bitten by Golf bug

Higgins Bitten by Golf bug
I For years Miller Higgins has been
! golf proof Also, as manager of the
New York Yankees the game has
been taboo among his athletes.
| Baseball has always been, still is,
/ Millers first love as far as sports
are concerned Golf has nothing in
common with the national pastime
with him.
| The ban is still on golf as far as
the players are concerned, despite
the fact that the midget manager
of the Yanks is now confirmed
golf bug. He was bitten badly during
the past winter
At that, Higgins is consistent in
his demands. Since he refuses to
let his players indulge, he himself
has also passed up trying to hit
the elusive pill until next fall
On an off day during the regular
season, Higgins may break over and
play Is or more holes but only
on such occasions, which are rather
rare.
No Smarter Man in Baseball
w
Petersburg, Fla He invited me to
play with him in his final appearance
of the spring, it being the day prior
to the start of the Yanks' training
grind.
l declined for two reasons. One
was the fear that / might get
good drubbing from Higgins, who
has been playing all winter. The
other, as 1 explained to him, was
the fact that 1 had an engagement
to tickle the typewriter keys for
couple of hours.
Unquestionably Miller Higgins is
one of the smartest men in baseball.
He knows every angle of the game.
In his quiet, workmanlike manner
he has been big success.
When you talk baseball with
Higgins, you know you are getting
an expert opinion on any question
you fire at him. From baseball our
conversation shifted to golf.
1 soon realized, despite the fact
he has been at the game only a
very short time, he has some very
definite opinions on how it should
be played. Experts in golf may not
agree with his deductions, but I
found them at least interesting.
Has Definite Views on Golf
"I never took lesson in my life
but 1 am doing very WELL" explained
Higgins. Il find there must be some
snap behind the golf swing as in
baseball, if you seek distance
81 don't think the stance means
a thing. l know the pro players
will give me a stiff argument on
that one, but it's my story and I
stick to it.
"In baseball, some of the best
hitters have the most awkward sty4e.
Form doesn't mean, "a thing if the
punch is there. Take myself. for
instance; I'm no Bobby Jones or
Walter Hagen for form, but l get
there.
'When I started playing golf all
the old players were telling me to
bring my club around the ears as
started the swing and to drape it
around my neck at the finish.
Form is stressed so much you
forget all about hitting the ball,
which, after all, is the important
thing"
At this point I broke into the
conversation long enough to concur
with Higgins in his final deduction.
Hit the Ball Is Big Idea
'We don't start ball players out
with the idea of hitting home runs
right off the bat. The same principle
should hold good for golf. The first
thing to do is learn to hit the ball"
What about golf fnjuring the
batting eye of a ball player?
"Not a bit,' replied Huggins, eff
he uses the same stance and style.
MY objection to golf in relation
to baseball is that it takes the mind
of the player from his profession.
It's a bad omen when your players
talk golf instead of baseball.
During the season an athlete paid
to play ball should do that very
thing, not make it sideline to his
pleasure, golf 1 demand it."