Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-26
Ry WALTER r. McCALLUM.

and down the bunkered Ian
rineiing their inprecauonS OF oeSpal
as they watch the resilient sphere OF 10
CAV bound cavly into sand traps VIII
calculations Of delight as they tea
of a screaming So0-yard drive. 70
M, January !. 1880. unless all signs fail
8 larger and lighter bali, more loosen
Wound. and certainly incapable OF De
iuc driven The distance covered oy I'M
ball Of today, is to be put INTO play T"
the standard Of the United states
The lack rabbit BAH OF tooaS,
masterpiece Of construction ana Joy
10 the heart Of dutfer ana expert atlAe
Is 10 be outlawed, banlShed ana other'
wise era6icated from the ouiiNeEe0 A"ii~
nevermore to appear,
Considerable water has passed Olluel
tha bridge since the United States Con
Association. more than half a decade
ecn realizing that the modern goH oal
Was tending TO negate the distance OF
r,,odern golf courses and eliminate al
the fine strokes that made the game
a true test Of skill TWO decades PACK
decided 10 undertake negotiations afo
governments with the Royal ana ancient
Of Great Britain in an effort TO obtain
n standard golf ball that would not
cover the tremendous distances covered
BY the golf bali Of today.
Meanwhile. and ever since, golt oaIl
manufacturers have gone on increasing
the resiliency of the ball by tighter
winding. better cores and improved COW
ers until the golf bail Of today IS the
1iveliest piece of balata and rupDe[
that has even been put together. ana
all the while the moguls OF the game
have watched their cherished courses
literally made into the laughing STOCK
of millions by experts who drlVe the
modern golf ball distances tnat harry
Vardon never dreamed OF when the Oio
Master was indeed the ace OF them al'
What Shorter Ball VIII DO.
How is this slower. shorter ball going
70 affect the game of golf?
We asked Tommy Armour and FRED
Mel cod. Sw'o professionals who probably
have a higher standing in professional
golf than any other pair throughout the
broad land. And We then went ABOUT
inouirtng of the garden variety OF dul-
fer how he felt about if. Their views,
70 saw the least, were divergent.
Both the professionals were very much
an favor of what TO most golfers OF to-
r;av will be a new type of ball, but what
is in reality a return TO the old ball OF
the vintage of 1910 and 1912. The dur
fers on the other hand. lnvelged long
and loudly against any return 70 the
old ball, declaring themselves IN favor
of longer golf balls, and yelplng Vocl1er-
ously when told that the skids are al
creased for abolition CT the present pan.
"A return to the old ball VIII nring
back the true glory OF the game-tne
intermediate. half iron snots ana tne
delicate strokes that have been &C.
stroved with the advent of the long
ball Of today" Tommy Armour oe-
clared. Fred Mcleod said the same
thing, asserting that the coming Oh tne
tightly wound. long ball of today has
mined the skill Of other days when
half iron shots. three quarter shots and
the finely timed strokes OF two decades
ago were the true test of the golfer.
Tommy Armour estimated that the
6,rffer viii find an increa39 Of three ana
possibly five strokes in his score When
The new ball is put into play, while IN
a wind the new ball will be so mucn
harder to handle that it probably VIII
raise the score Of the ordinary player
as much as a half-do2en strokes.
Likes His Distance.
Sc Golden of the Washington Club.
q PLAYER who ranks as an ordinary
fIufFer. holds that the advent OF the
neg ball will ruin the game for 30
per cent Of the golfers Of today VINO
are used 70 seeing reasonable distances
covered by the long driving mooern
ball
"Of course ! won't quit the game. but
for me much Of the kick will be gone,
Golden said. When drive a good
ball from the tee and find it 20. 80 and
SO yards back of my drives with the
present ball. an already difficult game
will have taken on new difficulties.
Eugene Goff. also of Washington, mace
substantially the same statement. hold
ing that though the game VIII De mncn
the same a great part OF the kick IN
seeing a screaming drive travel out TO
the 2s0-vsrd mark will have been lost
Another thing the professionals were
agreed upon--that the advent OF the
new ball will bring back the supremacy
Of Tn. man who knows the shots and
how 70 make them. Both Armour and
Mcleod held that the factor OF luck
IS 10 great with the present ball, which
skips gayly through bunkers that would
hold a larger. less resilient ball. And
they also declared that the ordinary
PLAYER who has grown up with the era
Of spade nlashies, and irons graduated
ali fine way dowu-0ne for each dis
tsnce TO be covered~-will have 10 learn
the game ali over again TO ADAPT hlm-
self 70 the new ball.
While tne man vino grew up and
learned the game in the DAYS wnen
half iron shots. push shots and forcing
shots we're essentials IN the HI OF
the finished golfer. viii get back the
supremacy ne lost when the JACK
rabbi" ball came into being, And
50 the controversy RACES. BOD Jones
has gone on record IS saying that IN
his opinion the introduction. o. me
Iooser wound. shorter g@f bail viii
make little difference in the scoring
But that applies TO the experts.
win Make Change.
throughout the years since 1921 the
u S. @ A mas made iabOTious expert
rnenas by machine ard using the nu-
man factor. 70 determine just what VIII
Occur when, and i. the new ball Is
put INTO Use Oh January J. 1880. Here
is yghat the national golf governing
BODY says Of the advent 81 the new BAH.
your committee ton implements and
the bali feels thai public opinion Is
slowly but surely accepting the iaet
that only through wise control of the
bah can the present length o! courses
and The playing Of them be Kept IN
the proper ratio and the results Of
this research nov make it possible 70
eeta1ligh standards Snlcn can be man =
tanned on permanent basis.
The way Is now clear Ia s@ect thf
size and weight golf ball best suited
10 eli classes q players. and 10 contfoi
driving power through limits ~ rebill-
ency without having 10 consider size
and weight a. necessary effect
Sufficient tests have been completed
10 prove that dependable data ~
measuring ihe resiAency u q golf Dali
Is n0w assured
E'here is little doubt that large
part u tne many millions of doliasf
spent annually 10 course upkeep. new
construction and maintenance Is due
70 tie modern ball With In tremendous
length Even Ia or Comparatively
sinitea experience al the 9ame~~a mat
.er Of tNo Decade we have seen tnf