Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-25
COLORED CADD|ES
IN DIXIE PRAISED
Know Game From A to z and
Help Player-MidWest
Is Independent.
By WALTER HAGEN,
British Open Golf Champion.

A S I travel around the country
~ meet many interesting and
"A unusual golfers and hear
4 \ strange golf tales. All the
United States and Canada are
intensely interested in the game, and
each section has its vernacular.
hear quaint golf language in the
Far West that brings a smile from the
Fastener, and quaint talk Down East
that amuses the Westerner. The south
has its line of golf talk and customs,
too.
In the South the colored caddie
element enters, and this is always a
source of amusement. One can never
really become seriouS-too serious, !
mean-on Southern links, as long as
these brown and ebony lads are around.
CoIored Boys Bright.
II one gets the idea the colored caddie
doesn't know the game, he is soon
disabused. These boys know golf from
A to q. and they quickly learn all there
is to learn about each players game.
They usually hand out the right clubs,
and their Judgment Is just as good. IL
not better, than that of the average
boy in the North.
In England and Scotland the colored
caddie is unknown, and this is one
of the reasons the foreign players are
so much interested in playing golf IN
the South.
NV flrst impression of the colored
caddie was formed at PinehurSt. These
boys are experienced bag toters. but
that Is not all. They can give ADVICE,
and at times their humor is refreshing.
They practice golf in their spare time.
They know the stars Of the game and
can initiate them, too, bringing out the
main features of each player they have
caddied for or watched.
In New Mexico, close to the border,
cowboys are taking up the game. The
Texas cowboys, too, are learning golf
fast, and they have brought many new
expressions into the game.
California has a great many Eastern
golfers. I believe there is more in COM
mon between the golfers of Los Angeles
and its vicinity and the Eastern players
than between any other two groups In
the United States.
A Ball Mystery.
Fads in some sections are entertain
Ing We find a run on certain golf
ball in one section and wonder why.
Maybe In another city a few hundred
miles away that ball is never used.
Golfers through the Middle West are
as leaders in the game rather than fol-
lowers. They stick by their guns at all
times. When they believed the stym!e
was an unfair part of the game, they
eliminated it. When they discovered
that mud adhering to the ball was a
nuisance and a detriment to puttirg 5,
they decided 1t would be best to let
the player clean the ball.
The Middle West has brought golf
A.. 4 S.,Ao 1,4 tNNi nv
being used in the East and other parts
of the country, Middle Westerners used
to talk about shooting around the links,
and this has become a popular term, al
though the effete East was slow to take
1t up.
The Atlantic Seaboard originated a
lot of ideas on golf, and many of them
have become a popular part OF the
game. We would hardly think of dis
cardinR the four-ball matches, which
have become the feature Of week end
golf.
Nassau System Popular.
We would not think Of giving up the
Nassau system of scoring, another i'm
portant development of the game that
originated in this country. The game
as It stands is about as near perfect as
possible, yet We will find new ideas
coming along from time to time, aid
we will wonder why they have not been
thought of before The invention of
the little wooden tee was a novelty not
thought much of at first, but finally it
has caught on like wildfire, and one
wonders why so simple an invention WIS
so long coming.
II one is getting golf stale" my tip
Is to change the scenery. A trip to
another part of the country will give
new ideas and renew the old golf spirit.
Copyright, 1929. by North American News
paper Allience)