The Washington times., 1930-11-22
JONESSHOULD
DRAFT NEW
GOLF FCODE
By NAN O'REILLY

Bobby Jones, as an amateur or
a professional (take your cholce).
knows more about golf than any
living human. No one who has
ever seen him hit shot will dis
pute that fact.
Any man who, before he reaches
the score-and-ten mark in life's
Journey, has won 13 major crowns
in America and Great Britain,
must know all there is to know
about the game he plays so we'll.
So why doesn't the United States
Golf Association put him to work?
That the governing body holds
Bob in high esteem is no secret.
They should. The president-elect.
Herbert H. Ramsey, has gone on
record to the effect that there Is
no earthly reason why Bob's name
should not remain on the official
ticket for 1881, which will be
voted on by the delegates to the
annual meeting in January.
Ramsay particularly points
out that the EmperOr's kn0wl.
edge of golf conditions make
him a very valuable asset to
the association. All of which
is true, very true.
In fact. Bob's fund of infol1na.
ton is so great that he has been
signed to make IL one-reel talkleS
on golf, and for several years he
has been raking in the shekels
for syndicated articles. So why
shouldn't the U. S. G. A., at to-
days executive session at the Bit
more, request Jones to utilize his
knowledge to the extent of draft
| ing a new amateur code?
The amateur rule needs revision
so badly, it's crime. Jones
knows the bad spots and the good
ones. and the U. S. G. A. could
delegate him to name COM
mittee of five to give the matter
plenty of consideration.
To be sure, it's a bit unusual
for a commercial" golfer (for
want of a better classification for
Bob to sit in the seats OF the
mighty with the powers-that-be,
passing Judgment on the goltlng
of his more unfortunate brethren
who haven't his great gifts, but
if the U. S. G. A. elects him as a
means of showing him honor,
that's up to the officials.
They might go bit further
and add Walter Hagen, to keep
peace in the professional family,
and between Jones and Hagen, a
real bona fide amateur rule could
be outlined, a workable code
which could not be misconstrued
if an official took a dislike to a
golfer because he didn't balance
his tea cup properly.
At present. Jones, Won
! Elm and Goodman are men
without a golfing country.
At the annual meeting of
the Professional Golfers As
sociation, in Chicago, the sug-
gestiOn for a business golfer
class of membership was re-
jected.
If Jones and a committee
worked out an amateur rule,
some disposition could be made
of those golfers who are no
longer amateurs and yet cannot
be classed as professionals.
The P. G. A. is justified In
closing its membership to work.
ing" pros; there is no reason why
non-amateur should be called
professional.
Put Bobby Jones to work; be-
tween his law brain and his golf
brain, he should be able to draft
an 1ron-clad amateur code.
The failure of number Of
outstanding golf stars to qualify
in the sectional tests for the
P, G. A. championship last year
did some good. At the P. G.. A.
meeting, it was agreed to in.
crease the number of qualifiers
from 81 to 100. so that another
year will surely see Walter Ha-
gen, Bobby Cruickshank, Willie
MacFarlane. ct al, in the field.
1t is a bit tough on Tommy
Armour, as P. G.. A. Champion.
not to be permitted to play in
the international match for the
Ryder Cup at Scioto, June 26 and
q, but the rule says only home.
breds and Tommy is a Scot.