Evening star., 1933-01-03

VA OAAANA~A 5S4A 6AAA Va AoAGI
4 which was the outcome of
the doubtful experiment Of
1881 (the bigger and lighter ball),
has been the finest scoring ball in
golf since the United States Golf
Association some eight or nine
years ago undertook to standard
ize the sphere which millions OF
golfers use in their peregrinations
over thousands of courses.
The new ball, which has an ofieial
weight OF not to exceed 1852 ounces
and size of not to exceed 1853 inches.
has proved itself the ball best adapted
to low scoring, as evidenced by the
unusually fine marks turned in in
dozen championships. But it can be
made a yet better ball If the manu-
facturers will see to it that it meets
all the legal specifications Of the golf
ball law.
A Washington golfer, interested In
the ballisticS Of golf balls, and particu-
larly in size and weight, bought lot
III ItL445 d lew Adyo aSO anu bOOk b14CLl
to a laboratory for testing. Imagine
his surprise when he found that the
entire lot Of several dozen balls, sold
to him as standard balls Of current
size and weight limitations, averaged
1.56 ounces in weight, six-hundredths
of an ounce below the maximum legal
weight!
A REVIEW Of the low marks made in
n golf during 1882 discloses that the
improved golf ball must be the rea-
son for the unusually low scoring.
Courses are not bit easier than they
have been for years. Clubs are the
same and the players are the same
group who have led the procession for
years. Yet more course records and
new championship marks were set dur
ing 1892 than ever before In the his
tory of the game.
Surely those professionals who wal
loped golf balls around championship
courses In 66s and 65S we're not play
ing with balls which did not come up
to standard weight. The answer lies in
the fact that most of the top-notch
pros of the country play with special
golf balls, balls which have q little
tighter winding, possibly thinner cover.
and which are weighed especially TO
meet with all the legal requirements Of
golf ball specifications. Most of the
leading pros are subsidized by golf ball
manufacturers in one way or another.
And surely they want the best products
they can obtain. Their leadership may
depend on it.
Right along that line we ran into
queer incident at the open champion
ship at Fresh Meadow last June. We
took golf ball to be autographed by
one Of the leading pros, knowing that
he was on the subsidized list Of one of
the leading companies. The ball was
made by another concern. Sorry" he
said, IN be glad to autograph a ball,
but 1t has to be a Long Flight I'd
get a dressing down If my name went
on any other ball"
ID ECORD- D-BREAKING performances
N of the new standard ball in 1892
included Gene Sarazens record
shattering 285 in the British open; his
remarkable dash over the last round in
the American open to score Sc and
287 to win at Fresh Meadow: Olin
Dutra's many remarkable scores In the
national open and the P. G. A. tour
ney; the record rounds made hereabout
by Tommy Armour. who shot a 66 at
Congressional: by Al Houghton, who
shot SO at Kenwood; by George Diff
fenbaugh, who shot 81 at Columbia,
and by many others. There can be no
doubt that the golf ball Of today Is the
finest scoring sphere ever devised by
the mind of man.
But 1t can be heightened, possibly
Is yards, by an improved method OF
winding the layers of rubber thread on
the core. One of the big ball manu-
facturerS told us short time ago that
by changing the tension of the ma
chinery which winds rubber thread on
the cores of golf balls. ne can lengthen
his product by many yards and throw
the whole ball business out of gear,
in SO far as length from the tee is con-
cerned. And length is what caused the
initial staudardiZing of golf balls.
You, Mr.. Golfer are buying today the
finest golf ball that ever has been pro-
duced. Of course you can't take a
caliper and pair of pennyweight scales
with you when you buy, but you can
insist that your golf balls conform to
standard size and weight. If you get
balls which fill the specifications you
viii find your game improved.
A SITUATION unique in golf annals
"A exists at Virginia Beach, where our
friend Lou Windholz, who used to
be one of the mainstays of golf at the
Baltimore Country Club, now holds the
presidency of the two big golf clubs at
the beach resort near Norfolk. Wind
holz, who has been president of the
Cavalier Country Club for several years,
has been reelected to the presidency
of the adjoining Princess Anne Coun-
try Club. The two clubs are inde-
pendent of each other. Both have
fine golf courses, although Princess
Anne probably is the club better known
to most Washington golfers