Evening star., 1933-11-04
RUMORS PROMISE
LNEL|ER SPHERE
buffers Err at Times by
Buying Same Material
Used BY Pros.
BY WALTER r. McCALLUM.
"HE merry scramble which

NA@A NAASA~J
has been on among golf
i ball manufacturers ever
since the u. S. G. A. leg
islated into existence the present
sphere of 1853 inches in size and
1852 ounces in weight, is due to
be intensified this Winter.
Rumors fill the air concerning golf
balls which will give back to John j.
Duffer all the old distance which he lost
when the rabbit BALI OF 1880 was
legislated out of manufacture. Next
Spring we can look for new crop OF
balls, for all of which will be claimed
extra distance, extra this and extra that,
better putting and all the old-tlme fol-
de-rol which has gone on for the past
half-doZen years, ever since the
U. S. G. A. decided to take hand in
the matter OF goli ball size and weight
Just now at the tag end Of the golf
playing season one brand of ball is
getting lot of play because it claims
extra distance and probably does give
two or three more yards when well hit
than the other makes Of golf balls,
But-and what big but this is-your
as big day when he cracks 100, is
laundering his pocketbook on the rocks
Of a possible few yards Of extra length
when he steps down and buys the crop
of thin-cover, tightly-wound golf balls
Of today. He Is seeking the Will-othe-
wisp of distance at considerable cost
to himself.
TT is no secret that more distance
can be obtained by a golf ball
wound tightly around a compress
sible core, with a very thin cover COM
pressed over the tightly wound layers
or rubber thread But to secure golf
ball that will be durable and will stand
up under the topping and constant
pounding of your run-of- -the-mine
golfer All, there is the rub. The ideal
ball for the expert is one very tightly
wound, with very thin cover. Out of
such a ball few players will secure
extraordinary distance. But when they
top it just the tiniest little bit with
wood or iron that ball is fit only for
the practice bag.
Imagine what ball would be worth
after pounding and topping inflicted by
the 100 shooter. It just wouldn't be any
good at all. And yet, day after day, at
countless clubs throughout the land the
100-golfer steps up and blithely lays
his money on the line for the same ball
the experts play, knowing full well that
topped shot with an iron will ruin his
ball
It's strictly his business if he wants
to tess his money around that way.
but how much better off he would be
if he bought couple Of golf balls with
medium weight covers which would
stand considerable pounding and top
ping and in the last analysis, get him
just about as much distance as the
balls with thinner covers.
The whole situation is the result OF
the ballyhoo of the manufacturers-or
the most CT them-and the gullibility
Of the ordinary golfer, who prefers to
play with the ball Hagen or Armour
use, regardless of the cost to their
pOcke,cook.
IT'S a peculiar condition-but golfers
are Ike sheep. They run for the
newest thing, regardless Of how it
may affect their pocketbook. And 80
many dollars are spent foolishly on the
chimera of extra distance.
A golf ball wound tightly. with a
very thin cover will give great distance
when cleanly hit-perhaps as much in
the present size and weight as the old
rabbit ball But very few players can
hit ball cleanly. Most manufacturers
strive to arrive at happy combination
Of distance and durability Can you
imagine the squawks that would arise
over the land if the so-called dis
tance" balls made for professionals
were put on the market for buffers to
buy? One topped shot and it would
all be over Professionals do not top
shots, but buffers do and if these thin
cover balls were put out for sale the
chorus of yells that would arise would
drown foot ball crowd at big-game
time.
The smart golfer who has weather
eye on his pocketbook (and who hasn't
these days. will keep away from the
thin cover balls and buy golf balls that
he can play for 18 holes without ruin
Ing 'en.