Evening star., 1934-08-03
WHEN THEY
QUIT HOME LOTS
Failures in U. S. Tourney
Recall Successes OF
Predecessors.
BY w. r. McCALLUM.

BY W. r. McCALLUM.
TIME lads are fairly good
golfers on their home pas
lures, but they cannot
seem to get anywhere on
unfamiliar territory. Those f1ye
public linkSmen from Washing
ton failed to qualify in the ma
tional tourney at Pittsburgh this
week, are good golfers on courses
which constant play has made
familiar to them, but, based on
their own showing in the Smoky
City, they are not so warm on
unfamiliar terrain.
Not since Ted Burrows lost interest
in these national tournaments has any
golfer from the National Capital
reached first base in the big municipal
links title chase. and the present crop
of linksmen are far removed In skill
from the lads who represented the
public courses In the years starting
with 1923. There just do not seem to
be any budding George Voigts or
Harry Pitts coming along on the pub
lie golf courses nowadays, although
the FIVE who went TO Pittsburgh last
week are at the top OF the present
crop. John Connolly. the present
Washington title holder, Is a fairly
good player.
Volgt Was Consistent.
90 is Claude Rippy. And so are
y Harlan VIII, Harry Saunders and
Johnny Baer. But they we're not
able to qualify among the first 81
public linksmen at Pittsburgh. 1t
wasn't always so, for even though no
Washingtonian has been able To win
the national, two or three OF the top
notchers Of decade ago did rather
well. Back in 1924 Earl McAleer won
the medal and the washington team
won the Harding Cup In the tourney
at Dayton, Ohio. The following year
Al Houghton went to the semi-final
at Salisbury, and in those days George
Voight always qualified and moved
along well into the match play
rounds.
Ten years ago the public links
graduates came fairly close to COM
plete dominance of the club tourna-
ment picture. Between Voigt, John
Shorey, Harry Pitt and Houghton. all
of whom learned the game at East
Potomac Park, they just about split
up the club tournaments. Yet in re-
cent years the public links lads have
done almost exactly nothing In the
club affairs. Rippy went to the final
at Indian Spring few weeks ago, to
be sure, but he couldn't get by Roger
Peacock. Connolly tied for the quail
flying medal at Congressional last
year. but quickly went out In the
match play rounds.
Lack Opportunity.
Y you just cannot come to any con-
clusion other than that the lads
do not rate as did those giants
of other days. Yet all these lads,
when they get together TO play their
two-bit syndicate games at Rock
Greek or East Potomac, can put ON
quite a golf show They struggle
harder for these two-bit pieces than
they do In the big tournaments. And
they have lot of golf shots, too.
1t might be that II they were given
more chance to play the better golf
courses, where they have to hit the
ball in the air all the time they would
play better and score better. Not
that any of the public golf courses are
easy for they are not, but the Ahots
required are different from those Of
the well-trapped private layouts. 1t
might also be that given more tourna-
ment experience the Rippys, Con-
nellys, Baer and Wills might 20
places. They do not have q great deal
Of tournament play on the public
courses. But at their present stage
OF development they haven't shown
the capabilities Of their predecessors
Of a decade ago.