Evening star., 1937-04-07
GAME FAR FASTER
THAN IN HIS RULE
Wouldn't Win as Often Now
Even If Up to His Old
Form, Critics Feel.
BY W. r. McCALLUM.

passed Bobby Jones and his
cronies and competitors OF 10
~ years ago with the highest
standard OF scoring the ancient and
honorable game Of divot flinging ever
has known. You can't get the lads
gathered in the South to talk about it
except In guarded asides.
They don't want to hurt the feel
hgs OF the Jones man or his friends,
nor do they want to exalt unduly
their own prowess, but they feel none
the less that the game Of the top
notch professional stars of today Is
far better than it was during the days
when Bob Jones ruled the roost.
They definitely feel that Bob rep
resented an era, and good one, in
golf. but they also feel that that day
Is past and that the scoring of today
Is 30 much faster, the shot-making so
much keener that Bob and his pals
OF q decade ago are back in an almost
forgotten day of golf Nor do they
feel that Bob now at the age OF 35,
will ever win the Augusta national
tourney, in which he Is the darling OF
the galleries.
Game Has Sped Up.
IT DUNNO about Bob" said Witty
= Cox, the Kenwood wise-cracker.
II haven't seen him play much re-
Gently. But have a hunch that even
il Bob went on the Winter tour and
got few tournaments under his belt
he still wouldn't win as he used to win
The boys who are winning tourna-
ments today are the finest golfers the
world ever has seen. I don't need to
tell you about that; the scores tell
the story. They take any tough course
apart and knock par to shreds so
often and SO consistently that there
isn't any question about it."
But how about Bob Jones with a
few tournaments under his belt?" we
asked Wifi. Bob probably would
play as well as ever once he got into
the scoring stride" Witty said. But
/ doubt if he'd win more than any
one else. Of course, that's hard to
say. Bob is a great player--none bet
tsr-but you can't win big one
without being tournament tough. And
Bob never has been that way in the
Augusta tournament All the other
pros feel the same way.
New Ball Appears Longer.
4 FEW chip shots from Augusta .
They brought out a new golf ball
here for the first time. It's a Spald-
ing product, and the boys have named
It the ugly duckling' . Its chief
virtue is that it gets up quicker from
all clubs and flies higher than the
old ball or the ball of last year
They don't claim increased length
for it on account of the ban of the
U. S. G. A. against lengthening the
sphere reached at conference with
manufacturers last June at Baltus
Tol But my guess is the new
bah win be yards longer just the
same The makers claim nothing,
but the driving machines tell the tale
-. Some of the women folks who
run the Southern tournaments are all
excited about a yarn appearing In a
Kansas City paper alleging that Helen
Dettweiler's expenses on the Southern
tour were paid by the company which
employs Babe Didrikson :. They're
hoping It doesn't reach the eyes Of
John G. Jackson and the United
States Golf Association crowd, for it
would result in nasty mess were
Helen to be put on the spot on
grounds of professionalism. OF course,
there isn't dot of truth in it.
Writer Is Chided.
Helen paid her own way in those
eouthern tournaments and is an
amateur golfer in every sense Of the
word The guy who wrote the
yarn should have better sense {.
Those things don't help and can hurt
like the devil . Augusta had the
finest set-up from the publicity stand
point OF any tournament :. Behind
the eighteenth green a big grand
stand was set up In which the broad
casters and the photographers were
enscounced to snap the boys as they
left the final green and the mo-
camera" ban was enforced on the
course The club house area was
dotted with little signs reading: mo
cameras allowed beyond this point"
which was a good idea after all
The players should be allowed to
swing without the click Of camera,
and the amateur lens operators don't
show much Judgment in their picture
taking The professional black
and-white boys know their stuff when
It comes TO action shots.