Evening star., 1938-05-15
TOUGH VARIATION
REFLECTED|NPLAY
Rippy's Chevy Chase Rounds
Back Theory-Care Urged
in Watering Greens.
BY WALTER McCALLUM.

You've got to have that feel, or you
can't score in golf Witty Cox is a
firm believer in the feel" of the club.
He claims that if you don't have the
touch. no matter how good you swing
you can't score. That's the reason,
says Cox, that you should hit a few
practice shots before going into a
tough match. Get the feel OF that
club before you start by warming
up with a few long shots and little
putting" says Cox
Just to show you what that elusive
feel means. let me tell you a yarn
about Claude Rippy. the public links
champ, who is about as smooth a
SHOEMAKER as you could find in many
a days travel. Claude shot II in
practice at Chevy Chase before the
tournament started. He shot 78 in
the medal round and got into the first
flight via the playof route. The diff
ference between the two scores was
touch" or feel" or whatever you
want to call that thing which means
the difference between a good round
and a mediocre score.
Rippy's Touch" Missing.
Il played just as we'll in that 78
round as I did in the II round" said
Claude. "On the first green in the
qualifying round I laid a chip shot
foot and half from the hole. The
putt for the 4 trimmed the cup and
stopped foot away. 1 missed the
next one and instead Of starting with
4 I had 6. That's the way it
was for the rest Of the round. I didn't
have the touch. You've gotta have it,
or you can't play this game.
Take the case of Parker Nolan,
medalist in the tourney. Parker holed
half dozen Of those tricky 6-footers
and didn't miss single holeable putt.
He missed a few greens, but he was
getting down his puts for pars.
That's the difference between good
scoring and an ordinary round of golf.
Witty is right-if you have the touch
you can score. If you don't have it
you don't score. And the only way
to get it is by practice"
Better to Spare Water.
You hear lot of complaint from
golfers along this line: why, those
darned green's won't hold a pitch. I
hit good one with lot of backspin
on it up there and the ball kicked
over into that big trap. They oughta
do something about those greens so
they'll hold a pitch. They oughta
saturate 'em with water"
But II they do drown those putting
greens with water they'll be laying
up stock of headaches for the green's
keeper. 'and anyhow, a guy who can't
play a pitch shot with stop on it to
fast green hasn't played a good
shot. The first argument is made
by the United States Golf Associa-
ton, and the second is by Fred
Mcleod. From the standpoint of
the health Of the grass, most greens
are overwatered," says the U. S. G. A.
Greens Section.
They should learn to pitch the
ball short and let it rum" says Freddie.
Just as We had to do before they
built up putting green's that will hold
q full brassie shot,
Grass Must Root Well.
The Greens Section points out that
If water were used more sparingly
on putting greens those big brown
patches of diseased grass wouldn't
appear SO often and so quickly. If
greens are overwatered early in the
season the roots win remain shallow
and the greens will therefore quickly
suffer in dry periods" the Greens Sec
tion says. "On the other hand, if a
moderately dry green is tolerated
during the spring months there is a
tendency for the grass TO develop a
strong root system, with the result
that less water will be required to
keep the turf in good condition during
the summer"
And if you find the grass on the
fairways Of your favorite golf course
q little long and thick, don't run
to the greenskeeper with a squawk.
He would do far better to let it grow
up little heavy. particularly at this
time of year, to let those grass roots
develop a good fundation for the dry
weather to come
High-set Mowers Help.
"Our recommendation, says the
Greens Section, lis that mowers be
set as high as the golfers will permit.
The higher the fairway grass is cut
the better it will withstand adverse
conditions. Our experience has been
that as the mowers are gradually
raised the players will tolerate longer
grass and will actually find that the
playing conditions will be greatly i'm
proved. even though the roll of the
ball will be less
It's reasonable, too, for a heavy
stand OF grass will take more hot
weather and the burning effect of the
sun than a closely cropped fairway.
It's all part Of the free service to
golf clubs donated by those tall
browed scientists over at the Depart
ment OF Agriculture. who work under
the banner Of the U. S. G. A.