Evening star., 1942-10-25
Nation Has 100000
Spheres Available,
|ce|y Claims
Feels Linksmen Should
Maintain Their Sport
As Great Morale Aid
BY WALTER McCALLUM.

The golf ball situation is all right
with plenty of spheres available for
1s43, and the progolfers of the land
can do the job of keeping golf going
and the country clubs alive through
various transportable pooling ar
rangements So thinks l.. B. Icely,
president Of one of the big links
equipment manufacturing outfits.
Il believe the golf clubs Of the
country have nothing to worry
about with respect to the available
supply of balls and clubs with which
to play" says Icely in a letter to
Ed Dudley, president of the Profess
sional Golfers Association OF
America.
There probably are million golf
clubs now in the hands Of manu-
facturers and dealers and in the
hands of the 100000 golfers of the
country there is at least an average
of l to dozen golf balls. That
means that there are out in the
field among golfers probably about
72,000,000 golf balls. AS these are
used from time to time and can be
gotten back by the manufacturers,
they can be reprocessed.
Urges Golf Be Kept Alive.
Beyond the above figures there
probably are $4,000 dozen golf balls
still in the hands of the manufac-
turers which will be delivered to
certain pros and dealers during the
rest of this fall and winter and next
spring That is we'll over half mil
lion balls. would say that in the
shops and on the dealers shelves
throughout the country there prob
ably are 100000 dozen golf balls at
this time, which means 100000
more added.
I'm our best heyday times of golf
the total number of rounds played.
in 1929 and 1880. was about 90,000,-
600. So, with something like 30.-
100000 golf balls or more in the
field now, there is no danger of not
having enough golf balls to play as
much golf as was played in the
Klondike days"
Golf should be kept alive for physi-
cal fitness reasons, and for mental
health and as an escape from the
conditions under which all Of us are
operating, Icely says.
Most of the men who play golf
play it because they love it, he
added. and because they get some
benefits from 1t that they cannot
measure exactly with the yardstock
of dollars and cents or on the scale
of improvement and good outlook
and morale.
Games Value Seen Increased.
I'VE should do everything we can
to avoid pessimism or the thought
that may come that it is unpatriotlc
to play golf and keep ones self in
shape. We should tell with every
energy, power and influence We
have through the press. the radio
and national magazines and by word
of mouth so loudly that it will off,
set the bad propaganda that comes
from certain sections in Washing
ton the real values of this great
game more now even than in peace
times.
"As to what effect national gaso-
line rationing will have next April
and May when golf opens up in the
North. nobody can guess. I believe
through the share -the-car plan and
other programs that will be de-
veloped through the ingenuity of the
pros and management and director
of golf clubs that golf tprivate>
clubs will continue to operate next
year.
Some that are far away from,
transportatio may be affected, but
in the main I believe the casualties
will be relatively small among gol1
clubs, if there is a determination anc
will on the part of the leaders If
golf to keep golf alive during thi;
war and not have the greatest or
ganized sport institution in the
United States die through defeatisn
or inactivity in finding way Il
keep it alive"