The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-03-15
Pro Golf a Hard Lot, Says the "SiIver Scot

IT. view of the fact that Tommy Armour, the Silver Scot of profess sional golf will take over at Rock ledge Country Club in West Hart ford sometime in April, replacing J. J. (BuO Geoghegan, able, popular and Weli-knoWn teacher of golf to hundreds of Waterburians; the cur- rent Armour article in Esquire Seem- ed particularly timely. Most of the folks who play the game get itchy" about this time of year, for the feel of driver, niblick, sand-iron or putter-so here goes:
 "The guy in the gallery who continuously and confidently be- lieves he could improve on the shots made by tournament golfers, doesn't realize that the terrific nervous strain of competitive golf is unequalled in any other sport, says Tommy Armour in his article, TENSION: COLTS GREATEST HAZARD. in the April issue of ESQUIRE. Golf is game which is entirely different from any other because the ball is at rest. You can take as long as you like to hit it and fellows who only watch the experts play can't under stand why these little shots should be so difficult, because they are made to look so easy. They never stop to realize that one stroke thrown away, one little false movement, one moments lack of concentration, one disconcerting move on the part of the gallery. is enough to ruin mans entire S score. The quiet adds to the ten sion. The game calsl for complete coordination and perfect nerve | control.
 Once the shot is gone, it's gone, and nothing can recall it. In first-call competitive golf it isn't 8 matter of hitting one, two or three shots well in succession, it's matter of hitting dozens of shots with exactly the proper clubs, ex- actly the precise flight with all
 tn, different types of swings the experts use. All you have to do is relax mentally for one moment and you're gene. Losing that one Is inconsequential. But 1t may re- suit in the loss of several strokes. It's simple matter to turn four into a seven by that one bad
 stroke. The matter of making a
 bad shot which costs you one or
 two or three over par also has
 other effects. It upsets your equanimity. Your tempo is changed
 It has very seldom happened that
 a man starts a championship with
 seven and finishes with fine
 round. He has immediately put
 himself behind not just one, but
 ten "eight-balls." Every shot must
 be perfect now. Every swing must
 be beautifully timed. Every move
 ment of his body must be perfect
 y balanced, if he's going to win.
 What usually happens is that the
 strain of the initial seven, or
 whatever it may be, destroys his
 concentration.
 The desire for conquest applies II everything we do, and it's eXtr; strong in recreation. The plea of thu businessman golfer to shoot 100 sool becomes plea for ninety. AS sooI as he does eighty he wants seventy and when he gets in the seventie Ca score very few accomplish l then ceases to be recreation. It l ther a mental and physical strail during his weekend, or hi days O hours of supposed relaxation. Week ends of healthful exercise yith con genial friends give way to a contes of man vs. golf clubs, and the gol , clubs usually win. That poor gu l imagines that he's going througl the same tortures that the expert , do. But he hasn't even approache the strain professionals have to en dure.
 II. other games you get anothe chance. In baseball you get thre Q cracks at 1t; in tennis yor lose onl e one point. But in golf the loss of on S shot has been responsible for tn n ru!r of a whole gam.. There al 2. more fine golfers who don't win IT tournament play than do, conclude d Armour, but the really great and ia t nous golfers are those who hay