Evening star., 1947-03-20

be IN RratlCu0e nehfs
for his taking an II on a par three
hole in a recent $4,000 tournament
in Jacksonville, Fla.
For all us buffers, that ignomin-
ious 11-eight over par-served as
a shot in the arm, battery under
our blankets. 1t will do more for
us than Napoleon's speech did for
the Old Guard. Thanks to that IL,
our chlns will be held higher when
we head into the wilds of the rough
this summer our tread will be
lighter when we stride into a trap,
and our tempers will be better when
we knock our divots farther than
the ball.
Recalls Instances.
We will be able to say to ourselves,
when our tee shot barely carries the
women's tee, that golf is such an
exacting game, calling for such a
fine coordination of mind and
muscle, that even Ben Hogan occa-
sionally finds the strain too much
and splits at the seams like a pair
of hed-up-at-home pants.
I can recall innumerable instances
when the knowledge that Hogan had
taken an II on a short hole would
have comforted me as much as a
mothers kiss. There was that day
at Rancho Santa Fe, in Bing Cros-
by's tournament, when I was paired
in the pro-amateur event with
Jimmy Thompson, the worlds
mightiest hitter. Jim and I were
ahead, with only few holes to go.
Victory meant $1,000 to Jimmy and
a handsome travelling bag to me,
plus untold gloating privileges. I
was on the green in 2 and. with
the stroke handicap I had on the
hole. needed only two puts for a
birdie which would have wrapped up
the tournament for us. But didn't
two-put. I nine-putted, and one OF
the puts was probably the longest
ball I ever hit in my life. 1t scam
pered across the green and came to
rest in tranquil little brook which
murmured alongside.
There was the day in the North
and South Amateur Championship
at Pinehurst, N. c., when was the
top-heavy favorite to win the 18th
flight, being as my opponent was
gentleman who appeared on the
first tee wearing the same suit he
had worn when carrying torch
in a torchlight parade for William
Henry Harrison. His beard was
longer than his driver, and his per-
sonal physician served as his caddy,
lest the old boy need restoratives
between shots.
Mighty Blow Fails.
I, having won the honor, struck
the ball a mighty swipe on the first
tee. It skittered off the toe of my
club at right angles, and landed In
the back seat of an automobile. Golf
have never seen fit
(unwisely, I feeD to build club for
playing shots from back seats Of
parked automobiles. 1t took me
three shots to get the ball to the
hoorboard, two more to get it on
the running board, and two more to
get it on the ground. Lying 8
at this point, I finally reached the
green in IL and, thanks to three
superb puts, got down in Is. My
opponent, steady as rock, won the
hole with sound IA.
I never recovered from that one.
But had I known that golfer like
Ben Hogan would some day take an
II on a par 3, I would have
settled down and shot IS and
9s at my opponent until he
cracked under the pressure.
Yes, monument to Hogan, by all
means. AS campaign manager, I
will accept contributions In any
form-farm goods, dairy products,
soap coupons, stamps. IOUs, Button
Gwinnett signatures and soap flakes,
especially the last named.
Distributed by McNaueht Syndicate. Inc)