University of Virginia Library

GOLF AS A PASTIME

"GOLF" (from an old Scottish word meaning "golf") is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, and almost every city now has at least one private club devoted to the pursuit of this stylish pastime. Indeed, in many of our larger metropolises, the popular enthusiasm has reached such heights that free "public" courses have been provided for the citizens with, I may say, somewhat laughable results, as witness the fact that I myself have often seen persons playing on these "public" courses in ordinary shirts and trousers, tennis shoes, and suspenders.

The influence of this "democratization" on the etiquette of what was once an exclusive

sport has been, in many instances, deplorable, and I am sure that our golf-playing forefathers would turn over in their graves were they to "play around" today on one of the "public" courses. In no pastime are the customs and unwritten laws more clearly defined, and it is essential that the young lady or gentleman of fashion who contemplates an afternoon on the "links" devote considerable time and attention to the various niceties of the etiquette of this ancient and honorable game.

A young man, for example, when playing with his employer, should always take pains to let his employer win. This is sometimes extremely difficult, but with practice even the most stubborn of obstacles can be overcome. On the first tee, for instance, after the employer, having swung and missed the ball completely one or two times, has managed to drive a distance of some forty-nine yards to the extreme right, the young man should take care to miss the ball completely three times, and then drive forty-eight yards to the extreme left. This is generally done by closing the

eyes tightly and rising up sharply on both toes just before hitting the ball.

On the "greens" it is customary for a young man to "concede" his employer every "putt" which is within twenty feet of the hole. If the employer insists on "putting" [Ed. note:—He won't] and misses, the young man should take care to miss his own "putt." After both have "holed out," the young man should ask, "how many strokes, sir?" The employer will reply, "Let me see—I think I took seven for this hole, didn't I?" A well-bred young man will not under any circumstances remind his employer that he saw him use at least three strokes for the drive, three strokes for his second shot, four strokes in the "rough," seven strokes in the "bunker," and three "putts" on the "green," but will at once reply, "No, sir, I think you only took six, altogether." The employer will then say, "Well, well, call it six. I generally get five on this hole. What did you take?" The young man should then laugh cheerily and reply, "Oh, I took my customary

seven." To which the employer will sympathetically say, "Too bad!"

After the employer has thus won his first three holes he will begin to offer the young man advice on how to improve his game. This is perhaps the most trying part of the afternoon's sport, but a young man of correct breeding and good taste will always remember the respect due an older man, and will not make the vulgar error of telling his employer for God's sake shut up before he gets a brassie in his — — ear.

A wife playing with her husband should do everything in her power to make the game enjoyable for the latter. She should encourage him, when possible, with little cheering proverbs, such as, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," and she should aid him with her advice when she thinks he is in need of it. Thus, when he drives into the sycamore tree on number eleven, she should say, "Don't you think, dear, that if you aimed a little bit more to the right. . . ." et cetera. When they come to number fourteen, and his second shot lands

in the middle of the lake, she should remark, "Perhaps you didn't hit it hard enough, dear." And when, on the eighteenth, his approach goes through the second-story window of the club-house, she should say, "Dear, I wonder if you didn't hit that too hard?" Such a wife is a true helpmate, and not merely a pretty ornament on which a silly husband can hang expensive clothes, and if he is the right sort of man, he will appreciate this, and refrain from striking her with a niblick after this last remark.

A young wife who does not play the game herself can, nevertheless, be of great help to her husband by listening patiently, night after night, while he tells her how he drove the green on number three, and took a four on number eight (Par five), and came up to the fourteenth one under fours. Caddies should be treated at all times with the respect and pity due one's fellow creatures who are "unfortunate." The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children, and one should always

remember that it is not, after all, the poor caddy's fault that he was born blind.