GOLF 



2530 



GOLF 



THE STORY OF GOLF 



OLF, a popular game for both sexes, 

 played in large spaces in the great out-of- 

 doors, under conditions which promote bodily 

 health, develop physical control and increase 

 mental alertness. There are comparatively 

 few playing grounds, or courses, because even 

 a "short course" requires at least sixty to 

 seventy acres of ground, while a "long course" 

 needs 150 acres or more, to give players the 

 fullest measure of enjoyment and opportunity 

 to develop masterful playing. This fact ren- 

 ders it practically impossible to popularize the 

 game except in thickly-populated centers, 

 where a hundred or more people may combine 

 to lease or purchase the needed ground and 

 prepare it for use. 



The Course. The playing field does not re- 

 quire stated dimensions or regular shape. A 

 so-called "short course" demands sufficient 

 space to locate nine "holes" from 100 yards to 

 500 yards apart. The direct distance between 



A 



A NINE-HOLE COURSE 



(a) Club house, close to which is the starting 

 point, or first "tee." 



the holes must be on lines that are not crossed 

 or closely approached by each other. This 

 latter is a requirement for the safety of the 

 players; those on any part of the course must 

 feel secure from flying shots from the clubs 



of other players. It is always desired that 

 the distances between holes shall vary as much 

 as possible; more skill is then demanded in 

 judging shots. Whether the course be one 

 of nine holes a short course or of eighteen 

 holes a long course the arrangement should 

 be such that the last hole is near the starting 

 point. In the first half of the game the par- 

 ticipants are "playing out," or moving away 

 from the starting point ; in the second half they 

 are "playing in," or approaching the point 

 from which they began to play. 



The field may be entirely level, a condition 

 favored by beginners, or it may be quite hilly 

 and wooded in places. The hazards of the 

 game increase with the difficulties the surface 

 of the course presents. On flat courses arti- 

 ficial mounds of earth, called bunkers, are 

 reared to develop greater playing skill ; these 

 are also given the general term hazards. In 

 front of a hazard a long, narrow pit may be 

 dug to a depth of over a foot and its bottom 

 covered with several inches of shifting sand. 

 This adds greatly to the difficulties of the un- 

 fortunate player whose ball falls into the pit, 

 for several shots may be wasted before the 

 ball is again on the fairway. 



Each hole is really a metal cup four inches 

 in diameter and of equal depth, sunk into the 

 ground until its top is level with the surface. 

 The ball must be knocked into the cup, a feat 

 requiring considerable skill. To facilitate this 

 play the turf on all sides of the cup for about 

 thirty feet is made very smooth.' It is usually 

 heavily grassed, and the grass is kept closely 

 cut; sometimes, however, it is -a hard clay 

 surface. This square is called the green, and 

 the play on the ball towards the cup from 

 any point on the green is called putting (the 

 u is given the short sound). 



The Game. One person may play alone 

 a "single;" two may play a match game a 

 "twosome;" three a "threesome;" or four a 

 "foursome." Only once in playing each hole 



