“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.