THE OLD SCOTCH GAME OF GOLF-SOMETHING ABOUT HOCKEY AND SHINNY
In Scotland, where the game comes from, golf has been pronounced
"goff" for more than five hundred years.
Now that our President and other great men have taken to golf,
everybody reads about the popular game, but very few know anything
about it but the name. To such, the following facts may be of use. The
game is interesting, and its rules can be soon learned, but like
everything else we do for pleasure or profit, it takes a good deal of
practice before one can pose as an expert. Boys take to golf and soon
excel their seniors.
The equipment for golf consists of a large field, called "the links,"
to play in, a set of sticks or clubs with which to make the strokes,
and a ball to be hit at.
The start is made from a point called "the tee." The player's purpose
is to send the ball, which may be rubber or gutta percha, and is
about one and three-quarter inches in diameter, into a small hole.
This hole may be from twenty to a hundred or more yards away, and the
skill consists in doing the trick with the fewest possible number of
strokes. The player who makes the most holes with the fewest strokes
wins the game. This sounds very simple, and it is simple to
understand, but not so easy to do.
THE LINKS
Many of the best links are laid out where the soil is sandy and the
grass sparse and stiff. Such links dry quickly after a rain, and the
ball is easily played and seen. The course in this country for the
regulation game is sometimes three miles long; shorter courses can be
laid out for informal work and practice. The links do not extend in a
straight line. It is much better to have them wind about and end near
the start. By carefully planning the curves, a golf course may be made
to occupy limited grounds.
It has become a rule to make eighteen holes constitute a full course.
In the United States, however, comparatively few courses have more
than nine holes, and good practice can be had upon a course with even
a fewer number. The starting-point is called "the teeing-ground," and
is marked by two whitewash lines at right angles to the course,
forming a parallelogram with the side lines of the course five or six
yards in length by two or three in breadth. Within the parallelogram
the player places his ball upon a tee or small hill of sand or earth
from a half to three-quarters of an inch high.
The holes are about four inches in diameter, and are lined with iron--
condensed milk cans or similar vessels may be used--and the ground for
seven or eight feet on all sides is more level than the rest of the
course and is known as the "putting green." The holes are placed at
distances varying from three hundred to twelve hundred feet apart, and
are marked by little red flags, which are removed when the player
approaches.
As a match game consists of thirty-six holes, eighteen holes gone
twice over give the required number; so will nine holes gone over four
times, or six holes six times, or four holes nine times, or three
holes twelve times. So you see that if your ground is limited you need
have but three, four, six or nine holes, and the fewer the holes the
fairer becomes the game for strangers, because in going over them so
often they learn the ground, and that puts them on an even footing
with the home players.
THE CLUBS
The golf clubs are something like shinny sticks in shape, but modified
and better made, as the ball must be driven more accurately and much
farther. The heads are made of wood or iron. There are a great variety
of them, but the beginner does not need more than four or five.
The driver, a large club with a long shaft; the head is wood. It is
used to start and when the ball is on the tee.
Let me add here that when the luxury can be afforded, it is usual to
employ a boy, known as a "caddy" to carry the bag or receptacle in
which the different clubs are kept.
The brassie is much like the driver, except that it has a brass head
or plate on the hitting part. It is used for a good send when the ball
is in a favorable place.
The cleek and lofter are iron-headed clubs, and are used to drive the
ball far and low. A hundred and twenty yard stroke is good, but not
unusual.
The golf ball, as I have said, is made of hard rubber, but in learning
the game any hard ball of medium size will do, and one club will be
enough with which to practice.
Hazards are obstructions in the way of the ball. A bunker is a hazard,
such as a fence, wall, hedge, depression, or trees.
The ground between the holes should be cleared as far as possible of
all obstructions. Hazards are not objected to by good players, as they
add to the sport.
The game called "singles" is where two players, each with his own
ball, play against each other.
A "foursomes" is when two players play against another two, each side
having a ball and the partners playing alternately.
Often a skilled player will match himself against a number of
inferiors; this is called a three or four ball match.
SHINNY
Of course every boy who can wield a stick has played at this fine,
simple old game. One does not need many tools for this sport. A stout
shinny stick, curved at the business end, like the best walking
sticks, and a ball, or even a chunk of wood, if not too heavy, and
large, will do.
The game is played between chosen sides under the lead of properly
selected captains. Two goals, from ten to a hundred yards apart, are
marked out, and between these the ball is placed.
This done, the captains display their skill by stationing their men in
such a way that they may guard their respective goals if their
opponents are driving that way.
The captains start the ball a-rolling; all are free to dash in and
strike, taking care to guard their own heads and not to hurt the heads
of the enemy, for this is a contest, not a battle.
Each party must keep on its own side, and each goal gained is a game.
HOCKEY
does not differ much from shinny. In this game the ball is called a
hockey, and it does not matter what you call the curved sticks.
The goals are selected, and the sides chosen as in shinny, but in this
game the captains toss up for first strike. When the ball is struck,
the opposite side tries to stop it, and the contest is on.
When the ball is sent over the opponent's goal line, the game is won.
WINTER