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Mows 20 per cent grades easily. Simple in construction; strongly built; accurate adjustment. The best and most economical mower made. The Coldwell Company also makes the best horse and hand lawn mowers on the market. A 92-page illustrated catalogue describes the different styles and sizes. Send for copy today. COLDWELL LAWN MOWER COMPANY Philadelphia NEWBURGH, NEW YORK chk^o Ye Cold Veil LESSONS IN EVERY GOLFER SHOULD READ GOLF Open Champion 1906, 1910 and Metr opolitan Champion 190s, 1900. 1910. |HE best book on the Royal and Ancient game. The remarkable series of vic- tories culminating in the Open Championship at Philadelphia have caused renewed attention to the "Lessons." ^[ Every part of the game is discussed in these "Lessons," and the instruction is furnished in simple, clear and direct language. The directions given are free from complication, concise, and absolutely to the point. Every golfer who wants to improve his game should give the book his most careful study. ALEX SMITH " Whatever he may have to say upon the game is "The new book covers the subject in a compre- certain to find readers who will benefit by his hensive manner."—Chicago Record-Herald. instructions."— N. )'. Evening Past. "The hook is highly interesting and instructive." "Beginners and even experts can derive any amount of help from the bonk. The text is remark- —N. Y. Tribune. able for its clearness and simplicity. It is an author- " His instructions to golf players are plain and to itative and complete guide that all golfers and the point. The pictures are particularly fine ex- intending golfers will want.*1—N. Y. Sun. amples of half-tone printing."—Philmltlphia Press. Cloth, 90 Illustrations; 48 West 27th Street postpaid, $2.00 New York City Bunkers are just like fair greens to him He missed this one Just missed this one also He calls this, "Putting a little sugar on the tea." PERCY II. WHITING, JR., AGE TWO YEARS, THE VOUNGKST ENTHUSIASTIC GOLFER IN THE SOUTH GOLF WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED "GOLFING," ESTABLISHED 1894 VOL. XXXI AUGUST, 1912 No. 2 THE MYSTERY OF GOLF t* By P. A. Vaile (Author of "Modern Golf) My title is misleading, because, as hack writer about golf. The only dif- a matter of fact, there is no such ference between him and these is that thing as "The Mystery of Golf," al- he surrounds his fallacious matter though a book has been written about with the most absurd jargon of ana- it by a Mr. Arnold TIaultain and 1 tomical terms and with the most have read it. The only mystery to me amazing references to works which is how anyone could imagine the have no earthly relation whatever to things which the author of "The Mys- golf. Let us see, for instance, how tery of Golf" has evolved out of his he falls into the ordinary mistake of own inner consciousness. This book practically every author who ever has been to me a sheer joy, for it en- wrote anything about golf, with re- ables me to indulge in one of those gard to the distribution of weight in periodical bursts of levity, which are the golf swing. as necessary to me as his periodical This is how he puts it. He says that "night out" is to the person who suf- "the whole body must turn on the fers from intermittent alcoholism. pivot i if the head of the right thigh This book is called "The Mystery of bone working in the cotyloidal cavity Golf" and it treats of all sorts of of the os innominatum or pelvic bone, things. I pick a few of the titles of the head, right knee and right foot the chapters haphazard: We have remaining fixed, with the eyes riveted "Psychic Contagion," "Psychical Ele- on the ball. In the upward swing ments," "Psycho-physical Parallelism" the vertebral column rotates upon the and "Psychology of Looking." These head of the right femur, the right are a few samples. knee being fixed, and as the club head The chief thing of importance, how- nears the ball the fulcrum is rapidly ever, about this book is that golf is changed from the right to the left hip. unfortunately a greater mystery to the The spine is now rotating on the left author of it, who has endeavored to thigh bone, the left knee being fixed, explain it, than it is to the ordinary and the velocity is accelerated by the golfer. He falls into practically every arms and wrists in order to add the error that is made by the ordinary force of the muscles to the weight of Copyright, 1912, by ARTHUR POTTOW. .-Ill rights reserved. "THE MYSTERY OE GOLF" the body, thus gaining the greatest cused for mentioning that it is dis- impetus possible. Not every profes- tinctly inconvenient for the spine to sional instructor has succeeded in put- rotate in one's body independently of ting before his pupil the correct stroke the movement of the "case" for the in golf in this anatomical exposition." aforesaid spine. Also, if anybody is May I be excused if I add "For this afflicted with a rotating spine, it mercy, let us return thanks," for of seems that it would disarrange the in- all the absolutely stupid nonsense ternal economy of the body and lead which I have ever read about golf— to a disagreement with the ribs, which or anatomy—this is easily the limit. are popularly supposed to be attached Not only does it show an utter ignor- to the spine. However, this, of ance of anatomy, but it shows the course, is carrying criticism to what most blind ignorance of golf, and for the author of this bonk would no a man, even one who admits himself doubt consider a ridiculous length of that he is a "duffer," to attempt to anatomical ''analysis," so let us go a little further and see what happens. explain the higher science of golf by balderdash of this description, this We are now told that as the club kind of stuff is simply impudent and head nears the ball the fulcrum is ridiculous. The author of this book rapidly changed from the right to pretends to analyze what he calls "The the left hip, the spine now rotating on Mystery of Golf" and even the emo- the left thigh bone, so in order to im- tions of the player whilst he is play- prove the rhythm of the swing the ing the game; but is it at all likely author has introduced a sort of jump- that one who has not the commonest ing action of the spine from one ex- idea of analyzing physical action, can tremity of the pelvic bone to the other have the faculty of analyzing thought.' —in fact, we see quite clearly that Let us turn again to this glorious the spine is not only spinning or ro- description of the manner in which tating on the right thigh bone at the the body works. We see that "the top of the drive, but as the club head whole body must turn on the pivot of gets near the ball, it jumps—still spin- the head of the right thigh bone ning or rotating—from one side of working in the cotyloidal cavity of the the pelvic bone to the other, and con- os innominatum or pelvic bone." Put tinues its spin on the top of the left thigh bone. into simple English, what the author means by this is simply that the Truly an admirable spine, and one weight of the body is sustained by the that would make a fortune for its right leg. This, of course, as we owner in a very short space of time know now. is absolutely wrong. Con- in the London music halls. tinuing, we are told that "in the up- This book made me very merry ward swing the vertebral column ro- when T read it, but as I proceed with tates upon the head of the right my notice of it, I am not quite sure, femur," so we are furnished with a Jiaving been thrown into the analyti- vision of one's spine spinning about cal slate of mind by this remarkable on the top of the right thigh bone. production, whether the feeling of As a mere matter of anatomical merriment or disgust predominates. "analysis" one may perhaps be ex- If this book had not been published "THE MYSTERY OF GOLF" by a reputable firm and noticed by Perhaps the author could tell us many papers as a serious book on how long it is since the open cham- golf, I should have given the author pionship of England has been won credit of having perpetrated the most with a score of less than 250! stupendous hoax on the gulfing public As 1 said at the beginning of this that has ever been put upon unoffend- article, there is no mystery about golf ing and innocent golfers.