Foreign Notes

62THE AMERICAN GOLFER By OUR BRITISH CORRESPONDENT ONDON, October, 1919. RARELY in British golfing history there have been one or two novel have four or five weeks been so much events of much interest like the Girls' crowded with events of medium, if not Championship at Stoke Poges, while the greatest importance as have those the Ladies' Championship is held this of this September and early October ; year in the autumn, and is just about and the crush of them has indeed led to be begun as one is preparing these to the serious and not undeserving notes. There have also been import- suggestion that it would be a good ant matters of legislation afoot, some thing if no sort of recognition were keen discussions provoked, the re- given to a large proportion of these sumption of the club events of the affairs, which in their full volume sim- leading clubs, particularly the Royal ply crowd out the sporting sections of and Ancient, the Honourable Com- the newspapers and incidentally lead pany and the Royal St. George's, and to a wholly wrong impression being by no means least, one of two real sen- formed of the state of things in the sations of first-class quality, such as golfing world, which is emphatically the failure of the "Big Three," the not in any condition of delirious en- famous "Triumvirate," the whole lot thusiasm for competitions of all and of them, to qualify for the final stages every kind. However there is no sort of the P. G. A. or "News of the of authority to settle degrees of pro- World" great autumn tournament, a portion, and in their anxiety to do thing unheard of and which even now, things well, the newspapers insert as an accomplished fact, seems to be everything and at great length. But if impossible. This is an event which these papers get into the hands of seems to have shaken the whole firma- American and other foreign readers ment of golf in a way that only two they must not be misled. Yet, of others have ever done before, the vic- course, there really is a great activity tory of Mr. Travis in the amateur at the present time, and golfing en- championship here many years ago, thusiasm is very keen again, as to and the overthrow of Vardon and Ray which there is inconvenient evidence in the U. S. National Open Champ- in the circumstance that there is still ionship at Brookline in 1913. a great scarcity in golf balls, the manu- One may suggets that from the point facturers apparently not having been of view of our own home golf and its equal to the demands in the case of perennial interest, the defeat of Var- some favorite brands. Then again don, Braid and Taylor, all three of THE AMERICAN GOLFER 63 them, on this present occasion, sur- same thing, the state of unsettlement passes even the other events. Now at and mental and other disturbances be- the moment, with all these things and ing if possible even greater now than the Irish Amateur Open Champion- before, while it has been quite impos- ship also to deal with, it is impossible sible for other golfers of much less for any correspondent to deal with all pretensions to concentrate on their these matters adequately at the same game as they used to do. It is argued time, and it is therefore proposed to that in the future the old Triumvirate, despatch these notes early, in advance as yet far from done with, will be able of the final stages of the aforesaid P. to concentrate again, and that then G. A. tournament, and the Ladies' they in their turn will accomplish the Championship and certain other greatest things once more, to the sur- events, which will be dealt with next prise of the people and the delight of month in the ordinary course. their friends. All this will be taken by readers for what they consider it to be The Triumvirate Sensation worth, according to their several LET US THEN first concern ourselves judgments. with the subject upon which a little In the meantime one cannot but help light will be most eagerly sought by feeling a great sympathy with the idols foreign lovers of the game, namely the who are suffering from such a fall, utmost rebuff that has ever been suf- even temporary as it may be, and fered by the three foremost living despite all that others say from time masters of the game, and perhaps the to time about its being for "the good greatest the game has ever known, of the game" and so forth that young Harry Vardon, J. H. Taylor, and blood should have its opportunity and James Braid, the first two of whom its successes, one begins to feel al- have played on American courses, ready that the golf world will be poor- Vardon having indeed years agone er when at last the old Triumvirate won the National Open Championship, really do retire from championship while the names, qualities and most of honors. It already seems very much the peculiarities of all three are famil- so as one contemplates the final stages iar to every American player of the of this forthcoming autumn tourna- game. Certain sentimental, moral and ment and the fact that none of these other aspects of their failure in the men will play in it. This is a wicked case under notice must be deferred to world. another time when space is less occu- Now let us explain briefly. The pied ; for the moment it is enough to failure occurred in the Southern Sec- record the belief of many close and tion of the qualifying competition. As earnest students of the game, that this most people are aware, the Profes- failure, comprehensive as it was, was sional Golfer's Association competi- after all only in keeping with other tion has always in the period of peace things that have happened this season —and it was, of course, suspended in and all of which have been explained the war—taken place during the early —and reasonably, as it has seemed— days of October and generally on an by the formula of "war nerves," or inland course in the neighborhood of "peace nerves" which are much the London. This is the final stage, by 64 THE AMERICAN GOLFER match play, and money prizes are at the end of the proceedings was given by the proprietors of the "News veritably the last in the list! It seems of the World," who for the present impossible to realize or imagine such competition, have increased them to a thing. Their failure also dated from the considerable total value of £590. the outset of the competition. And it At the same time the number of com- was in a very large measure attribut- petitors for the final stages has this able to the old, old cause, namely fail- year been increased to sixty-four as ure on the putting greens. They were against thirty-two in previous years. not the only players who suffered in In order to become one of these play- this respect, though of course, in repu- ers in the final stages the professional tation, they suffered most, having so golfer has to qualify in his own sec- much more to lose. It should be said tion. For this purpose golfing Britain that there was a fairly general com- is divided into many sections, the most plaint, and not an unreasonable one important of which is naturally what as it appeared, that the greens were is called the Southern Section which is extremely tricky. They were very that which includes London and the slow at the beginning owing to the district all 'round about, extending heavy mist that had hung upon them; even to the south coast. It is the most but as the sun dried the course they important because London and its became faster and faster and the play- money have attracted here a very large ers' appreciation of the fact was not proportion of the best professionals sufficiently up to date, so that they in the world of golf, and indeed there were constantly over running the hole. are only one or two of any real quality, The players also almost universally that is, golfers capable of winning the declare that the balls that are being championship outside it. It includes made now have such enormous prop- all the Triumvirate, Herd, Duncan, erties in the flying and running depart- Mitchell, and others. Therefore, while ments, especially the latter, that it is some other sections are only given two next to impossible to control them, or three places in the final sixty-four, and Taylor in particular said in the the southern, by reason of its nu- course of this tournament when he merical strength, is awarded twenty- could see his own defeat staring him six. For these it, like the other sec- in the face, that he used to be able tions, competes by two rounds of with lighter balls and more manage- stroke play on a selected course, and able balls to run them up to the hole this year, the course being Sonning- with confidence and certainty, but that on-Thames where Abe Mitchell is the latest creations of the ball-makers' located, there were so many com- art have got quite out of hand. How- petitors, 144 of them, that the pro- ever that may be, it is too big a ques- ceedings had to extend over two days, tion to enter into here and now.

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