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Show 8 (stawide See I iKf y GRANTLAND RICE (Copyright, 1922. by The Nen York Tribune, Inc There is at least one phase of golf a here the average proresslonai and the ilrst - lass amateur come moodily down from their lofty DSdeetalB to mingle with countless legions who arc rarely able to crack a ninety or a ninety-live. Tho great levelcr In golf ln the putting put-ting green, for it Is here that the big1 gap which separates tho high from the lOSI is frequently closed We saw-any saw-any number of first class "rof e.sslonais and amateurs at Skokie who did not putt nearly so well throughout the tournament as any number of golfers we know could have putted who rarely break eighty-five. An4 wo are not re-1. re-1. rrlng here to tho ball staying out of the cup. but to the slack manner in whlcb the ball was struck upon the greon. ONE OF THE MYSTERI ES Golf is supposed to have Its complete com-plete share of mysteries, but one of the main problems of theru all concerns the Inability of so many fine players to manipulate the putting blade It Is nothing unusual to see noted stars looking as helpless and as hopeless hope-less within range of the cup aa duff- rs I. laying about 100. It was nothing unusual un-usual ln the lost champ:onshlp to see these stars three and four feet off tho line on a twelve or fifteen foot putt or to see them miss two and three foot putts on green after green by hitting lie uau uauiy uuu riuiuui & .u.i sureness. There aro days, of course, when the fibs putters are floundcrers upon the j green. There are days when the best can t persuade a three and four footer to s. ek the cup's restful bottom But we are speaking here of steady performance in consistent slackness. : whore good putting resulted more from good luck than from anything j else. 0 EVERY VARIETY Bvsn In an open rtiam plonshlp you, can see every variety of putting fault, j Golfers that played easily and nat-urally nat-urally up to the green assumed cramped, awkward positions around the pin. looking anything but natural and happy. There were any number who contin- ually Jabbed and stabbed at the ball with no sign of rhythm ln the stroke. And those who stepped up boldly and hit the bait something after th manner Ol Travers or Travis were far ln the minority. Tho leading exception was Walter Hagen. who. day in and day out, is the best putter ln professional ranks Hagen keeps his irect from twelve to fourteen Inches apart. H1b weight is upon hia loft foot with the right bracing brac-ing the body. But the main feature of his style is the straight, o on way he brings back the putting blade without any sign of speed, and then goes through for tho cup. without any attempt at-tempt to jab, stab or hurry the stroke. When you see Hagen hit a putt from eight to fifteen feet away you expect to seo him hole It or eiao be out by an eyelash. Yet we saw- others who seemed to bo lucky even when tbey holed the two and three foot taps. For thoy looked to be guessing a matter of punch at the ball and leaving leav-ing the rest of It to fate Outside of Hagun, tho most consistent consist-ent putting we saw at Skokie wae accomplished ac-complished by Bobby Jones over the last 63 holes. U was hitting his putt as a putt ought to bo hit. firmly, but evenly on the line. There seems to be a general opinion among leading professionals and good amateurs, ana among many others, that pnttlng la merely a matter of tho day's touch that you cither have this touch on certain day, or you don't bavo It. So you -seo very few of tho leaders wasting any time around the green. This opinion Ih full of knots Putting calls tor as much practice and as much thought as any stroke ln the game. It la only by practicoAnd study that one can get the proficiency that brings confidence, and without confl-den confl-den B on tho greens, the golfer might aa well take a running Jump Into the first pond. Putting lends itself to practice easier than any other stroke . ,,r 11.. caddy is required to chase the balls and there are always opportunities opportu-nities for practice within a step or two 1 of the club housa. 1 isksM English golf writers admit their leading stars are far behind Hagen on tlx trreens. and not up to Barnes and Hutchison There is a loud call over there for Improved putting before Gn at Britain gets anywhere. Yet th. putting at Sanifwirh hardly could ha -been more ragged, faulty and uneven than it was at Skokie, where only one out of five semed to use the putter as 'ilt should be used. It is a strange sight, on.- that always brings amazement to a gallery, to sec a golfer strike off a fine long drive down the middle follow this with a fine Iron, easily played, to 1 within twenty feet of tho cup, and then 'flutter about like a lost soul as the ball 1 at last drops for a 5 When Ted Ray I won at Inverness ln 1920, he played no better golf than Duncan and Mitchell did at Skokie If as well. But Ted ! went for the cup, getting his share of jlong ones, missing almost no short .ones and thereby letting nothing go to 1 waste J We saw one fine golfer take fifteen putts on five greens. And yet Frank Hoye has taken only twenty putts on eighteen greens This weakness Is as I much pronounced among the leading amateurs as it is among the pros. Oul-met, Oul-met, Guilford, Bill Fownes, Bobby Jones and Fred Wright are among the best. But 70 per cent of the top liners are either Inconsistent or downright bad when they land within sixty feet ,of the tin. |