Show rt AN age SS of prodigious dittin in matter what the game there there no n wide sweep of argument in in still 11 a 2 is i to i record distances there regard is a wide ag yg gence of opinion as to how far t the he mightiest of the he hitters can drive a baseball golf ball or polo ball to take up three examples few have ever smacked a baseball beyond feet I 1 mean on the carry A good many years grantland rice itice ago one of babe i ruths florida wallops that dropped into a plowed field yas vas measured around feet anything over feet is no part of soft hitting buth bath remains the long distance campion dam pion both as a record hitter lad ni as the most consistent one the gile babe not only had bulk and power lick of his PUD punches Ches but he also had one of the finest swings that baseball I 1 has 3 ever known in the way of timing ind and smoothness but the babe rarely reached a full range of feet there is no way to make any ally exact measurement when the ball sails out of the park or crashes into the upper stands there is a center geld fence in the st petersburg park around feet 1 way away and no one las ever hit this palisade on the fly yet according to labe babe ruth the best knowledge chave I 1 have golf go sluggers in golf jimmy thomson remains the long distance ruler with something to spare As I 1 recall the figures thomson has bas won the last six driving contests arranged by the it must be remembered that the only true measure in golf is from a fat surface with no helping wind roll boll count you can drive a 1 golf olt ball a mile on the ice and a 1 few of the long hitters can stand on 01 an elevated tee and pass yards on the carry with a helping I 1 gale tie one earnest seeker for records once drove a golf ball well over a mile calle standing at the top of the grand canyon driving from a level surface un beeped by a wind Thom sons best hows blows usually range from to yards this is big biff blasting A carry tt of yards under these conditions Is big hitting I 1 doubt that any golter ever carried yards on flat pound ground minus a keen breeze I 1 know that few good hitters care to risk a carry beyond yards when hen there is trouble to face A helping or a headwind makes a touch much greater difference than many know bow A headwind is also a mental since it usually brings on pressing and which is always a mistake gow ow far a polo ball in his prime tommy hitchcock could hit a polo ball as far as anyone I 1 ever saw dev milburn and wilburn guest were also on the longer side hitchcock figures that yards wl ball the distance of the field is lout about an all one can get from a full tolo smash any wallop beyond ards as is good hard hitting the longest drive ive seen an witness eyewitness writes came from a combination of golf and polo wins in n guest teed up a golf ball at meadowbrook Meadow brook one day mounted his P pony and was then handed a polo pio mallet with a good galloping tart and a double windup guest olve ave the golf ball the full len length ath of ule i polo field a matter of yards it was all carry golf colt machines can reach is which shows how far the hun gaall machine lags behind the metal ivance getting distance distance a mere matter of 0 bulk aulk and physical power by many yards en rogan hogan weighing less than bounds ads is longer by yards than niola ers st ai ot the or pound swing I 1 once saw cyril walker then ter ahing no pounds walet bi hagen at consistently an in a 19 e tournament distance Ui stance comas h ead comes largely from cluba speed more so than from any ther r single factor B WB own bobby jones one da day v with his set dabs clubs missing used his cifes mrs S s jones only on driver ver weighed 12 bob ounces much uch lighter than t as 1 was astonished asto shed to find that I 1 hitting the bau ball that day longer n that usual bob said 1 I found out I 1 set get much greater 5 speed peed ay it the lighter bablick bab lica d natural called 1111 08 toi for less effort in swing |