THE GOLFER WITH A CONSCIENCE.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 23 June 1923, Page 3

THE GOLFER WITH A CONSCIENCE.

I (By Hodgson Burn«t.)

Old Andrew McTavish (St. Andres, pins 3) I*y dying, aD d those by his bedside could see That although to depart he was fui.y resigned There was something or other that trcmbk-il his jniad. He would start itp in bod again and agahj, He would muruuir tr.e j.ajuc, "Alexander McLean," "I wad like ta.? s.?o Sandy awe n:air," he would moan, "For I've .vwjeib.ip.ij tue whisper tu-? Sandy alcne. His hiends tried to soothe him, and stood round his bod, And told him the latest goif stories instead, For Andrew McTavisli (St. Andrews, plus 3) Was as keen upon golE as a golfer can be. To their honor i, e said, as he lay at death's door, "Haud yer tongues .' I hae heard a' the?e stories before; The doctor has tell't me I'm dying, and I Maun see Alexander McLean t-'cr I die i" So they sent for McLean, and in whispers they said, "You are wanted at once. Quick ! before he is : dead I" Then they tip-toed away in the uttermost gloom, And talked about g'ol£ in a neighbouring roorn^ "Alexander," .said Andrew, "yell novor r.in guess? Tho terrible thing I'm aboot tae confess; Dae ye mind yon great match that tnc twa <?• us playod, Ten years ago, raobbe, at Inverochsnade ?"• f* "Aye, Andrew, I mind it," said Sandy McLean, . "But whit inak's ya think aboot yon match again ? Ye ought, tae be thinldn' o' Heaven, puir sou!, Instead o' a match that ye won by a hole!" "Oh, Sandy !" cried Andrew, "I did ye a wron? And I may !« departing this life before long; But there's R om«thin' tae you that I've wanted tae tellj, For I've been, these ton years, Sandy, livin" in Hell." "On the seventeenth green you and I was a» square, And till then I had played *i' ye honest anj fair: • But I wanted tae win. and-'twa* easy enoughAt. th« «ghtocr.th. I kicked my ba' cot o1 the rough ■" AtexancVer turned rod, then held out his hand \on four that ye got I can noo understandBut since ye've matted yer sin, I'll da e thp snm% ♦ . ' I kicked my .ba' not four times in yon game!" McTav. didn't die after all, but quite soon Wes playing- ( wifc h scrupulous fairness) at TroonBut he s made up his mind that he'll never again Ony any pretext- play with Sandy McLean. It has been said that high failure is a>:>ve auy number of low successes but a writer in * Home golfing number says that 'safety iirst is a good motto for gOirerv as-well as for 'bus passenger- " \Vnting of a great English golfer, a critic says that "even when he tee s the ball and sweeps it away, leavino- hi s pmca of sand intact for the use of the opponent, the sole of the chib *ivst crushes the grass in front of the ball " Ratiier is the club-head pulled down on to the brill by the taut left hand and wrist. ' The sentence epitomises the value and essence of the left hand play and the stiff left forearm. • These- few extracts should be tt<?7l worth a lot of thought, and will, it is hoped mdnce a study of the style of one of England's best players