The Encyclopaedia Bradfordica.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 1, 5 July 1911, Page 10

The Encyclopaedia Bradfordica.

Clubhouse-. —A Tabernacle wherein Terminological Inexactitudes are allowed full scope. A “Bridge” resort, occasionally used for the purposes of Golf. Dorniy.—(From the Latin Dormio, to sleep). A term signifying the impossibility of your opponent or opponents drawing the stakes. A pleasant position —for the person Dorniy; though in the true sense of the word “to sleep” would, be fatal. It is often the prologue to what is known as the “Bye,” and "ByeBye,” which again is a term signifying in juvenile language “To sleep.' Handicapper.—An unfortunate person whose duty it is to handicap. One who tries to act impartially, but never succeeds. A person upon whose head we vent our wrath. One who vouches for our respectability when we play on other courses. Amateur.—A .person who would scorn to accept a monetary consideration for services rendered, such as (1) Golf journalism, testimonials gtven for wearing apparel, golf balls or clubs, artificial manures, laying out of courses, and suggestions relating to the same. (2>| A person who never under any consideration, pays less than 30/ for one dozen golf balls,'and who would be grossly insulted if they were offered for,, less, ,(3)1 One who refuses a cheque in lieu of •*

prize, such as a monthly medal, or similar competition. (4) A director, manager, or owner of a sports depot. (5) A person who is a shareholder in a company formed for the purpose of making a course and running it for profit. (6) The paid secretary of a club, who often stands in need of sympathy as well as his salary. (7) The person who always pays his own expenses when attending a tournament. <B> A newspaper proprietor who gives, gratis, valuable space in his paper to the report of golf matches, etc. (9) The tradesman who supplies, without profit, any goods to a golf club. (10) A person who writes and gives away gratis a book on the game. (11) Any"-person who makes nothing out of the game such as stewards, waiters, etc. Putter.—A type of club used in playing the game, the design of which has given rise to much trouble, chiefly of an international character, though in one instance, an English design has been declared illegal, probably for the purpose of showing that the authorities are strictly impartial. A club, whose peculiarities are many. Though its work is of a gentle nature, it has been the cause of much abuse. Strong men, by its idiosyncrasies, are reduced to the level of infants. Dignitaries of the church have imperilled their calling, and persons of mild disposition have been turned into vicious characters. The peculiarity of its character chiefly rests on its inability to guide a round object into a hole from distances ranging from 1 foot to 10 yards. Duffer (Scotch), Silly Ass (English). —A person who Duffs, that is misses a stroke that he meant to hit. Ergo, we are all Duffers. In a general sense, one who never does anything but Duff, but should he eventually get a good stroke he is not altogether a Duffer. A person who—in our opinion—defeats us, though there is no term for what we were ourselves on these occasions. One, who in the playing of a stroke, removes turf unintentionally, hence the expression To Duff. It does not follow that the winner of a turnament is not a Duffer, but merely that he is less of a Duffer than the other duffers he has defeated.

Handicap.—As applied, to Golf, that which is given to a player to counterbalance his feeble efforts. Something that we value as life itself, inasmuch that, by its assistance we are enabled to annex money, which is a necessity to life, therefore equivalent to life. A cause of much strife in a club, for whilst a few may be found who require a little, the vast majority are eager for more. That which keeps four players exchanging compliments on the first tee, whilst others are wailing their turn. A player is handicapped if he is plus, though in this case the respect , shown to him goes far to reconcile him to his unfortunate' skill. A scratch man cannot be said to be handicapped, for his handicap is nil, which is nothing, therefore no handicap. Stymie.- A bone of contention. An art in which our opponents excel. That which prevents us from taking that to which we have a lawful claim. An ancient form of golf that for some unknown reason is still employed. A scapegoat to bear the blame of defeat, as, for instance the common expression, “I should have won but for 18 stymies.” Plus Man. —He whose skill is such that bis score is increased, instead of reduced. The last Court of Appeal in golf clubs. One who is familiar with the rules and everything appertaining to the game. A person to whom all others give way if overtaken. A green expert. One who holds all offices in a club. Beginner.—One who is on the threshold of trouble. A debutante whom nobody takes any notice of—except to curse. A friend of the professional. A person seen, but seldom heard. One not conversant with the rules or etiquette of—the game. A person who invariably starts in the middle of a crowd. A destroyer of clubs and mutilator of rubber. A person whose welcome by the treasurer is of recent date. Professional.—A person always on the qni vivo for what he can make by his skill in playing the game. Those whose skill will never make anything are also guilty. Those who play matches for a monetary consideration. The person whose expenses are invariably paid to tournaments. A person who is purely a clubmaker, is neither one thing nor the other, and hie status cannot be defined. An optimist, who anticipates victory, and can always explain the reason it was withheld. When a person is not a professional it does not follow he is an amateur.

Opponent.—The per-on we condescend t<> play with. The imagined “soft thing’’ that often proves otherwise. One who opposes our interpretation of the rules, ergo, A person of little intelligence. Partner.—The sharer of our joys and sorrows. One who assists in disposing of the pretensions* of opponents. A person who is* solely the cause of our defeat. A synonym of confederate, or one who assists in the spoliation of our adversaries. Bogey.—A term in golf to describe a mythical opponent. One whose play is perfect, and at times marvellous, such as when playing against a hurricane. There are players considered better than Bogey, but cannot compare for consistency and accuracy. Bogey is of English birth and has never been popular in Scotia ml, owing no doubt to the difficulty experienced in defeating him. Bogey has no official sanction, being nonexistent in the minds of those who frame the rules. An opponent who never speaks, jpraiises, nor deprecates our play. Golf.—A game. A wrecker of homes. A thing that entices a person from business. Something that lifts us to the heavens only to hurl us to the depths. The enemy of the medical profession. A teacher of language. A legitimate excuse for all things. A panacea for all the ills that flesh is heir to. Caddie. —A privileged person. An outlet for vituperation. An idiot. —Harry Fulford in “Golfing.”

MISCELLANEOUS. A Golfing Census.—There is a total of something like 1,700 clubs in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The number of players in different clubs, of course, varies in an extraordinary degree. The membership of the Royal and Ancient Club is over 900. MidSurrey’s membership is 850. These figures are of course exceptional, and are counter-balanced by small memberships at the other eml of this scale. All things considered, and allowing each player to be counted only once, no matter to how many clubs he may belong, it seems to me that an average of 250 golfers per club is well under the mark, and that there are no less than 430,000 regular players playing the game within the borders of the four seas. These figures take no account of ladies’ golf, for which the careful organisation of the I.G.U. provides quite definite statistics. The number of clubs is 356, and the membership about 42,000. Roughly speaking, there are about as many more clubs not yet affiliated to the Union, and allowing for the fairly large number of courses in which there is no separate club for the fair sex. we may safely put down the number of lady players at not less than 90,000. And what about the overseas population? The membership of the Cairo Club, for instance, is probably a.s large as that of any club in the world for it numbers 1,000. The Calcutta Club has 650 members, the Shanghai Club 600, of whom 80 are ladies. Capetown

has 470. Brussels and Ostend between them number 850. Madrid 360, and Melbourne 400. Tn view of these examples, this would give us a total* of 320,000 foreign and colonial players, and bring the golfing population of the world out at 840,000, exclusive of the vast battalions of the unenrolled, who like the game sufficiently to play occasionally, but do not think it worth while to join a club, or, who only take out visitors’ tickets at some summer golf resort. rhe Overworked Secretary.—There is a pathetic little notice in a certain clubhouse in the South of France. It reads: (1) The Secretary does not undertake to settle private fracas, arising out of matches. (2) The Secretary does not give small •change. (3) The Secretary does not give lessons in golf, nor sell golf balls, or golf clubs. (4) The Secretary does not undertake to arrange matches—not even mixed foursomes. (5) The Secretary does not arrange hours for practice or playing with the professional. There is a world of uncomplaining patience in those five brief notices. Poor ♦Secretary! The Ladies’ International. —After a long absence the “Miller” Shield returns to England. The matches were full of interest, and the return of Miss Dorothy Campbell to take part once more for Scotland, and of Mrs. Ross (Miss May Hezlet) in the Irish team, naturally much increased their interest. The Irish champion, Miss Harrison, and Miss

Grant Suttie, tin* Open ('hampion, had a great tussle. ding-dqiVg the way. Miss Grant Suttie winning on the 14»tli green. Behind them eame Mrs. Ross and Miss Campbell. Neither player was at her best, for their best takes a lot of beating, Mrs. Ros** being obviously out of practice and not physically able to endure the strain of two international and strenuous matches in one day. Miss Campbell was out in 41 and- stood 3 up; then Mrs. Ross won the 16th. the 11th was halved. She took the 12th and 13th, and the match was square at the 18th. Miss Campbel) missed her drive at the 19th. which hole Mrs. Ross won in a j>erfect 4. Miss ('ampbell again was defeated by Miss (.', I>eitch. 4 up ami 2, who played for England. Miss Grant Suttie beat Miss Bertha Thompson, 4 and 3, the former playing for Scotland. England once more holds the much-coveted shield and Scotland takes second place. In the afternoon a match took place between a team of British players who had not played in the Internationals and a team representing the Colonies and U.S.A.—Miss Martin (U.S.A.) (5 and ami 4) I. v. Miss Mather 0; Miss Harvey (Canada) 0. v. Miss Collett (6 and 4) 1: Miss .Nesbit (Canada) 0, v. Miss R. Grant Suttie (6 and 4) I; Miss Elkins (U.S.A.) 0, v. Miss Graham (2 up) 1: Miss Collins (New Zealand) 0. v. Miss Biiu ( 4 and 2) I: Miss Pooley (British Corumbia) 1. v. Miss Marsden 0; Mrs. Carrington Smith (U.S.A.) 0, v. Miss Cummick (6 and 5) 1; Miss Fo.wnes (U.S.A.) 0. v. Miss Brown (3 and 2) I; Mrs. Gilman Brown (C.S.A.) 0, v. Miss Temple at 19, 1. In Four Acts.—Act I.—“A” having just arrived at a strange golf course, proceeds to enlighten the natives upon the wonderful distance he gets from the tee. Result is that a large crowd gather to see him drive off’. Act 11.—Takes out his driver, swings viciously at the ball, which in turn spins off' some forty yards down the course into the edge of the rough. Act lll.—“Say. Caddie, how far is that hole, anyway?’’ Caddie: “Two hundred and twenty yards.” Act IV.— Glaring at caddie, and reaching for bag: in the devil didn’t you say so at first? Gimme an iron.” An Extraordinary' Carry.—l was watching the champion play (says Mr. Darwin) on tin* Delamere Forest course, Cheshire. He was not playing particularly well—for him—but he made one

“hot which iii. one who saw it will ever fbifjxt. riniu, was a strong ailverso wind, and there was a cross bunker guarding the green at an incredible dis fame away from him—so far off that most ordinary people would have thought they hail done well if they had reached tin' bunker with the last expiring trickle of the ball's run. The (ground was new ami rather rough, and Braid's ball lay on a fairly steeply hanging slope. Under these conditions he called for his driver—a nominally straight-faced dr v .... mark you. not a brassie —and gave Hie ball the most astonishing thump. It never flew more than a few yards from the ground: it cleared the blinker and finished on the green. Braid’s only comment on it was that the ball lay well for the shot. So it did. I suppose, in that if he had teed his ball he could hardly have hit it so far against the witpl. But the lie was one from which the most ambitious would have taken a spoon, and even so they would have been as proud as peacocks if they had not topped Ihe ball. More ordinary people would have been satisfied to something in the seufiling lino with a driving iron. As to a driver, it was merely absurd.