GROWTH OF GOLF

Evening Post, Issue 51, 2 March 1931, Page 31

GROWTH OF GOLF

A RICH MAN'S GAME?

HIGH COST OF TOURNAMENTS

YON ELM'S WITHDRAWAL

On a certain bright, sunshiny day] last September, 170-odd gentlemen from the several corners of the earth convened at the Morion Cricket Club, on the ouskirts of Philadelphia, and began play for the amateur-golf championship of the United, States, writes Howard Holt in the "San Francisco Chronicle." Many of them were- there merely to reap the sheer fun aud thrills that come from swatting little white balls down emerald fairways. But every one of them had the hope lurking in the back of his mind that he would win that championship. And just for the privilege of pitting their skill against one another —rather, against the skill of one Robert T. Jones, jun., for at Morion it again was a case of Jones against the field—they had travelled many thousands of miles and had spent many thousands of dollars. When all was said and done at the end of a week of play, Jones was the winner, as almost every one had predicted. That was the way each player wanted the thing to turn, out, provided, of course, that that player himself did not win. The point, however, is that one man alone of the vast field of players who started competition on that bright day won the big prize. TOTAL LOSS. The rest of them were out, quite definitely out. Not only had they failed to gather in glory, but also they were left with pocket books rathor badly flattened and many of them had taken time off from business which they could ill afford to lose. In short, they had lost all around —except, of course, in the matter of such pleasure as can be derived only from big championship competition. It is ever thus in amateur golf. Perhaps that's as it should be. But, paradoxically enough, the winner loses, too, though in the flush of victory he rarely stops to consider what it cost him in. dollars and cents. Except in three rare instances, amateur golfers aie not allowed to have their expenses defrayed by any agency other than themselves. In the recent national championship at Merion. the coffers of the United States Golf Association were swelled by record-break-ing gate receipts of 54,000 dollars, not one cent of which went toward the expenses of the contestants, who had travelled entirely on their own to Philadelphia from points as far distant as Hawaii and England. There you have in a nutshell, the leading facts about a big bono of contention in golf to-day. They all go to prove that competitive golf is a rich man's game, that the high cost of playing in tournaments is a serious problem for men who do not have substantial bank accounts and cannot afford to take time off from business. BUSINESS GOLF. If youv don't believe that competitive golf is an expensive proposition, regard the cases of Johnny Goodman and George yon Elm. . Without doubt, Goodman is one of the most promising players of the present generation, but a depletion of his finances, resulting from his campaigning during the 1930 season, has forced him to the side-lines. He said he has found golf to be a rich mau'a game and one he no, longer can afford. Yon Sim, national title holder in 1926, the only player who has beaten Bobby Jones in a thirty-six-hole match in the. last seven years of American amateur competition, has been forced to turn what he calls a'"business-man golfer"—which means he no longer is an amateur —because of the high cost of playing the game a.s a simon-pure. And there are other good players— the woods are full of them —who annually find it impossible to do any extensive journeying away from home and who are forced to pass even the national championship solely because of the expense question. It is too bad about Goodman. A clean-cut youngster-with a deal of common-sense and considerable ambition, he started his golfing career as a caddie, worked his way through a couple of years at the University of Nebraska, helped to support his mother and her other children by working in his spare time, and, in. short, conducted himself well. Goodman developed rapidly as a golfer. When he was 16 he won the Omaha city championship. He was one of the semi-finalists in the trans-Missis-sippi tournament at St. Louis in 1926, to which he travelled in box cars because he had no money for railroad fare. In 1927 he celebrated his graduation from high school by '' beating his way" to Colorado Springs, where he won the trans-Mississippi title. In 1929 he led all the qualifiers in the country for the national open, and ho it, was who created the biggest, upset of the 1929 season when he defeated Bobby Jones in the first round of the American amateur at the Pebble Beach course, in California. NO FUNDS. But due to his golfing travels in 1930, first to Interlachen ■ for' the national open and later to Merion for the American amateur, Johnny was "too broke" to Teturn to college. The rich man's game had got the better of him. His name is not likely to grace the entry list of. the amateur tourney until his bank account is stronger. Yon Elm, well aware of the cost of playing in major events", has renounced amateur competition to become "business man golfer." In other words, he will be neither amateur nor profes-

sional, but will confine his play to open tournaments in which there is prizemoney to be won. The one and only reason for his move is the high cost of playing as an amateur. "For ten years," Yon Elm said, "I've, had Mr. stuck in front of my name, and that insigne of amateurism has required more than 50,000 dollars of hard-earned money. I have retired from amateur golf because competing in tho American and British amateur events and the Walker Cup international match isn't worth tlic 10,000 dollars a year it costs me. "It isn't, nice to treat the subject of my amateur status in coltl terms of dollars. But tho United States _Golf Association's amateur championship is a highly organised, commercialised project. Fifty thousand dollars 'is paid in for the amateur show. While tho thirty-two performers (those who qualify for tho match rounds) p'Jay their hearts out for honour and.glory, not a penny of that money is contributed by the U.S.G.A. to the oxpenses of the players. The finger of suspicion points to many players in amateur golf to-day, but the show must go on, and'the U.S.G.A. is busy a good part of tho time straining at gnats and swallowing camels. . ." ENDORSED. Many persons may .take exception to that now-famous statement of Yon Elm. They may point out that, after •all, isn't there such a thing as sport for sport's sake? At the same time, Yon Elm's words carry much, logic and weight than can be gained only by hard experience. Bemember, he is far from being a pauper; he has built up a couple of good businesses. And there are many golfers who agree with his views. Max Marston, the natipnal. champion in 1923, and a man who representa the highest typo of player, is in accord with. them. "There's not the least bit of doubt," says Marstou, "that it costs considerable money and valuable time to play tournament golf. For that matter, the sport always has been what some peoplo term a rich man's game. Even though, it is now universally popular, there is a big difference in the cost of playing ordinary, everyday golf and in competing in tournaments. "The question of expenses for amateur players has been an important one for many years. I recall that in 1920 I was asked to form an Olympic team to represent the United States at Antwerp. I accepted and immediately made up a list of what I considered the best twenty players in the country. I wrote to them, asking them to make the trip. I received refusals from all but one of them. They explained that, although they appreciated the honour of representing the United States, they could not afford to do it. To make a long story short, the expense was too great. It is interesting to note in. this connection that in 1921 Marston wrote for a prominent golf magazine an article dealing with the question, "Should American Amateurs' Expenses Abroad Be Paid?" At that time William C. Fownes, jun., of Pittsburgh, was rounding up a team to go'abroad and play a picked team of British amateurs. This was the forerunner of the Walker Cup series, which started officially in 1922 and now is renewed biennially. Members of the American • Walker Cup team are allowed 1000 dollars apiece for expenses of the trip abroad. But "it is inadequate," says Marston. He should know, for he was a member of the team that defeated Great Britain at St. Andrews in 1923. "Approximatly 850 dollars of my 1000 dollars was expended for transportation," he declares. "The remainder was not sufficient to cover the necessary living expenses." THE ONLY CASES. The U.S.G.A. .of course has given deep consideration, .to the question of amateurs' expenses. Its reply, in effect, is that if expense money were to bo allowed except in the three instances where it sanctions such allowances, the bars of amateurism would be broken down. The point seemingly is a sound one. The three exceptions it permits are: "(1) The contribution which the association makes toward tho expenses of the Walker Cup team; (2) a stipulated allowance for expenses of contestants in the public links champion-, ships; and (3) the payment of expenses of regularly, organised college golf teams in competitions conducted under the auspices of regularly organised, college athletic associations."