Target Golf

In golf, one ordinarily expects the low-scorer to win. Under a new system, high man wins.

They call it "target" golf and they played it one day last week over the rolling course at Moor Park, England. Five score of the world's ablest professional linksmen were on hand to give it a trial, coveting -L-1,000 of prize money.

Huge circles were marked off on the fairways where the course's architect had calculated that tee-shots should come to rest. They were concentric circles, the smallest, inner one yielding nine points to the player driving his ball within it; the next largest, eight points; a third, seven points. On the par-5 holes there were systems of circles for second-shots to reach. At the greens, the cup was the bull's-eye and there was a special bonus for holing shots from off the putting surface.

A battalion of officials was found necessary to keep track of the scoring, but these finally agreed that Abe Mitchell (who later confessed that he had paid no attention to the newfangled arrangements but just "played for the pin" as usual) had amassed 172 points and was the winner. C. H. Corless, Abe's English compatriot, was second with 161 points. Rugger Bill Melhorn of Chicago was third with 160 points. Other scores: Walter Hagen 148 points, Archie Compston 134, Joe Kirkwood 128. "Par" in points was 228. Comparison of the medal (stroke) scores shed but little light on the relative merits of "guid auld" and "scientific" golf. Mitchell equaled the course record of 69; Melhorn was 73.