Field Mice Beware

Jack Kennedy enjoys golf, and has played eight times since his inauguration. But the details of his linksmanship were one of the Administration's best-kept secrets--until last week. Then, for the first time, the President permitted himself to be photographed on a golf course, along with other members of a family foursome that included his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, and Brothers-in-law Stephen E. Smith and Peter Lawford. Even then, the President declined to pose with a club in his hands, and reporters were allowed to witness only the first teeoff.

The President swung smoothly but hooked badly; the ball carried about 150 yds. and plunked down in an adjacent fairway. On a second try, Kennedy's drive sailed higher and farther-but again, into the wrong fairway. Later, word got around that still another presidential shot had pinked the pate of a Secret Service agent standing guard in the rough. (During the previous Administration, Secret Servicemen evolved a theory that the safest place for them when John Eisenhower was swinging was in the middle of the fairway.)

With just that much relaxation of secrecy, a few of the President's golfing companions, previously observing strictures of silence, began to talk a bit. And there emerged a rough, but fairly complete, picture of Golfer Kennedy's game.

Kennedy approaches golf with enthusiasm but without dedication. He plays swiftly, rarely pausing to ponder a shot. He almost never completes a full 18-hole round, generally packing up his clubs after 9 or 11. Much of his pleasure comes from wagering on himself. "He'll bet only a dollar or two," says Crooner Bing Crosby, an able golfer and a recent Kennedy opponent at Palm Beach. "But an awful lot of negotiation goes on before the clubs start swinging. He works out the best possible arrangement before he makes a move." Between shots, Kennedy normally appears carefree, needling his partners with sharp quips. But last week his fairway stroll frequently turned serious as Press Secretary Pierre Salinger or Army Aide Brigadier General Chester V. Clifton rushed to the course with reports on affairs of state.

On the tee, Kennedy's swing is smooth; his stance is good, his grip is proper and his backswing is slow. He normally gets between 225 and 250 yds. on his drives, but he is troubled by a hook. He is often sharp with his short irons (on a recent Palm Beach outing he unnerved his companions by dropping an approach shot for a birdie 3 on the first hole), and his putting is excellent. He is weakest with his long irons. Says Crosby: "He tops the ball. There's a term we have for that--menacing the field mice."

More often than not. Jack Kennedy shoots in the 80s (or would, if he ever finished a round). But, says Walter Hall, former pro at the President's home course in Hyannisport, Mass., he could easily stay in the 703 were he really to concentrate on the game.

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