HOW TO PLAY GOLF

Yesterday in the Bullis Room we happened upon the book  How to Play Golf  written by Henry James Whigham, which was published in Chicago by H. S. Stone & Company in 1897. Our first reaction was, "Did any of the Bullis family play the game? And our second thought was, "Hmmm."

Anyway, this is a cool little self-help book that we recommend to golfers (both avid and casual) as well as those of us who enjoy the game from the gallery.

Topics covered are:

Training and tournament lay

Iron game

Putting

Rules and etiquette

Proper grip

And, there are lots of illustrations, including:

Top of swing

Coming Through and Finish of swing

Refinement of driving

Perhaps you golfers are familiar with the author, but we weren't so we went to Wikipedia to find out what qualified him to write a book on this subject.  We learned that Henry James Wigham (1869-1954) was a Scottish writer and amateur golfer who won the U.S. Amateur in 1896 and 1897. He wrote this book following his first U.S. tournament win. 

Before winning tournaments and writing this book, however, he came to this country in 1893 to demonstrate golf at Chicago's World Fair.  He remained here and became a college lecturer, then drama critic for the Chicago Tribune until he left to work as a war correspondent. He later served as editor-in-chief of Town and Country magazine.

We end this post with a special invitation to all you golfers and golf fans out there to stop by the Bullis Room, look through this book, and tell us how it compares to today's golf instruction. And while you're there, we'll be glad to show you any other books or memorabilia that catch your fancy. Hope to see you soon.