for beginners and veterans alike

Shortly before she died the unforgettable Babe wrote the following for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED on her feeling for the game she loved the best:

Golf is always for pleasure. A great many people who play it are apt to forget that. Their forgetfulness is understandable, because there never was a game that could compare with golf's amazing ability to make a person search for lower and lower scores and for perfection in shotmaking. The average golfer's desire to improve his or her game is certainly laudable, as long as the golfer keeps a sense of proportion. A weekend golfer whose business is not golf should not go at the game as if it were work. People who make their living at golf must necessarily give it all they have, but people for whom it is a recreation should treat it as a recreation.

This is not to say that some application is not necessary for even the weekend golfer. I think it is a darn good idea for every golfer to attempt to play the game as well as his or her natural talents allow. With this in mind you must make provision to do some practicing to approach your shots seriously, to try to get around in the lowest number of strokes and to outplay your opponent in a match. All this is fine, as long as you approach your goals in golf with the proper spirit and do not try to attain unattainable goals. If you do, you are denying yourself the basic reward of this wonderful game which is the rare enjoyment it provides.

from BABE ZAHARIAS

TWO PHOTOS

ILLUSTRATION

NEXT WEEK: WILLIE KLEIN ON THE LINE TO THE TARGET