Sport: Golf and War

For five centuries, with comparative imperturbability, Britons have played their beloved golf. Last week, through hellfire and brimstone, they continued to play golf.

At a suburban London club, golfers paused to watch a dogfight between a British Spitfire and a German Messerschmitt. After the “Jitterschmitt” pilot had crashed to the fairway just a mashie shot from the 13th green, play was resumed. “I was two down when we broke off our game,” chirped R. A. White, club pro. “But I was so exhilarated by the success of the Spitfire that I then shot four birdies in a row and won my match.”

Golf, announced Italy’s sportsheet Littoriale last week, is an ancient Roman game, first played by the Etruscans, spread centuries later to the Low Countries, and then to the British Isles.