The Dubs – Golf Poetry

THE DUBS 

OH yet we trust and vainly pray 
A decent score shall crown our game, 
Though putts are wide and drives are lame, 
And hazards crowd our erring way; 

That all who play this luckless game 
Shall triumph nobly in the end, 
That fortune will relent and send 
A tardy string of fours and fame; 

That not a ball is topped in vain, 
That not a dub with futile cleek,
Has sliced the next one to the creek. 
Or but subserved his future gain. 

Behold ! we know not anything 
Of rules and form and grip and stance; 
We can but hope more kindly chance 
Shall speed our ball, correct our swing. 

So runs our dream, but what are we? 
Poor dubs that smite the earth with force; 
Poor duffers limping 'round the course 
In forty-nine and fifty-three! 

S. G. Eaton. 
from Lyrics of the Links, 1921

S.G. Eaton is possibly Seymour Eaton (1859 – 1916), a noted writer of the time. He is perhaps most famous for having coined the term “Teddy Bear.” He wrote for The New York Times, Vanity Fair and other publications. He produced four “Roosevelt Bear” books for children.

“Dub” is golf slang for a bad shot.