Life — August 11, 1921 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Explanation for Modern Readers The top cartoon depicts a golf scene where a man named Abercrombie complains to Fitch about paying eighteen dollars per dozen for golf balls, calling the price ridiculous. Fitch's response—"I know; but I play a ridiculous game"—is the joke's punchline, suggesting golf itself is an absurd pastime worthy of ridicule. This satirizes golf as an expensive, time-wasting hobby pursued by wealthy men. The cartoon mocks both the sport's inherent absurdity and the financial extravagance required to play it. The elegant clothing and pastoral setting emphasize that golf was an upper-class pursuit in this era, making it ripe for satirical commentary on frivolous spending and leisure activities among the affluent.