Life — May 22, 1931 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is an open letter from *Life* magazine to the United States Golf Association, satirizing the introduction of a new golf ball that travels farther than the old standard ball. **The satire's point:** The new ball is democratizing golf by allowing average players to hit longer distances, thus closing the skill gap between experts and casual golfers. *Life* argues this is *bad* — it prevents the USGA from maintaining golf as an elite sport where superior players dominate. **The social critique:** The letter mocks the USGA's snobbish gatekeeping, suggesting they want to preserve golf as exclusive to the naturally talented and wealthy ("Bootleggers of the former standard ball"). *Life* ridicules this elitism by noting the government has already intervened in other contexts, asking rhetorically whether the USGA will similarly resist progress. **The humor:** The letter's exaggerated tone and vivid descriptions of struggling golfers ("his putter with the tortured mind of a patient watching his dentist") emphasize how the new ball threatens the establishment's control over who deserves to enjoy the game.