Babe Ruth walked 17 miles through our neighborhood while playing 63 holes of golf in one day on the Jungle Golf Course. He was seen with a slight limp as he finished. A round of golf takes approximately three and a half hours - 63 holes would take over 12 hours. It seems that he wanted to get in as much golf as possible before spring training workouts began on the following day.
From the Washington Evening Star, March 05, 1928:
Source: Library of Congress
text:
Ruth's Golf Improving
ST. PETERSBURG. Fla , March 5
(AP) Babe Ruth's golfing is improving. He had one round of 78 yesterday in the course of 63 holes at the Jungle Country Club course. Ruth's golf caused him to walk about 17 miles. He had a slight limp at the finish.
Workouts on the diamond start in earnest tomorrow, with Ruth primed to bang some homers for the benefit of waiting fans. Golf will be taboo at the Yanks' camp with the exception of Sundays.
Publisher's note: Every year from 1925 through 1935, Babe Ruth was in St. Petersburg for spring training. Ruth loved golf and nearly every spring he would spend weeks on the Jungle Golf Course before the official start of spring training, frequently playing 36 holes per day. The Jungle Country Club and Golf Course was sold in 1944 and the golf course is now a residential neighborhood.
