Recreation: Five-Figure Exercise

Say the word Calcutta to most Americans, and they think of saried Indians bathing in the Ganges and sacred cows basking in the middle of dirty thoroughfares. But say Calcutta to the member of a golf club, and he is apt to look nervously to either side and whisper, "Shhhh! How did you know we were having one this year?" Until 1955, a Calcutta was an integral —and often the most fun—part of every golf tournament. A few days before a member-member tournament, or on the night before a member-guest, a properly anointed auctioneer would "sell" each team to...