PENNY-A-HOLE GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 138, 14 June 1933, Page 9

PENNY-A-HOLE GOLF

IF YOU CAN GET IT CROWDED CITY LINKS PLAYERS COMPLAIN

y A. problem that seems unlikely to lje settled is the crowded state ;;of .tlio • municipal links at' Berhampore. Ever since it was established, this, golf courso has attracted not only .the- learners, but those who cannot afford1 to pay the entrance fees to private'golf clubs, with their transport and other charges. Some of the best golfers in the -Dominion have'learnt their game on Berhampora links, which, by reason of. their mountainous nature and the necessity -for; placing every ball fairly accurately, or seeing it; roll down into.\sdine; inhospitable gully, form the best. .of. training grounds; '< Drainage and-gradual improvement in many ways .have mado the municipal links much' better than they wore, but the- old trouble of congestion is greater .than ever. One reason is that so .many of tha players arc in the novice class. To debar these people from improving their game, in view of' the enjoyment they all get out o£ it, would be a real hardship to them. Most of them will never play scratch golf, but what constitutes the membership of the first-rata. clubs? Is it not the long handicap man who supplies the bulk of the subscriptions, and, frequently is the lift* of the social side of golf? It is tho persons who take five shots to the green' at the one-shot holes, however, who, amiable though they may be; causa most of the congestion at Berhampore. Formerly it used to be the practice to play over and through such people, and there has been more than one knockout.' Harold Black, who has held tho , amateur championship of New Zealand, , and who played his first competitive club golf on Berhampore as a member of the Mornington Club, was hit on. , the temple on the green near the Horn» of Compassion some years ago and laid out for over half an homy while ' a lady had her shoulder blade fractured at Berhampbre.* Since the salo of tickets with consecutive numbers, players now start off in the order; in which they bought their tickets, and ■wait until the pair in front have played their' second shots, or have got out of the> way at the short holes, but the problem- of getting everyone who buys ticket's ,away in 'time,.' to get in. their eighteen holes still remains 'unsolved. On Saturdays nine-hole tickets aro not sold.. Two-hundred Is 6d tickets w,ere sold."on Saturday, and people played on. their season, tickets, and upon their numbers there was no check* There are well over 100 season-ticket holders, and a number of them must be added to those who played. O£ the 200 tickets sold, 175 were sold . after noon. The natural result was a big crowd waiting rather'hopelessly, on the first tee... at 2 .p.m. At 3.5 p.m. there were still 30, players waiting to drive'off, amongst.■ them, some who had bought their tickets at 1.30 p.m., and who had 23 players waiting ahead of, them.. These 1.30 - paw. starters eventually; got away at 3.30. p.m., and one pair got in 10 holes. Obviously1 sonte others gotfiii less'than! nine,holes, though they-ha.d paid lot 18.' ' : ' ■■•..:■ •. •' ;•. :.-.',■.-.. ' Few city councillors are golfers, which may be why tho council has never seriously tackled the question of controlling players on tho municipal links. Two good players,.. can do eighteen holes on a well-kept; course in 2J hours, but the. ayeyage. of th« times taken by -players^ say •«s■: Mira- _ mar, wonld work' out at 2Ji hours, while four-balls and, the .longest, handicap men might take longer. -On Berhamporo with its steep gullies, plentiful trouble off the line to the, hole/ and a majority ,of indifferent players, 2J>hours would be a fair average. The alpine nature of the course,,. apart from excursions into; the country;" would' make it a. scrambling endurance test in less than 2* hour* for good golfers with/ sound physique. ? To enjoy golf a reasonable time for, deliberation when making shots is essential, especially on the greens. It ; is good starting to get a golfing field away at four-minute intervals, ana without the congestion consequent on hold-ups during the round. .\ From Mondays to Fridays mne-hola tickets are issued for 9d, and 18-holo . tickets for Is, but on Saturdays, and ( - Sundays only 18-hble tickets are sold., The complaint of tfie users of the links I on Saturday was that nothing less than Is 6d was charged, while those I ■who could not get to the links until : after 1 p.m: had to wait so long before getting away that they could not hope to play the' eighteen holes they : had ' paid for. By allowing everyone to play (and pay for) nine holes only, and by starting at two tees, many more would get the value for their money. It is little better on Sundays, because a large proportion of the users like to get in two eighteen-hole rounds? Another point arises. The City Council laid out the Athletic Park course for learners. It would be easy to fix a standard which learners must achieve there before they arc fallowed on. tha .older course, but, judging from .some of the efforts on Berhampore on.Saturday, a fourth of the golfers there would have to revert to the Athletic Park course, which is also overcrowded at times, and, is' used by quite."' efficient players as well as learners. It is tcit by the Berhampore golfers that as this reserve is a paying concern,,some of.. the revenue might be used by the City; Council to control tho players mora , lationally, to debar those who hopeless- ;. ly hold up others,- and, if • .-necessary^ ■ to lay-out' another learners 1 '!Boui;se. <■ Some handicapping system, ..which j would make the many games arranged ; at'the last minute between comparative' strangers more even, would bo .welcomed. The custodian of the Berhampore links does all he can, but is'chieflv-. occupied in the «sale of tickets, jind the starter is kept on the first tee*