GOLF,

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLIV, Issue XLIV, 3 May 1924, Page 9

GOLF,

FIXTURES.

May 26—British Amateur Champion-1 ship, at St. Andrews. June 23—British Open Championship at Hoylake. F' Sept. I—American Women's Cham- . pionshrp, «at Rhode Island. Sept. 20—American Amateur Championship, at Mirion. Interest continues very keen in the competitions on the programme,, and; this should lead to more practice, and j consequently an ever-improving stand-! ard of play. The need of a coach is ! stressed by many, and players justcommencing could be put on the right | track and so have a good style on which to build, xt would increase interest very much, and be very useful to the club generally. It will be of interest to local men players to know that the one club competition fixed for last week has been! excised from the programme on account ot the bad weather. It has also been decided by the committee, to meet the ' convenience of those who cannot always get down on the same day each week, to allow competitions to be played on any day up to Monday in each week. | The old, old rule, "Replace your divot," or in other words "out back as carefully as possible, the turf dug up by a club, so that a player coming after you will not be penalised by perchance finding his ball at the end of a, long, straight drive in a hole where he will have to play his mashie instead j of his brassie, and so be most wrongly i punished by your neglect of a long-! established feature of the etiquette of i the game"—this hoary rule, which re-' minds players to show consideration to' those following, is still much honoured i m the breach, and brings hard j thoughts into the mind of the sufferers I Players cannot be too seriously or too! often reminded that they owe it to themselves and to all their fellowmembers to write on the tablets of their minds in burning letters that cannot be missed, "Replace the turf displaced by a shot." In some clubs a fine is imposed for any breach. I A point that is not always recognised is that the putting green is "all I ground, except hazards, within 20 yards j of the hole," and therefore any rule' applying to the green as marked and i cut on the course applies to the ground up to that distance from the hole. For instance, within that distance the ball may be lifted and cleaned. Rule 17 says that "a player has 'ad-l dressed the ball' when he has taken his • stance and grounded his club, or, if in i a hazard, when he has taken his stance i preparatory to striking at the ball." \ It is a nice point as to whether, having "addressed the ball," a player can Move away and take a new stance. Many players, however, when the : stroke has not realised their expectations, address the ball after having made the stroke. j Rule 5 says: "The ball must be I fairly struck at with the head of the club, not pushed, scraped, or spooned." '■ If a ball lies, for instance, in a hedge where it cannot be struck at, it might ', be possible to get the head of the club f behind the ball and so spoon it out, [ but the rule proves that it would be an j illegal stroke, and the penalty would I be the loss of the hole. " jAnother small matter that is not al- ■ ways quite appreciated is the dropping • of a ball when, say, it is in a sheep f track or on dung. The rule specifics- :' "The player himself shall drop it. He i shall face the hole, stand erect, and t. drop the ball behind him over his ;' shoulder." In such a wording it is. always assumed that "his" embraces { "her." Again the penalty for breach \ is the loss of the hole. If the ball roll i into a hazard the player may redrop j without penalty. If a ball in play is touched, except [ as provided for in the rules, before the j hole is played out, the penalty again is ! loss of the hole. But it is provided a that, with the opponent's consent, the' ball may be lifted for purposes of identification, but must be carefully replaced. Any loose impediment within a club's \ length of the ball, if not in or ! touching a hazard, may be removed! without penalty, but if more than a! club's length away may not be moved ' under penalty of the loss of the hole, f unless the impediment be on the put- j ting green. This is a_ point worth notice by players, especially in the short: work round the greens. I "If a ball in play move after the player has grounded his club in the act of addressing it, or if a ball in play being in a hazard move after the player has taken his stance to play it, he shall be deemed to have caused it to move, and the penalty shall be one stroke." There is a point in this rule worth notice by players. The opening ceremony of the links at Patea is fixed for to-day. The course is rapidly getting into shape, and a i successful season is anticipated. j When playing in a four-ball bogey; foursome best ball. C. K. Sams holed;, a "2" at "The Narrows" (bogey 4). j-. At the Easter tournament, 1923 S he did i exactly the same thing at the same j hale. Sams also holed a "2" at Mug-' geridges green recently. Mr Sams was ! some years ago a relieving bank man- ■ ager in Hawera for some weeks, and ! older members will remember his I vigorous and accurate golf. ! The rule applying to the finding of [ a player's ball by an onlooker, which at one time .was strictly adhered to a was