ON THE LINKS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 122, 5 March 1936, Page 3

ON THE LINKS

SHORTER FLYING BALL. RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS. (By "Silver King.") St. Andrews have made the significant announcement that "it is essential that the golf ball should travel a shorter distance," and they have taken the course 1 suggested in consulting the manufacturers. Thsy have asked the latter to co-operate iii designing a ball that will take lo to 20 yatds off the length of shots and a conference is to be held to consider the question, says an English critic. ft is a problem which America has found as difficult to solve as ourselves. Generally the makers are against restrictions. They hold that they would retard the development of the game and they are averse from making any changes in construction which would displease the club golfer as distinct from the tournament players. I am informed that 15,000,000 balls are sold in this country each year. In addition, there is a considerable export trade, and it is feared that this might be harmed if a ball inferior in flight were put on the market.

St. Andrews, too, has always approached the question from this angle, and I do not think they will legislate for the few at the expense of the many, they do not favour the suggestion that a ball for tournaments should be standardised. "There must be only one ball," they say, "otherwise there would be hopeless confusion." At the present time the player has ample choice and it is felt that he should not be bound to a ball of one design.

A Curious Feature. One curious feature is that by machine test the diffeience between the ball of 1913 and the one in use in 1932 was only 12 yards. If it worked out in that way in actual play, it follows that there have since been remarkable improvements in the method of construction and the materials used. The research chemist has undoubtedly produced a much more perfect ball, and ono which has added 20 yards to that of 1932.

I believe a change is on the way, but it will not be introduced this year. In the first place the manufacturers will have to come to an agreement and this will not be easily reached. h\ tbe second, they will require time to make the necessary alterations to their plant. If it is to be a bigger ball, new moulds will be needed and the. makers will be involved in an outlay of many thousands of pounds. They will naturally try to avoid this expenditure and they will, I think, tiy to reach an agreement whereby the cover of the ball should be made thicker and the core less tightly wound. This is undoubtedly one way of curtailing flight.

Holing in One. Is the golfer's terror of doing a hole in one to be removed? The London 'Morning Post'* says: In recent years it has becon.e customary that the player should "stand drinks" to all in the clubhouse at the same time benefiting the treasury substantially. The player himself receives nothing but honour and glory—and, amateur though he might be, his fate must often have seemed a hard one particularly in some of the larger clubs round London and other big cities. Now the Wilderness Club, near Sevenoaks, Kent, has decided to reverse the recent order. In future the player, if he is a visitor will be entertained at luncheon and liquid refreshments as the guest of the club and in addition will have his green fee and caddie fee refunded. If he is a member, he will also be entertained and royally treated. "Wo feel that the player who does a hole in one deserves his reward," Major W. H. Hodgson, the secretary, stated. "The last time that happened on this course it cost the player £ll 10s. It was at the 18th hole, which measures 265 yards and naturally a good deal of interest was caused."

Psychological Putting. Among other things, Joe E'zar, the versatile American professional, will be long remembered for the startling rapidity with which he disposed of the business of putting in the recent Centenary golf championship. Asked tor an explanation of Ids apparently careless, but nevertheless most efficient, putting method, Ezar philosophically said "1 lock at the hole—see the line to be covered by the ball—what else is there to do but hit the ball?" Many explanations were advanced for the reason of Ezar's success in holing long putts with apparently careless taps with his putter, bub a rather novel theory in this regard is advanced by Peter Eowlie in his recently published hook, "The Technique of the Coif Swing." He writes: "As a final word on putting I will 'go out of bounds' for a sentence or two and trespass on the domain of the psychologist, 1 would advise you to putt quickly. Take time and to spare if you like in deciding the path of the putt, and on the strength of the blow, but haying settled those matters get on with the job at once.

No Limit to Time. "C. W Bailey tells us that experimental psychology has discovered there is a limit to the lime through which one's controlled "attention can operate. It appears that concentrated attention is a fatiguing business and that every two seconds or so an automatic 'cut-out' comes into action to save the mechanism from fatigue. Two seconds appears to be the span of time we ea.n usefully spend in looking at the ball; of we spend any more we are merely fatiguing the brain to no purpose. And applying his weird knowledge of attention, spans and cut-outs to golf the psychologist tells us that

'the final concentration and stroke must bo practically simultaneous,' and that 'you must focus last of all, take your sight and shot altogether.' The moral is clear: Don't brood over your putt—get on with it. Bear in mind tho risk of a confused cerebrum and the certainty of a congested course.