GOLF.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 96, 24 April 1926, Page 25

GOLF.

JOTTINGS FROM THE LINKS.

Titirangi was en fete last Saturday when competitors in the mixed foursome event were the guests at tea of the president and Mrs. Taylor, and- Club Captain R. O. Gardner and Mrs. .Gardner. The course reflected the. recent spell of dry weather, being extremely fast, the greens in particular calling for considerable skill in the handling, and, under : the circumstances, the cards of 2 down on bogey respectively by Hiss McCabe and F. Trice and Mrs. Saxton and H. W. Cooke were good. The usual function following the match proved an unqualified success, dancing and electric lightputting whiling away a most pleasant evening. About 100 players were on the course in the afternoon, and the general interest displayed promises well for a highly successful season. The committee of the Auckland Golf Club has inaugurated a splendid idea of a series of teams match events. Nothing but lasting good can eventuate from the decision, and without delving unduly into the advantages that will accrue, the gain in the social side, and the tendency to raise the standard of the game by additional match play, form sufficient reasons to substantiate the action. Last Saturday teams representing the captain and .the president clashed, with the result that Club Captain Hanna gained the laurels. The ensuing dinner at the clubhouse was attended by tlie 70 players who participated, and the general'tenor of the remarks left no doubt as to the popularity of the fixture. Several events of the type are provided in the- programme for the season, and the Maungakiekie Club .in recognising the wisdom of the move will, I am sure, be pardoned for following in the footsteps of the mother club. . Middlemore has nearly always- been able to justify the claim to good greens, and the liberal top-dressing recently applied should do much to ensure good greens for the future. Compet tors at the jweek-end at times found conditions a little irksome, but within a very short period will reap the benefit of any temporary inconvenience, \yhile upon the subject of course upkeep I may say the failure of the ideal grasses to hold beyond the third season in the fairways has occasioned mc no little amount of thought and after considerable inquiry in well-informed quarters I have reached the conclusion that it seems possible the life of the chewings on this type of country might be prolonged. In the first instance it is recognised 'that the continual cutting of the fescue has the result of preventing seeding, and ac a sequence, natural renewal of' the grass. In some soils the result/is a greater stool ing out of the roots with a'consequent thickening of the turf, but on the soil obtaining at Middlemore this does not. eventuate. . It is of course recognised that adequate manuring is coincident, but if I am not misinformed as to my facts, the trouble lies in that a vigorous manuring process has not been carried out "in the autumn,, forcing: a growth able to successfully combat the winter period,, and one ready to be' quickly brought to maturity in the spring. Those conversant with the- conditions at Middlemore will be inclined io retaliate, with the fact that the general trouble is to keep down, the growth'in the spring, not to encourage it, but this serves to rather more clearly throw into relief the question of why should 'the fairways disappear? If recent observation of the eleventh fairway is correct, it has deteriorated by comparison with a season ago, and although late, it is perhaps not too i late in the. season through the protracted absence .of Tain, to give the above suggestion a trial. Or, take the eighteenth where previously a beautiful sward waa in evidence, or, better still, the seventeenth, the ' turf of which is on the decline, and at this late period for the sake of experience and experiment, see whether there is wisdom in the viewpoint offered. Finally, although judicious watering has helped the greens to have always retained the good grasses, they are being treated at the present moment,, not only to improve their surface, but also to ensure the re T tention of the desired type of growth, and it is therefore felt the inference may justifiably be drawn that a like result is possiblp on fairways of an identical soil. Glendowie opened its season a. fortnight ago, when the course was described las 'being in good order and when.-Miss Friar and F. Trice led the field. Wfe find on • that Trice was in • the-leading position at 'Titirangi's open-ing,-and he appears somewhat successful in this type of event. Last Saturday L. H. Saunders and T. Russell, the latter an old Maungakiekie enthusiast, tied for the medal handicap, and following them were stalwarts of the club whose names appeared quite frequently last season. At Rotorua the opening foursome was annexed by Miss Coutts and C. Carr, while at Pukekohe Miss I. Duncan and Sdhlaepfer were the winners. . The Thames course of nine holes, -situated on the racecourse, has also been opened, Miss Kidd and Scrimgeour gaining ■first place. As instancing the popularity of the game, the chain of clubs and tfhe liberal membership thereof tunning through the Waikato, Qhinemuri, RotOrua and Ta-uranga districts, furnishes very ! welcome • evidence. Pukekohe boasts 100 members, Tauranga at least 50 and clubs such as Rotorua, which a comparatively short time ago had but a handful of adherents," are now able to boast courses laid out with a view to the future, and an army of enthusiastic members. v Locally we are awaiting a move on the part of Waitemata and Pupuke to declare their season open. The former club has in the past experienced considerable difficulty in the matter of its tenure, but as i working bee has already taken place, the .couree should soon be thrown "open. With regard to the latter, it is understood that an 18----hole course' will eventuate, but no doubt .the advent of rain is being eagerly awaited in order to embark upon the season with the best playing conditions possible. The Otahunu. club is continuing its progress, and has grown literally by leaj>s and bound. It comprises about the strongest set of players of any club outside the metropolitan area, and if only a satisfactory lease of the property could be secured, a good future would be assured. There . ate several really interesting holes comprised in the 12> and it is exceedingly regrettable that the prospect of , improved tenure ia «o obscure.