GOLF IN THE STATES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 262, 5 November 1928, Page 8

GOLF IN THE STATES.

CHEAP AND POPULAR.

A TALK WITH MR. J. KIBXWOOD.

SOME QUEER TRICK SHOTS,

It is regrettable that golfers in this country and in Australia have missed the opportunity of seeing the famous American professional, Walter Hagen. He was to have /a . >mpanied the Australian player, Mr. J. Kirkwood, who is a passenger to Sydney by the Aorangi. "Hagen," Mr. Kirkwood says, "tried to arrange it, but apparently could come to no definite understanding with governing bodies in New Zealand and Australia. It was a pity; had it been possible we would have toured together, and to see Hagen in action would have been an experience which golfers in this part of the world will possibly never have again. "It ia that sort of thing that la wanted to encourage golf here," Mr. Kirkwood added. "There is to be a tournament in Honolulu soon, to which a number of American professionals have been invited. A prize of 5000 dollars (about £1000) has been offered, and all expenses, including first class return fares and accommodation during one week's golf, are going to be paid. That is the way to further the game. It is an expensive method, I know, but it is worth it. Everyone in America plays. Clerks, office boys, everyone, patronises the courses which are laid out by the cities. I have known 30 or 40 young enthusiasts to be at the links before dawn, waiting for the first glimpse of daylight to get a round in before breakfast. Fees are cheap; it costs only oO cents (about 2/) to play a round." Steel Shafts; A New Ball. It is probable that there will be one or two important changes in golf play, he declares. Steel shafts for wooden clubs must come eventually; at present 95 per cent of the players in America use them. They are not barred even in tournaments there, although it is not permissible to use them yet in Great Britain. In 1930 a lighter and bigger ball is to be thoroughly tried out. °It is thought that players get too much length with their drives, and to prevent this a new type of ball will probably be introduced. There is, according to Mr. Kirkwood, a lot of controversy as to who is the world's greatest golfer, Bobby Jones or Walter Hagen. Bobby Jones, he says, is a master of the game, but in other respects Walter Hagen can well be called "the king of golf." It is really not possible to compare them on the same lines. For an amateur the game does not hold the same strain as it imposes on a professional, who depends upon it for hia living. Incidentally, Hagen is very misunderstood. He is really a thorough sportsman. "A Box of Tricks." Since he was in New Zealand last, Kirkwood has mastered a number of new trick shots. Explanations of a few of these will be Interesting to followers of the game, but it is not recommended that they be practised on any back lawn in which a hole has been cut for putting. Hitting five balls one after the other without looking st them is one of the simplest. Another is to hit two balls at once with one club, slicing one and hooking the other. A third calls for even more skill; three shots are played at once, by hitting three balls at the same time, one with a midiron, one with a mashie, and the third with a niblick. A fourth is to drive eight balls one after the other so quickly that all eight are in the air at once. At Linchburg, Virginia, Kirkwood brought in a record score for the course, which is 6300 yds; his score was 61, and it included eleven threes and seven fours. Most of his time at present is taken in exhibitions of trick golf and lecturing on the game. He covers every State in America once a year. He has been in the States since 1922, and intends to return in about five weeks after a visit to his people in Australia.