PICTURESQUE HERETAUNGA.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 262, 4 November 1932, Page 12

PICTURESQUE HERETAUNGA.

SIMPLE LOOKING, BUT TRICKY. FORTUNES IN JHE FOURSOMES. (Special to "Star..") WELLINGTON, Thursday.

Heretaunga, the venue of the Dominion golf championships, is ' undoubtedly the most picturesque course in New Zealand, and is one of the beauty spots of Wellington. Situated 17 miles, from the city, it is the fashionable summer residential; area and some beautiful homes look down uponthe links, which lie in a park-like setting. It is bounded on the north by a- high range of hills' and the-fairways of velvet sward are broken by avenues and_ clumps of native and exotic trees, while two crystal-clear streams run along its boundaries and provide natural golf hazards. Apart from these streams and the bush which borders a few of the fairways, there are no other hazards. Where the streams interrupt the fairways the trees are situated near them, and consequently they constitute only a mental hazard, which should not worry the cream of New Zealand golfers which is participating in the tournament. . * - The entrances to the green are wide and for the greater part comparatively easy. The bunkers guarding them are shallow, and not being lipped .recovery from them is simple, and occasionally players use their putters to emerge from the traps. As a whole, ,the course appeara easy, and though the setting back of trees. has increased its length to 6088 yards, it is not, in the true sense of the word, a championship course. There are factors, however, which counter its apparent simplicity, and chief of them are the conflicting winds which sweep down from the hills. Wind as a Factor. The wind has prevailed from'the north during the past few days, but. players have found to their embarrassment- that it is variable. Where they have been pin high with a shot in the morning, a similar club will. leave them short or be too strong, according to the lie of the hole, on a subsequent round. In. addition to this, the whole course, though in beautiful condition, is playing fast and it is not possible to hold the greens with full-pitched shots. Exponents of the pitch an* run shots to the greens will find this style of play a great advantage if the weather continues fine. The greens are excellently grassed, but, like the approaches to them, are fast, and a bold putt is attempted with temerity. Pitfalls of the Course.

The scratch score of the course is 72, 36 out and 36 home, and it is pretty safe to say that any competitor in the open championship who averages bogey figures will left the honour. However, these figures and better are quite within the bounds of possibility, as there are no less than five' holes where it is possible to reach the green in one shot. They are the third, 157 yards; fifth, 192 yards, and ninth, 227 yards, on the outward journey, and the,- fourteenth, 195 yards, and fifteenth, 120 yards, on the run home. All, however, have their penalties for inacurrate tee shots, and this was forcibly demonstrated to-day in the amateur foursomes, when J. P. Hornabrook and T. H. Horton lost the title by taking a six at the fifteenth. The green is on a plateau alongside, the clubhouse, and the tee below it, and separated by the creek and a high bank supporting tile green. With a, following wind an accurate mashie or mashieniblick is called for to reach it, and just a little too much strength will put a player through to the bunkers behind. Similarly, at the ithird a number four or three iron shot has penalties for ill-directed or too-strong shots in the long grass and trees which encircle it. _ The sixteenth hole, played from the high bank above the clear-flowing stream, which borders the right fairway too, is a tempting hole for the long, hitters to attempt to reach, its distance being 286 yards. A slice, however, finds the creek and there is a small bunker to trap a long-flighted ball a bit off the line. The longest hole on

the course is the eighth, a distance of 536 yards, comparable with the ninth at It inyolvcs-two good--woods,

and its real test is. the accuracy of the iron shot to the green. Summed up critically, the course is not as easy as it seems. Play in the Foursomes. The foureomee to-day provided, in the professional contest, a comfortable win for J. A. Clements and E. S. Douglas, both players with fine records in the history of the open tournament. Clements won it in 1908, 1909, 1912, while' Douglas has four victories to his credit, 1913, 1914, 1919 and 1921. Their two rounds of 72 and 73 gave them an aggregate of 145, three strokes better than the runners-up, C. C, Clemente and J. Forrest. The Auckland pair, Moss and Rutter, ' were five strokes worse than the winners, J and, Moss' play indicates that he may 5 break his sequence of failures at the New \ Zealand tournaments. A good soaking of ' the course would be in his favour, allow- ' ing pitch shots to the green 6. ; The amateur- foursome, resolved itself I into a duel between the Black brothers > and Horton and Hornabrook. These two > pairs, with the Duncan brothers, Morgan r and John (nephews of Arthur -Duncan, [ doyen o'f New Zealand golf), returned cards of 73 in the morning. The Duncans , shifted strokes consistently '-in the afterl noon, and the gallery followed the Blacks . and Horton and Hornabrook, who were ■ playing, curiously enough, together. Coming to the fourteenth Horton and i Hornabrook were four strokes to the good, : but lost one when Hornabrook missed an i easy putt after H. Black had holed a useful four-footer for a three. The next hole, the shortest on the course, showed what mistakes here may result in. J. Black played a nice mashie, 20ft from the pin, but Horton was shirt in the bank supporting the green. Hornabrook played the second badly into the bunker, and Horton failed to explode it. The hole cost the pair 6, while the Blacks got a 3, making the scores even. The next two holes were halved, but at the eighteenth Horton missed a threefoot putt, and the Blacks won the hole in 4 to 5, and the tournament by one stroke. Their score of 148 was only 3 . worse than that of the professionals.

AUCKLAND LADIES' CLUB.

Draw for bogey match to be played on Tuesday by the members of the Auckland Ladies' Golf Club: —Miss White v. Miss Kingston, Miss Rntlibone v. Mrs. Qnartiey, Miss Rainger v. Mrs. D. Robertson, Mrs. J. Wilson v. Miss Pierce, Miss Cooper v. Miss Reid, Mrs. Iluglies v. Miss Asser, Miss Upton v. Miss Knight, Miss R. Roberton v.. Miss Lever, Mrs. Murphy v. Mrs. Sellar, Miss Ridings v. Miss Bayly, Miss Culling v. Miss Souter, Mrs. J. P. Brov/n v. Miss Henderson, Mrs. Abbott v. Miss McGovern, Mrs. Austin v. Mrs. Hutchison, Miss Noakos v. Miss Waller. Mrs. Hellaby v. Miss Boddington, Mrs. Henry v. Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Rutherford v. Mrs'. Mathieson, Miss L. Cutfield v. Mrs. Moody, Mrs. Rainger v. Mrs. Bull, Miss E. Malioney v. Mrs. Miller, Miss Buddie v. Mrs." Mackenzie, Mrs. Ralph v. Mrs. Kirker, Miss Graham v. Miss Clark, Miss E. Wilson v.' Mrs. Ludbrnok, Miss Ballantyne v. Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Wright v. Miss George, Mrs. Donald v. Mrs. Prater, Mrs. Green v. Miss Jefferson, Miss MacCormick v. Mrs. King, Mrs. Henderson v. Mrs. Knight, Mrs. Joyce v. Mrs. Trice, Miss Macfarlane v. Mrs. Friedlander, Mrs. Robertson v. Mrs. Watson, Miss L. Roberton v.", Miss S. Mahoney, Mrs. Grant v. Miss Ruddock, Mrs. Buttle v. Mrs. Maciry, Miss Porter v. Miss Russell, Miss H. Cutfield v. Miss Kelly, Miss Hamlin v. Mrs. Morris* Mrs. Towle v. Mrs. Devore, Mrs. Johns v. Miss Gregory, Miss Chatfield v. Mrs. Souter, Mrs. Phillips v. another.

TITIRANGI LADIES' CLUB.

A medal handicap played yesterday by numbers of the Titirangi Ladies' Golf Club resulted : Seniors.—Mrs. Alison. 89—12—77; Mrs. Deighton, 84 —6—78 ; Mrs. C. E. Grovatt, 95—16—79; Mrs. Niccolls, 94—15—79. Juniors.—Mrs. Sutcliffe. 9G—21—75 ; Mrs. B. Cooke, 99—22—77 ; Mrs. Reid, 97—19—78. .: : ;

- AKARANA LADIES' CLUB.

Matches played by members of the Akarana Ladies' Golf Club' resulted: —Senior consolation : Miss P. McGee tied with Miss K. Hickman. In the play-off Miss McGee proved the winner. Junior: Mrs. Schischka. CJ grade: Mrs. Adams. Bogey match: Seniois, Mrs. Cox; juniors, Mrs. Phillip. Closing Day Foursomes: Miss P. Peet and T. Jones, 92—14—78. Long drive : Senior, Mrs. Preston ; junior, Mrs. Dovey; C grade, Mrs. Thomas. Approaching: Seniors, Miss O'Callaghan ; juniors, Miss I. Walters/.'Putting: Seniors, Mrs. Preston and Mrs. 'Grant tied, Mrs. Preston winning 'the play-off; juniors, Mrs. Kingsland and Mrs. Dovey tied, Mrs. Kingsland proving the winner in the play-off; C grade, Miss L. Birch.

MAUNG AKIEKIE LADIES' CLUB.

■ Result of C grade match played by members of the Maungakiekie Ladies' Club at One Tree Hill yesterday:—Mrs. R. 51. George, 105 ; Mrs. A. Bartley, 108; Mrs. M. Elliffe, 115 ; Mrs. Truscott, 116 ; Mi's. Stephens; Mrs. Stevenson, 119. A tie which resulted in a previous match was played off between Mrs. R. M. George and Mrs. Truscott and resulted in a win for the first-named.

PUPUKE CLUB.

A bogey match, will be played to-morrow by members, of the Pupuke Golf Club for a trophy presented by the club. Players will choose partners. During the week-end a four-ball best-ball match will be played for a trophy presented by the club. Players will choose partners and opponents, r '