TITIRANGI'S SCRATCH SCORE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 21 September 1938, Page 21

TITIRANGI'S SCRATCH SCORE.

IS IT TOO LIBERAL?

CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRESS.

MIDDLEMORE ON SATURDAY,

IBy RIBISKRCORE.)

11,1 all 'I'll" iliiiinpu.iisliipg under way or .tliMiit to In- ennimeiiced ilt tlio w.-ek-en.l wp have ,e,.che.[ the really interpetitiK fltaiiP of the Heasnn's play. September with i'N ipiiKtliPnini: days, its warm sunshine and Kiovvtli of fairway,. K nd greens, '" !•■»' onions with n return to bettor thin.'s. (Jnnr are the drnli conditions of winter ~,,,1 t hp heavy lies, that bugbear of Auckland i*i>lf. '

(Jener.illy later than the,' other clubs With Us cll.liiipii.iMliip*. MiddU'inoio will f-'U "Ho line at 1h... work-end, no that the i-phl liMtoi-y ot the xeason is eoon to be writ ton. N'ortli Shove, I'upuke and Maiii.jf.ikickio hav,. already complete.l the • lftin« )in>c«*, and such stalwart* a* 11. Stevens. R. Pacey nnd L. B. St-hnaupv, to take a trio of, respective club strength, ha\e fa Men by the v.-ayeide. Taking tho N'orth Shore Club wellknown playcre in -I. \V, Moiiikoii, L. .1. M'iniitfiii- and A. J. .Spi'aKK»n have abto been eliminated. The «emi-tin:il« have been reached, and it in interesting to note that apart from A. K. Brown<> tlie acknowledged crack, youth m an important part. H. C. Stevens,' though he dii-il liard—it was only at the lant «r«pen- -li.im not revoilofl }ti—= true form this Benson. He ha«. however, for eo lons l«-en a doniinatina %ure in jri»lf acrt»w tlie water, that he may jiwtifiahlv rest on )ii« oarn. VV. Kobort»". hi* conqueror, i e left to oppose Browne, but whether ho can corvp with »o virile a player ie open to question. Robert*, incidentally, repeated hie victory over Stevens in the final of the Jellicoe Cup on Sunday, but that Wμ m handicap event, and h« was in receipt of five etroke*.

S. E. Foote, in defeating Minogue, revealed the very definite advance which has characterised hi« <rame this oeaenn. Opposite him ie L. B. Johnston, another newly pledged to championship honour*. Johnston in, perhape, the bojry man of the event, as after having qualified »o excellently he managed to ward off J. C. Bnten only at the nineteenth. He wan more decwive of hie treatment of Spraaeon, .but viewed in the light of a poKoible finalist would not seem to have reserves such, ae iias Browne.

Strength Asserts Itself. At main strength in J. E. Stedman, JTTI. Earle. I. McOwan and J. p. Shanly asserted itself, so that interest is excellently maintained. Apart from the defeat of Schnauer, who, though • eound match player hae played only •Paemodicalljr this season, the defection of H. Roy and Jajins wae least expected. Roy of course was opposed by McOwan, who in happily making light of years is CMily tht Bloat gallant match player in the club. ■ On hie record, were abstract justice done, the title of club champion would be only his due.

Of the Individual matches Johns, formerly on one at New Plymouth, and whose chances were rated highly, had every Opportunity , against Self, but faded out •t the finish. Bhanly, though round in enly 77, sprcadeagled D. O. Macfarlane, who on the. day wu no match for his young opponent. J. H. Earle did not play •0 well am he might have done and poeeibly experienced a life-in that p'Audney did not make it very hard for him. The McOwan-Roy tuftsle wax tense throughout, and of the remainder Moffitt *»arn<% most laurels in holding on to win from a good match player in L. B- Schnauer. Surprise by E. Ohlton.

At Titirangi J. H. Young completed his stranglehold in distancing the opposition

to score a bloodless win in the scratch medal. V. L. Humphreys and R. R. McCr.vetal, the latter particularly, as he wae handicapped with a, touch of neuritis the previous round, did well in getting near the top. Apart from them the most mpritorioiis performance wae that of E. Ohlnon. Though not one of the accepted erackn, Ohlson has played well throughout the seaeon. His golf might well Rave been more amply rewarded. Apropos of thi«, the regularity of successes in varioun events by Young and Brinsden give* food for thought. The suggestion has been made that they be placed on a plua mark. In the case of Brinsden there may in part be some justification for the step—he would certainly hare added the Taylor Bowl to his already imposing list had he desired —but the issue is a wider one. To seek sanctuary in plus handicap* would be to attack the position from the wrong angle. The remedy lie* in reducing the standard scratch score by at leaet two etrokee. Holes of unsatisfactory length, or rather hitting distance, such as the third and sixth, might well be converted into fours and handicaps of th* majority promoted. Admitting tha* Young and Brineden have frequently bettered the standard •cratch score, often ae much as by three or four strokes, the scratch score, always liberal at Titirangi, ought, for handicapping purposes this season, almost without exception, have been reduced on like basis. Apart from the reduced length of several holes—holes which hitters like those players under review have consistently reached from the tee —thereby giuning an added advantage, the conditions have been favourable.Thus it ie that many players have suffered reduction** which their e« ner <|l level of abilities scarcely -warrants. Aαmitteddy the scratch score eyetem aaakee for shooting etars rather thau players whose scores are founded on the rock lwttom of a sound golfing style. Thus it i« that through the years the majority. having paid the price for their one great inoment, have reached handicap* where they are at the mercy of the few—ae represented in Youne and Bnnsden. If proof were needed of whether the Titirnnei players are at a disadvantage as retfiirdu handicaps then the annual drubbing their A team receives from Middlemore ought to be sufficient. It may be advanced that the handicaps at Middlemore are on too liberal a basis. M*ybe, theugh I do not know of any '"maequeraden" there. In thk no suggestion of criticism is made in the cas% of those whose onerous *nd thankless task it is to carry out th« duties of handicap**** A eemtfiwtioii of

(-ircimiMtuiK-ee has bror K iit about a difficult position one which jiwtihV* deep thought On broad principles it would Heoiii that it tli 0 le«t be ma.le mure wortliy the tijceis left to cope with it, and the Handicaps of the majority or the re*t aUVanwH , it might more nearly achieve the ideal. Regained h;s Form. The equalling of the comw record with " /3 by Pax S.nitli at Akarana silences argument as to whether he ha* refined | as form. On piper 73 at Akara.u should bo bettered fairly fr«iui-ittiy. and the fac-t that tlip reverse i* the case su--cst. s that the course offem a wry sound test Ajtairirit this, however, the ){ieenK are not up to the l,(wt standards, and when it i-oiiies to record breaking t!io Ktc<>tiN must ot necessity afford the players every advantage. It is a cuiioiw reversal that C M ( oltnian, runnei'-up for the title for the ant two yeaits, should tiuure at the bottom of the lkt. Coltmaii. however along with othem of the older brigade. has lost Komethirvtt on the ecove ot «i----tlniHiaHin for the ifatno. Still, as a proven match player he may bare his- teeth when the battle commences in earnest. Apart from this pair one need not look beyond the first four for the ultimate winner. Smallest of Putts. The stride between Smith arid Bryant lor best scratch score wan heightened by their bvirig drawn together and by two unuKiial incidents. At the hist Smith three-putted from about a yard after recovering woiiderfully from "a bunker, allowing Bryant to augment his lead of the previous round. Then at the third late overtook Bryant, who, after criticallv examining a 6in putt—the ball was wavering in the wind—proceeded to miss it and also the return putt. It wa* a most unnerving experience and ended his prospects of leading the field, as Smith broke away in invincible form.

Middlemore in the lull before its championships contented itself with ;i bogev in which G. W. 8. Williams again distinguished himself in finishing all square. One of a bevy of youth in which Middlemore is rich in playing strength. Williams (jivoa promise of. developing into a h'rstclase player. B. H. Me-nzies, consistent as usual, had to be content with second place, but, considered with recent performances, his round suspects that he will be well in the running tor the club title.

R. W. Seton, €. P. Hoadley, D. A. Burt and the everjp-een T. E. Clark were the others to have finished in the offing. Hoadley, in particular, shows promise. He has been near the head of the list on innumerable occasions and also played well at the Rotorua championship tournament.

High hopes are heM rozardinjr the condition of Middlemore for tho ©penins rounds for the club title. Fairways are •warded to perfection, and it calls only for a few fine days for the links to be at their best. A Veteran's Triumph. The Franklin championships, emblematic of golfing eupremacy of our outlying clubs, decided on Saturday, was convincingly won by C. G. Wardell, of the Manukau Club. Wardell was attracted to the game as a lad not eo many years after the Auckland Club made its headquarters at One Tree Bill. He aoon became one of a email armjr*of lad* armed with a broken down cleek or discarded driver, and from that first lore , (prang club championship honours and now the Franklin title. A lone story could be told of champions paet and/ present who in their youth in wandering through Cornwall Park were at first amused at the antics of an older vintage which, clad in the inevitable blazer and breeches, were to be seen stabbing, at times very ineffectively, at the unwilling gutty ball. Little did they realise that in later yeare they, too, in their trials in the frame were to suffer the tortures of the damned.

CLEVEDON CHAMPIONSHIP.

Following were the rewrite of the first round of the Clevedon Golf Club's rhamplonghlp: J. Burgoyne beat O. Smith, 3 and 2; P. orum beat J. Whytock, 2 up: T. Currle beat J. Morrie, 2 up; J. Colqubbon beat K. Wells at the nineteenth.