MOST DIFFICULT GOLF COURSE IN THE WORLD

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 51, 1 March 1941, Page 3 (Supplement)

MOST DIFFICULT GOLF COURSE IN THE WORLD

Odds Against Any Visitor Breaking 80 At First Attempt.

FLW seasons ago I passed an interesting afternoon upon one of our championship courses in the company of Ted Turner, then Open champion of Philadelphia and playing professional of the Pine Valley Golf Club. It was his first visit to this country and. as was natural, we discussed the merits and demerits of our respective championship links I ventured to make a comparison between one of our most difficult courses and that of his home club turner's reply was he paid tribute to its many fine qualities, which he had sampled only a few days before, but l r , C £ U COU,d not e qual the difficulties of Pine Valley which, he affirmed, was the most exacting course in the world.

Mr Mihsequpnt remark that such a -weeping assertion was difficult to sub--fantiate., especially when one had to rake info consideration the fact that there are some SOOO courses in the British Isles and the United States alone, was countered by Turner when he said that the members of Tine Valley are willing to offer odds to any visiting L'olfer that he. will not be able to break SO at the first attempt, and, whatever the class of player, the feat is rarely .|<>np. This wae amply demonstrated a feumonths I.Her when our Walker Cup team -tppperl upon its fairways in an unsuccessful attempt to wrest this trophy from the holders. Everything that I.urner claimed for his course was proved i" be correct. It really is one of the ■ niellest courses in the world, and th° number of men who have succeeded in winning the. tantalising wager of break■ng 80 in their initial attempt is under--umdably email. Phil. Perkins, the former British amateur champion, now a professional in America, is one of this seJect bodv hut I understand that Cyril Tolley re'urned 87, whilst other equally famous who shall remain discreetly namelees, have deemed it wiser to save f.he.ir reputation by tearing up their cards. One English international commenced brilliantly by averaging level tours for the first seven holes, but stayed -o long in a bunker at the eighth hole rhat he gave up the ghost in despair, and his unhappy experience is one shared l>y many. To Test the Best. For a course to be eo punishing to ■ •very class of player, be he "tiger" or rabbit, obviously indicates the exist'•nee of an unusual form of golf course architecture. Pine Valley was laid out just before the last war by the late Mr. George Crump, whose idea was to '•ring into being, irrespective of expense, the ideal course which would eliminate nil but the very best in a stroke play tournament. To achieve this he maintained that length in itself was comparatively unimportant, and ae a result I'ine Valley, according to modern standsrde, is on the short side. The couree, however, was tightened up in so many other ways that only an inspired flrst- • lass player can hope to escape disaster. The merest suspicion of human frailty and down comes the axe. Drives have to be long and straight, and second shots must be ho lese perfect, as can be seen at the home hole, where a well-placed drive has to be followed by a second of some 200 yards if the lake and bunker guarding the green are to be carried. A little short or a shade off the line means a watery grave and oblivion.

The. rough and hazards arc diabolically terrifying. Bunkers abound in profusion, varying from unobtrusively wicked cops to one etretching right across the fairway over ■•0 yards in length; the eighth is literally surrounded by these pits of destruction; the short third is little. better than a eandy desert stretching from tee to green; while the 170 yards 14th has its green built in the middle of a lake., and woe betide the shot that lails to find this email target. Unique, Fascinating. The net reeult of all theee punishing factors is a course where every clasa of player is humiliated and brought to the dust. It is unique. It is fascinating. Set in the midet of the most glorious scenery, there can be few courses more goodly to gaze upon. But, happily, there is only one Pine Valley. A visit to ite fairways would probably do everyone good_ at some time or other in their flaying career, especially when that first flush of success tends to make so many intolerant and unsympathetic towards the leeeer fortunate.

Humility is a quality that might well be cultivated by many of our playere, and Pine Valley, which i« no respecter of persons, is one of the sureet ways of bringing this about, although the humili3'ion might be tinged with despair. That is why I say that, ha.j-pily, there is only r, ne Pine Valley. If there were many Mich ooursee folf would rapidly lose its popularity. It is not that the golfer flifclikee being mastered by a course; it is the soulless feeling of being impaled upon the spit of despondency before a ball is driven that would drive the averse golfer to abandon his game in despair.

After all, the main object of any golf course architect when designing a new layout ici to provide a. links Which offers a fair test to every class of player, and from which the greatest amount of pleasure can be obtained. No one could truthfully say that Pine Valley confirms to these two stipulations. It remains the heartless, inexorable but beautiful offering of a golfer who sought to oreate perfection.

Another American museum course, not quite so difficult but nevertheless just a« impressive, ie the National Links. This course owes its existence to the ingenuity and enthusiasm of Mr. C. B. Maedonald, -who exercised such a farreaching influence in the world of Amprican golf course architecture. For many years a. group of keen golfeve

(By LOUIS T. STANLEY in "The Field.' )

nursed visions of a second St. Andrew,, springing up overnight upon American soil. In theory their idea wag full of promise, but unfortunately no terrain could be found which resembled the rolling sand dunes of our wiiside courses until ;i likely f Fif war located at the far end of Long Ir-!.ind.

Upon inspection this was found to bo suitable, and plans wen; formulated with typical Aineric.m thoroughness. Manlouald began a pilgrimage which look him to all the leading clubs in the British Isles and Europe. Certain famous lioloswere, chosen on necount of their intrinsic golfing value and historic interest, photographed fr.r.n every conceivable anule. and studied closely, and in due course there appeared on Long It-land a lay-out which faithfully reproduced (such 'holeas the Road Hole of St. Andrews, the Cardinal and the Alp? of Prcst wick, and many others. In each case the natural features and distinctive characteristics wero copied a> closely as tho configuration of the land allowed, but, like other American courses, there wne one difTerenco which remained, however near they car-e to the original. The varying pace of their preens is entirely different to cure, and has been the source of constant bewilderment t.) invading golfers from this country. I

It i<; undoubtedly more difficult, to putt upon their "creeping bent" greens, the difference being that if you are putting against the grain of tbo green the stroke has to be played more forcefully than would be the case if it were in your favour, the turf then being often fnr-ter than our seaside links. It was this difference that confuted Mis?, Joyce Wethered. now Lady Heat/icoat-Aniory, during her American exhibition tour in K'3o. Time and again she found that her putt* stopped far short of the pin, whoroa« normally they should have finished dead. She experimented for a time and found a remedy in changing her putting grip in favour of the reverse overlap method.

I discussed this point some time ago with Henry Picard, who ranks :ih; one of America's most consistent performers on the green. He agreed that the varying pace of their greens mur-t. 1*? disturbing to golfers accustomed to greens such as are found in our country, but he he'd that the reverse overlap grip the bunt for putting anywhere. The immediate result is that the right hand takes control, with the left assuming the role of a hinge—the ideal style on the greens.— whereas many of our players uee the same overlapping grip that they employ for all other strrkes. the tendency being that the left hand is in more evidence than should Ik?. In favour of the latter style it must bo said that it makes the game lese complicated, but it is questionable whether it iis worth this slight gain.

\ mmm CRICKET mm SWE mm 6sf ] j FOR THREE BYES

I A SPORTS EDITION reader has J J ■**■ sent along an interesting | I cricket cutting concerning a * ■ match in Derbyshire in 1939 J J when a whole side was dismissed ■ I for three byes. It was a match J 1 between Apperknowle and Ridge- ( J way. Ridgeway batted first to I I score 57 not a very formidable ' J hurdle—but Apperknowle's reply | I was a history making rout. ■ ! Apperknowle's first wicket fell | I when a single extra had been run, J ■ and in the next few deliveries J j another two extras were obtained. -1 I The next ball claimed, a wicket ■ ■ and the whole side was skittled for a I the three extras. None of the I I players collected a run and the J ! side was dismissed in the space of | I six overs. Two batsmen were J ■ run out and A. Black and T. J \ Black brought off a couple of i I clever catches. J J A. Black, the 17-year-old Derby- ■ I shire lad, secured five wickets J J for no runs in 20 deliveries. He ■ I was robbed of the hat-trick by a I I ''run out" decision, and took four ' ! of his wickets in six balls. C. ■ I Walker, the only other bowler, I ■ captured three wickets for no , J runs. His were claimed in seven i I balls. The wickets fell at 1-3-3-3- ■ ■ 3-3-3-3-3-3. !