GOLF

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21387, 1 February 1935, Page 16

GOLF

NOTES OP THE DAY [By "LOFTER."]

"Homer": The 1935 British amateur golf championship will commence on May 20 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes (6800 -yards). The British open championship which is to be decided at Muirfield will commence on June 24. "Curious No. 3": It is permissible to ground the club on grass in a bunker, but it may not be grounded on grass in any hazard other than a bunker. The definitions of a hazard and a bunker are: A hazard is any bunker water (except casual water), ditch, sand, or road. Sand blown on to S f ass or sprinkled on the course for its preservation, bare patches, scrapes, tracks and paths, snow, ice, and casual water are not hazards. A "bunker" is"lhat part of a depression in the ground where the sou is exposed, and sometimes covered with sand. Grass in a bunker is not part of the hazard, unless so defined by local rule. It. is the duty of the authorities in charge of a course accurately to define the extent of the hazards.

A recent article published in the Sydney "Morning Herald" entitled "Why Do American Golfers Win," by H. Anderson, a scratch golfer who reported all the matches in which the American and British golfers played in Australia, examines the Americans' methods and indicates the lessons that golfers may learn freni their play. It appears that the Amev - cans were successful in Australia largely because their methods were sounder and their match temperaments were better developed. They also practised frequently and "made fewer bad Even their clubs were considered vastly superior, an advantage estimated at two strokes a round according to Craig Wood. A feature of their play was their ability to- recover from bunkers or difficult places. On the few occasions when the Americans were in trouble they managed to escape serious punishment. with wonderfully executed recovery shots. The failure to recover from troublesome places is due frequently to the state of mind of the player. It is probable that the serenity of the Americans' minds had much to do with their success in this department of the game. The Americans play bunker shots with the intention of putting the ball near the hole. That they may fail to get out of the sand trap, does not occur to them. They are equipped with a variety of heavy clubs of the niblick type called "bombers," "sand wedges," and "dynamiters," which seem to explode the ball from the sand with gredt ease. A feature of their bunker play was that they always struck the ball with a firm, full swing, and never attempted the chip shot. In reply to a question whether he ever chipped from a bunker, Sarazen.

replied, "A chip shot from soft sand doesn't exist in golf." The patience with which the Americans would practise until they rectified a fault astonished Australian players who noted that when the Americans visited the metropolitan clubs they first visited the practice fairway and for several days seldom played more than nine or 10 holes on the course. They considered that practice was a duty and that play on the course was a pleasure. According to Australian critics practice explained the Americans' success. "One afternoon at the Metropolitan Club, Sarazen spent two hours playing hundreds of' shots from a bunker with his famous 'sand wedge.' The Americans' virtues have received a full measure of deserved praise," declares Anderson, "but one feature of their golf was to some a great disappointment, and to others a source of great satisfaction. Although, the greens were admittedly good, the putting generally was poor. Sarazen, Cooper, and others putted miserably and dozens of putts of less than four feet were missed in the 72 holes of play for the Centenary open championship." Notable exceptions were McLean, the Scottish champion, and Thompson (the winner).

Although no news of the personnel of the British women's team is yet to hand it is understood that the team will probably consist of five players and a non-playing captain-manager. The team is due in Australia early in August and will leave for Mew Zealand at the end of September, returning to England via Panama Canal at the end of October.

What is the cause of the average golfers failure to reach a low or even a comparatively low handicap? Is it because he lacks ability or ambition, is content to plod along and more or less rely on his handicap and that ol his partner in the ever-popular four ball games, or is it because he does not take his golf seriously; "started too late in life" and does not practise. That many are content to remain on a medium or double figure handicap each year is a well-known fact. Each club no doubt contains many members in this category. "We play for thy fun of the game," they exclaim when this topic is discussed, "pot-hunting is not in our line." Such players usually, frown upon anything in the nature of course improvements such as additional bunkers or longer courses. "We represent the majority fo the members of the club; why should things be made more difficult for us? Let the scratch men go hang," they declare, or words to this effect. In other words all they require is to be left alone to plod along in a rut. That their attitude >vhen this stand is taken up is anything but progressive, in fac.. is liable to retard the game's progress in their respective clubs, does not occur to them. Others again are not Satisfied with medium or longish handicaps; their ambition on the golf .course is to improve and consequently they practise on every available opportunity.

Because of the absence of a recognised practice ground which naturally precludes practice at. week-ends or on competitive days,, several enthusiastic Christchurch golfers have for several years been in the habit of practising during_ the lunch interval on week days. This fact would indicate that a practice ground or fairway would not be neglected .by players. In the writer's opinion, C. Holdsworth s suecess last year in the club championship at Harewood and at Shirley was due largely to constant practice which he carried out in a practical manner, that is, with a professional in attendance.

At the annual meeting of the members of the Christchurch Golf Club, Mr W. T. Harman suggested that the elimination of qualifying rounds for the club championship would prove beneficial for young players. It is suggested that a practice fairway suitable for 20 or 30 players would prove more helpful. Much could be done in this respect with a 30-acre paddock across the road at -Land's End. In view of the approach of the competitive season in March next, and also because the New Zealand championship tournament will be held at Shirley this year, this practice aspect would seem worthy of consideration.

: When- in Australia, Sarazen was positively aghast wheir told that only one club in Perth had a practice fairway. "Why," he said, "that's the most important bit of turf on any course."

"What an object-lesson the Americans gave in intensive practice; states an Australian critic. ■ 'Their first day at the metropolitan course was devoted solely to. that huge practice arena where even Thomson s lusty drives were still in bounds. Side by side across the .wide fairway, they dis-

patched balls until ordinary basks would have buckled agonisingly under the strain. Always starting with their most lofted irons, they worked back to their long range clubs. After two or three shots to get the range, their caddies could almost have sat in armchairs. and fielded the halls with crabbing nets, such was the direction. ; But sheer direction was nothing. Using differently weighted clubs of the same denomination, they would play upwards of 50 low, medium, and high shots before dragging out another form of club."

A recent decision of interest to golfers was given in the Supreme Court at New York when a caddy was granted £2OOO damages fir serious injury from a golf ball. Judge Edgai Laurer contended that the failure of a golfer to give timely and adequate warning to those in the general enrection of his play constitutes negligence At the time of the accident the defendant. Mr Marion Powers, was playing round a course at Pittsbui gh. He was a member of a "sevensome. which was ■ attempting to finish a second nine holes before.it was too dark to play, when a brassie shot from the rough struck the 17-year-old caddy on the head. In consequence he was stated to suffer from Severe headaches, dizziness, loss of memory, and other ailments. The judge, who is himself an ardent golfer, delivered a pertinent homily from the bench on golf oUiifs Ho rejected the claim of the plaintiff that, the choice of the club Used from the rough constituted negligence, or (hat the act of playing a "sevensome" was in itself, dangerous to others. It was true, however, that the greater the number of players the greater the risk of their caddies, consequently a greater degree of care was necessary. J3olh players and lugii. caddies, the' judge continued, were entitled to receive timely warn'.ng, at the time the ball was being hit, and this warning, the judge held, the defendant had failed to give The .f®7 fendant had stated in evidence that he was not an expert—in fact, he had admitted that he was a dud. Hshould therefore have looked about be,ore striking the ball.

The trend in modern golf course dopijni and thu need for a standard ball are dealt with by Guy B. Farrier in an article published in the December issue of London Ctoll Uluj" I trated." This English critic contends that further improvements respecting the lengl.lr obtainable from modern golf balls may result in championship courses being lengthened toBOOO yards in the near future. "Why should we try to curtail further improvements hi the carry and run obtainable?" he writes. "The answer is to save our courses, and also our legs. . . . The history of the golf ball is one of continuous progress towards greater length. It falls into four well-defined periods, commencing with the feather ball, requiring a top-hat full of feathers stuffed with a roughly-shaped skin and hand-sewn into something resembling a ball. The next step was the making of a gutty, a solid ball of hard rubber, easily cracked, and difficult to play. In 1902 the Haskell arrived; a ball with an elastic core and a separate outer covering. From that moment golf became a nopular game. In the last period, after the war, giant strides have been made in scientific manufacture, until the ball of to-dav is as different from the Haskell as that was from its predecessor, the gutty. Each of the four phases has been accompanied by greatly increased length, both in carry and.run. What will the fifth phase be ; and how will it affect our present links?; Many fine courses are now encircled with a ring of houses, and further expansion would be difficult, if not impossible—are they to be butchered to make a ball-maker's holiday? If drives of 300 yards are to become an every-day occurrence, moderate length two-shot holes will require 500 yards of ground, and test-1 ing (fours will stretch to near the 600 varcF"mark! Those who saw last year s | Ryder Cup will realise how short a couVse of nearly 7000 yards can be made to look by the modern professionals. The ground was hard, but it always will be hard in summer, when' nine-tenths of the competitions and tournaments are played. Twenty years ago 6000 yards was considered a tremendous length; to-day 7000 is needed for a stiff test; in 10 years' time 8000 may be required for a championship links. "This extra length, thrust upon us by the perfection of modern balls, has if anything detracted from the skill of the game. Our vanity has been tickled by our low scores; rounds are now reckoned in fours, but then these pleasing figures are very much easier to obtain. ... If this prospect of an indefinite expansion is not to become a grim reality, the ball must be standardised, and if the Rules of Golf Committee called a conference with America and the ball manufacturei-s, I believe it could be done. . . . Standardisation would mean thousands of pounds saved in alterations to courses, in expensive experiments, and new plant, and many yards in the distance covered by weary golfers, whose Saturday afternoon round may in future become a feat of endurance rather than a test of golfing ability. A standard ball would give green committees a chance of restoring to the game some of its former difficulties, instead of having to extend the course every few years to prevent it becoming too easy."

Ten or II holes usually remain in play during the summer at Waimairi. These holes more or less escaped the big fire which swept through Burwood last week. A visit to the Scarborough tee—the highest vantage point at Waimairi—on Wednesday revealed the extent of the damage to the northern part of the links, where the fire made practically a clean sweep of trees, shrubs, and grass. Although several fairways require resowing, Mr A. R. Blank, president of the seaside links, considers that it will not be long before the burnt fairways will recover. Favourable, autumn rains should, no doubt, prove beneficial in this direction.

The first open tournament of the New Year will be held by the Russley Golf Club on their course on February 9 and 10. On the Saturday there will be a bogey handicap starting at 1 p.m., arid, on the following day a stroke handicap will be played in the morning, to be followed by a bogey four-ball in the afternoon.

hanmer Springs club The following is the draw for the second qualifying round of the club championships to be played in conjunction with the monthly medal on February 3:— WOMEN'S SENJOR Miss Parsons plays Miss Burns, Mrs Ross plays Miss Penney. MEN'S SENIOR A. Reid plays K. C. Ensor, R. O'Loughlin plays D. M. Lewis, A. J. Lahmert plays T. Menzies, E. W, Carter plays D. Stavert. WOMEN'S JUNIOR . Miss James plays Miss Sutherland, Miss Henshaw plays Mrs Tovey, Miss Melbom plays Mrs Cross, Miss Maher plays Mrs Atkinson. MEN'S JUNIOR "C. Lahmert plays L. Lap thorn, P. Cross plays N. Egan, J. Ponton plays J. Graves, D. Roach plays H. J. Peek, Dr. Tovey plays D. Stark, G. Gavin plays B. Bradshaw, B. P. Moodie plays F. Malaquin.