GOLF.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 241, 4 July 1908, Page 9

GOLF.

(Bv Lenore.) "Lonoro" will bo plarl to receiVo from Secretaries of Clubs and others interested, Lists .of Fixtures, Reports of Meetings, Matches and etc. These should bo addressed, "Lenore," Dominion' Office, "Wellington, and received by Wednesday for insertion on the following Saturday.

The famous advico which " Punch " gave to those about to bo married was " Don't," but 'this negative, if liumorous, injunction would seldom, if over, be advanced to anyone .debating within himself or herself whether or not to become a golfist—not a golfer, for the terms are not synonyms. As every 0110 knows/ the game of golf is as old as tho Rimuta'kas, and the time has long siuco gone by the board when the practico of it was confined' to tho leisured few. It were needless in these notes to trace tho game back to its origin even were it possiblo to do so with any degree of' authenticity. Its biogenesis has l?een '..discussed, debated, and probed times without number, each student of the subject having his own .pet'theory and belief, but when all has been read which has been written you find yourself very much " as you wore"—so .conflicting, or at least shadowy are the "proofs" and'arguments adduced, by tho various sides, and. your mashio approach Would rest 110 nearer .the hole, nor v/oukl your toe-shot add one cubit to. its length: even did there exist as, to its origin " 110 manner of doubt, 110 probable possiblo shadow of doubt, no possible doubt whatever." Nor is it perfectly clear. what' the real derivation of the word " golf " is. Accofding to some, it is a corruption of tho Dutch word "Kolf," the namo of a game practised centuries ago by that people. To the . present ■' writer) , however, this idea seems far-fetched, as there is just . as much ■ difference between Dutch' kolf - arid golf- as there is " between, say, cricket and, dominoes. Tho more generally accepted belief as to the etymology of tho name golf is that the word is'the Celtic form of the German word kolbe, meaning a'club.- If," however, tho origin of the game and tho etymology of its name are hidden in something ,of . obscurity, Certain it is that to call jt the royal and ancient £,amo .is to use 110 misnomer. That it is ancient is proved by the records, which show that more than four hundred and fifty years ago Parliament periodically _ niade attempts by royal decreo to extinguish tho game. The reason assigned, for this royal wish was not so much to'blot out tho game of golf as to foster tho practice,.of archery—the English being tho masters of tho Scots in-this latter game, which, while being a pastime in times of peace, played an important part in timo of war. Golf was a royal game, too, for Parliamentary records go to show that in tho year 1503 tho Exchequer voted a sum of £2 2s. to tho King to enable him to carry through a challenge, which ho had thrown out to tho Earl of Botlnvell. Certainly not very high stakes for royalty, but probably thcro was a side bet, or perhaps tho loser was bound over to " shout /for the party. But golf was not confined to royalty or blue blood, and it is inoro than probable , that tho King and Botlnvell in-their match, were "pressed" by the challenging " Fore" of Hairt and a Rab Roger equally keen on a match, for a stoiir) o'. ale. Could tho shado' of a • Gunner "Wilson or. of Aukb Dykes visit Herctannga on a bright Su:»day forenoon, how they would malign tho times they lived in, .for .we find that such Sawbath desccraters were punished, in/the sixteenth century by. tho powers in, Edinburgh for playing goff at Leith dn'Sundays. "during the timo of the sermonses." Considering tho great antiquity of the game, it is not a little surprising that tho implements of, it havo undergono such a small change. Tako, for example, tho pre-sent-day brassy. Tile average club of that type has still its wooden head, its mounting of bone, and its solo of brass with a weighting of lead, and an examination of this same style of club which the present writer made in the' Museum of tlio Royal and Ancient Club House at St. Andrews, showed how little tho two differed, and yet more than a hundred and .fifty years have gone Since that rclique first did duty ovor, tho famous Fife links.. True, the brassy: of theso by-g6no days had its head composed of layers of leather, but thon nearly all of. our play clubs (wooden ■ clubs, that is), weris. until quite 'recently faced with leather, and only tho advent of the "jumpin' Geordies" (rubbercored balls); was deemed to render this unnecessary. 'Tho wooden putter of to-day, too, is' practically tho same as that which holed many a winning put a century and a half ago. The principal change in wooden clubs is that those of to-day aro' shorter in the head ( and facoby at least a half than those which our great grandfathers wielded-r----which remark appli.es also to our iron clubs, theso being somewhat shorter, lighter,- and more straiglitfaced—that is, with lesb "loft.',' Corning to balls, however, hero wo find ,a drastic change, though tho process of evolution from the original may bo marked by three great and distinct steps or stages. Originally the ball was mado of leather, stulfod tightly with feathers, and' it would seem that theso in the young years of tho sixteenth century could bo bought for about four shillings a dozen. This ball with scarcely, a degree of improvement or change was tho one constantly in use until 1848. In that year gntta percha took the place of leather and leather. Theso gutta balls were at first mado with their surface perfectly smooth, and consequently were not a success from tho point of view of "carry." Nor was it science which mado this discovery, for it was by tho merest chance that it was noticed that it was after one of these , balls became hacked through use that it commenced to fly really far and sure—and this discovery led to 'tho moulds being "lined" or " ridged." While tho leather ball was in use for a few hundred years tho-'gutta's life was of much shorter duration, and at the age of a little over fifty' it met its death— or, rather, death overtook it —swiftly as well as suddenly. In tho oarl.v days of 1003 tho first of Iho rubber-cored balls was put upon the market, _ and so complete ana instantaneous was its success that by the middlo of that year it was tho only ball to be found anywhere, and tho poor guttns had hecomo almost as cheap as Mr. W. S. Gilbert's ' dukes at threo a penny! Siuco tho Haskell ball 'thus metamorphosed not only tho ball world, hut to a great extent' tho very gamo. itself thcro havo been innumerable copies, imitations, and modifications, but all are manufactured practically upon the samo theory, for examplo, tho pneumatic, the gelatino cored and tho liquid cored. Tho liquid cored ball may possibly attain something of popularity in New Zealand, but this will probably depend upon the success or otherwise of tho present No-Licenso movement.^ , Next week "Lenore" . will'give" somo notes upon tho World's Open Championships (Professional and Amateur) of 1908, just decided, and in futuro papers proposes to .write upon Somo reasons for Golf's • popularity; Whoro tho gamo is placed; Ladies at Golf; Tho game and Links in Wellington; Hints upon tho Game, Selection of Clubs, etc.

It is noticeable that most of the leading golf players this seasoft ate using tho Red Dot professional golf ball. This ball has a chemical centre, and will not crack or burst. Wo recommend you to try one, it will improve your play- .