N.Z. GOLF TITLES

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 189, 9 May 1934, Page 10

N.Z. GOLF TITLES

Tourney at Wanganui SOME NEW CONDITIONS Dominion Council Meets The council of the New Zealand Golf Association, at its monthly meeting on Monday, fixed conditions for tlie .1934 open championship meeting at Wanganui. The Wanganui club agreed to the council's suggestion that tlie commencing date be Friday, October 5 Other matters dealt with regarding the tournament included a suggestion from tlie Wanganui club, which was heartily approved of and adopted, that a new event be included, the suggested name of which is "Tlie New Zealand Plate.” This event will be played, without handicaps, by the 24 competitors who are eliminated in tlie first day’s match play of the amateur championship. Tlie 16 who are eliminated in the morning will be drawn against each other in the afternoon, and the eight of these who win their afternoon matches will then lie drawn with the eight who are eliniinated in the second round of the amateur championship, which is played on the afternoon of the first day’s match play. There will thus be 16 competitors remaining in the plate event on the second day of the match play, and they will play off IS-liole matches on the Thursday and Friday, the final of the plate being played on Friday afternoon, over IS holes. The Wanganui club has indicated that its president is willing to give a trophy for this event, and that the club will give a trophy for the runner-up. With regard to entrance fees for tlie principal events, it was resolved to leave these as they were last year, namely 15/- for the open championship and 15/- for the amateur championship (no entrance fee for professionals in the open).

In order to make provision for the cases of amateurs who have entered for the amateur only and not for the open championship, it was decided that at the conclusion of the second round of tlie open and qualifying rounds tlie leading 70 who have entered for the open, plus all ties for seventieth place and also plus'a number equal to those amateurs who are included in the 70, but have not entered for the open, shall continue in the third and fourth rounds; that is to say, should the leading 70 include two amateurs who have not entered for the open, then the two next, highest on the list will be included. It was decided that Hie amateur championship foursomes shall be open to those who have entered for any other event at the tournament, but if entering for the fonrnomes only, the entrance fee is to be 5/- each player. It was decided that the open championship, the professionals’ championship, and the professional championship foursomes shall be open only to members of a recognised professional golfers’ association. It was also decided that the stroke handicap limit fqr competitors in the open and amateur championships shall be 6, and for those in the handicap events the stroke limit is to be 8.

Suggestions made by the New Zealand Professional Golfers’ Association after last year’s championship meeting were considered, but it was decided that their request that all professionals be allowed to complete the four rounds in the open so as to determine the qualifiers in the professional championship could not be acceded to, but in order to make sure that 16 may be able to qualify for the match play it was decided thn’t in the event of there net being 16 profesionals eligible to continue on the third day then the required number is to be made up on the scores for the first two rounds. The Professional Golfers Association's subgestion that tlie stroke handicap be played over 36 holes, instead of 18. and for" the inclusion of a bogey handicap for professionals, could not be acceded to for the reason that the programme has to be so drawn up as to allow a certain amount of time on the Thursday afternoon for preparation of the course for the finals on Friday and Saturday. New Chibs. The following clubs were elected members of the association: —Cape Eguiont club. Pungarebu; Kaituua club, Ataahua: Tarurutangi _ club. Tarurutangi: Whakatiki club. Upper Hutt. Tais makes ten new clubs elected in this financial year, and the total membership of the association to date is 220. The secretary reported that the two professionals who are already on tour, J. R. Campbell, in the South Island, and T. W. Green, in the North Island, had both made a very good start, and there seemed to be good demand for their services. A letter was received from the secretary of the New Zealand Professional Golfers' Association asking tlie council’s permission for them to circularise clubs requesting subscriptions from members toward the expenses of professionals going to Melbourne. It was resolved that the associatiou has no objection to the P.G.A. doing this, provided always that the committees of the respective clubs approve.

The question was considered as to whether a general meeting should be called to consider whether any rebate should be made on the subscriptions which will become due on August 1 next. It was shown that at the last annual meeting of delegates at Auckland the general opinion seemed to be that there was 110 necessity to make this rebate, as it amounted to very little to individual clubs, yet was a considerable amount in Hie total. After discussion, it was resolved not to deduct a rebate when sending out the accounts on August 1. but to bring tlie question up at the annual niceing of delegates in Wanganui, and, should that meeting so decide, to make a rebate immediately afterward.