GOLF

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 266, 7 August 1934, Page 14

GOLF

Watt Cup Competition MANOR PARK STILL LEAD Australian Women’s Visit (Notes by “Niblick.”) • It is some years since such an exciting contest has taken place for the Watt Cup as is being waged this season. Another trial of strength was held between Manor Park and Titahi on the Manor Park course ou Saturday, and resulted in honours being easy, both teams winning five games. This means, that Manor Park retains its place at the. top of the Watt Cup ladder with 39J points, with Titahi close behind the leaders with 38 points. Shandon comes next with 3points, while Paekakariki has IS on the slate. Much interest will attach to the remaining cup games, and the finish promises to be highly exciting. Manor Park Progress. , , The picturesque Manor Park links, on the banks of the Hutt river, provide as searching a test of golf as any course in the city or suburbs. Natural bunkers abound, and players have to place their shots to record good figures. Though the weather has not been of the kindest this winter, the links were in excellent order on Saturday, and the state of the greens reflected much credit on the caretaker, Mr. E. Lycett. Manor Park possesses a progressive committee, and "Niblick”, was informed on Saturday that it is the intention of the club to extend the links in the near .future, to a full eighteen-hole course. This is a progressive move, which should enhance the prestige of this already popular club. A Sterling Round. To show how difficult it is. to do. bogey figures on the Manor Park links, it need only be said that, when Max Moore, the Titabi champion, recorded 74 in his game with J. R. M. Stewart on Saturday, he was the first amateur to equal bogey for the course in a club match. The youthful Titahi player has been receiving coaching lessons from A. J. Shaw during the past few weeks, and the influence of the New Zealand professional champion was very noticeable in his play. He kept much better direction off the tee than usual, and, on the few occasions on which he pushed his shots out, he recovered with masterly iron play. To show hojv truly he was hitting them, a glance at his card shows thnt he had three 3’s, eleven 4’s, three s’s, and one 6. He did 4’s at the second (455 yards), fifth (315 yards), eighth (335 yards), twelfth (420 yards)., thirteenth (400 yards), fourteenth (445 yards), seventeenth (420 yards), and eighteenth (400 yards). Not. only were driver, brassie, and irons functioning well, but he handled mashie-nibliek and mashie in clever fashion, and made few mistakes with his putter.' If he goes on in this fashion he should be heard of at Wanganui in October next. In J. R. M. Stewart, a 20-year-old handicap 2 man, recently arrived from Eltham, Manor Park has secured an able No. 1 player. He was right off his game on -Saturday, but revealed sufficient to show that he has all the shots in his bag. He occasionally outdrove Moore, and made some masterly iron shots., but unaccountably duffed too many drives nnd brassie shots. Botli times at “The Lagoon” he booked his brassie second info the pond. This was all tile more unaccountable, as a week before he had recorded a brilliant 72 in a fourball game. A Steady Player. ’ ' ' A. Clouston (Manor Park) proved too steady for L. McGirr in the tussle between the No. 2’s. Clouston learned his golf with the Royal Port Melbourne Club as a lad and played a little in Auckland after coming to the Dominion. He gave the game best for some years, and has only taken it up again recently. He played sound golf to go out in 39 on Saturday, and eventually took the game by the wide margin of 6 and 4. This is the first time that McGirr has been beaten in a Watt Cup match. All Square. J. Ogilvie (Manor Park) and Harold Boon had a great battle in No. 3 position. The Titahi man had a little in hand over the greater part of the journey, but Ogilvie came strongly at the business end. an.l won the last hole to square the match. They both did about 80. Other Battles. I. V. 0. Duncan (Manor Park) put up a good performance in defeating the reliable R. F. Aitken by 2 and 1. Steadier work on the greens won the da-y for Duncan. IJ. Mehaffey (Manor Park) is a good match player, and proved his worth once again by accounting for D. Stratmore by 5 and 4. The man who defeats Mehaffey has to play good. golf. The youthful D. Butler (Manor Park) is a steadily-improving player, and handled his clubs well in downing S. Anderson by 5 and 4. Wins were registered for Titahi by W. Marchant. W. F. Shirer, and D. A. Crpmbie, while V. Hay and J. Burns notched victories for Manor Park. It is not often that J. Burns appears so low down on the Manor Park list as twelfth man. Burns a few seasons back was No. 1 for Manor Park, and he is still worthy of a place much higher up in the list than twelfth man. No wonder that Harold Murphy was beaten by 7 and 6. C. McKinney (Manor Park) nnd A. Moore had a great tussle. There was little between them at. any stage of the journey, and a hard fight ended up all square. Watt Cup Points. The following io the position of the clubs in the Watt Cup competition:— Matches played. At home. Away. Points. Manor Park .. 3 3 ,’>oi Titahi 2 4 38 Shandon .... ” 3 Waiwetu .... 3 2-.»« Paekakariki .. 31 18 An Able Player. It te reported that H. P. Dale, the wellknown. scratch player, of Eltham, will shortly take up hirs residence in Wellington. Dale is one of New Zealand’s bestknown amateurs, and for some years past has been a familiar figure at open tournaments. He won the Taranaki provincial championship a few years ago, :ind_ then spent a couple of years in the Lflitcd States, where he completely altered his style of play. While competing in a tournament to the States he was,2 up on Johnny Goodman m the first two holes. As soon as the loudspeakers broadcast this fact, -hundreds ot spectators flocked to see what manner of man .tins New Zealander could be. Dale declares th-it he could scarcely get room to swing Ins club for the closely-pressing gallery, and scarcely won a hole after the myriad ot spectators surrounded him. The Eltham scratch player will be a decided acquisition to Wellington golf. Australian Women’s Team When consideration, is being given to selecting five, players to make the trip to New Zealand for the Tasman Cup. the selectors are in for a difficult job ('y rltes , J. M. Dillon in the •’bporting Globe,. Melbourne). Normally it would be taken for granted that Misses Lefebvre and Hammond, from Sydney, and Miss MacLeod and Mrs. Morpeth, from Melbourne, were certainties. However, the position now by reason of the excellent showing of many aspirants for a place in the team, is one calculated to produce a big profilin addition to those named, Miss Shirlev Tolhurst seems to have won the. right to be included. That would make the whole five. But others may have very real claims, and the of the selector* will be watched with great interest. An Australian Champion. Nineteeu-year-old Jim Ferrier’s remarkable consistency during the past two golfing seasons has started a movement to

send him overseas tor the British amateur and open championships next year (remarks a Sydney writer). His father, who taught him, is nil for having the boy wait until after the Melbourne centenary tourney, when lie will meet ninny of the overseas golfing visitors, including Sarnzen and Kirkwood. If he comes out of that trial with credit, the tour abroad will be coi’Hdered. Always a distance-getter from tlie tec and. a fine putter, the lad lias recently given more attention to his approaches. How lie has profited can be seen in hte runaway win from Queenslander Radcliffe in the New South Wales cliampionship, in which bis approaching from all sorts of lies was extraordinary.