GOLFERS ARRIVE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 5, 1 October 1935, Page 11

GOLFERS ARRIVE

English Women’s Team on Tour AUSTRALIAN SUCCESSES Cheery and eager to continue in New Zealand the triumphal tour so successfully inaugurated iu Australia, the British women’s golf team, comprising Mrs. J. B. Walker, Mrs. W. Greemecs, Miss J. Anderson, Miss I'. .Barton, Miss I’'Wade, and Mrs. I’. Hodson (manager), arrived at Wellington by the Maaura yesterday. After practising at Miramar during the afternoon, they departed in the evening for the South Island, but not before Mrs. Hodson bad told a "Dominion” reporter something of their tour in Australia. "Travelling so enormously, we have been quite unable to form any impiessions. We shall not find time to collect our thoughts until we are on board the boat homeward,” she said. Me .-aw iiotbiug of Australia except the bio towns and the golf Jinks. Me visited only one country station, between Goulburu and Canberra. At Melbourne we saw 10 courses iu 12 days. You can guess we wanted our fotir days’ rest ou the boat coming over.” Iu Australia the team played, and won six matches iu al! —against All Australia, against Most Australia, against West and South Australia, aud against Queensland and two against New South Wales. They lost only four individual matches. ‘‘You can’t expect all one team to come up to scratch all at one time,” commented their manager. In the Australian championships Mrs. M'alker won the coveted title, and with Miss Barton won also the foursomes championship. She was unbeaten in all her singles matches throughout the tour. Mrs. Hodson stated that Mrs. Walker’s status at Home was plus 1 in the British Golf Union. But she was always a better team player than an individual player. The team had not been iu the best '>l form when they arrived in Australia, although they had been able to practise on the liner by driving off a mat into a canvas sheet, and on one occasion by bitting old balls through an open port into the sea. They had found the changes of climate, coming in such rapid succession, very trying. On arrival in Australia they bad been welcomed with overwhelming hospitality and enthusiasm. "I know definitely of folk who travelled as far as 300 miles to see us play, aud Miss Una Clift, president of the Australian Ladies’ Golf Union, came 1200 miles to meet us, said Mrs. Hodson. She added that Miss Barton had accumulated a whole family of toy koala bears, given her as mascots; the others relied on horseshoes and swastikas. Mrs. Hodson said she had met the New Zealand golfers, Miss Bessy Gais-

ford and Miss Oliver Kay, at Banelagb, and had thought them very fair players. To-morrow the team is to open its New Zealand tour by au exhibition match at Dunedin; on Saturday they will meet a South Island team at Christchurch. They will return to Wellington next Sunday, leaving immediately for Wanganui. Another exhibition match will be played at Wanganui on Monday; after a stay at the Chateau Tongariro the team will proceed to Rotorua via Wairakei, and will play a third exhibition game at Rotorua on October 11. The North Island match will be at Auckland on October 14, and the following day the team will return to Wellington. They will be guests at the Heretaunga clubhouse until their departure. While they are at Heretaunga the earlier matches of the New Zealand championships will be played, and on October 19 the touring team will nlav a New Zealand women’s team at Miramar. On October 24 the finals o the championships will be played at Heretaunga. The visitors will leave finally by the Remuera on October -6.