GOLF NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 50, 27 August 1921, Page 12

GOLF NOTES

(By "Niblick.")

SOME MATCHES AND FEATS,

In 1913, an amusing encounter took place between "crabbed age and youth," at the Royal Isle of Wight Club. C. Jacobs, thelooal "pro.," and Chris. Gallaway, using some pre-historio clubs and old guttie balls, played a match against their respective sons, t using modern weapone, and in spite of two of the oW olubs giving way at a critical- moment the veteran players lost by only threw holes. Following this there was a famous faroe of a test four-ball matoh, over 36 holes, in which Duncan/ and Varden played Braid and Taylor. The side which played, a guttie in the morning used a rubber core iv the afternoon and the net result was that the guttie was beaten by nine holes in the double round. A freak match was, played at Bushy Hail,- where Mr.. D. Stanley Froy and J. B. Batloy beat Mr. W. G. Aston and Ed. Ray by four up and three to play, in a four-ball match, played by the light of the moon, assisted by four motor car head lights carried by the caddies. Following is an abstract from a volume of old sporting anecdotes, published in 1867 : —

"A match was played between Lord Kennedy and Mr. Cruikshank, who had frequent matches for large sums of money. This most remarkable match came off during, the Montrose race week many years sinco, when .they me£ in the evening and then and there agreed to play a match of three holes for £500 each hole. It was ten or half-past ten, and quite dark. No light was allowed except one lantern placed at the hole and carried by the attendant of the player, in order that they might ascertain to whom the ball struok belonged. Boyß who were accustomed to the game were placed along the oourae to listen to the flight of the balls and to run to where the ball struck and rested on the ground." The writer says: —"I do not know who won, but the match was won by only one hole. The most remarkable part of the match was that they played out their holes in about the saAe number of strokes that they usually did in the daylight. I think on an average that they took about five or sbt strokes in the daylight and six or seven in the dark." t

There are feats of every land, and those which count ' as freaks, poor things enough, but wondered at by some. There was the Pittsburg golfer who wagered four thousand dollars that he could play a ball over four and a half miles of the city streets in 150 strokes. Beginning at 5 o'clock in the morning, he did it in 119 strokes, and lost 1000 dollars in damage done to property on the way. That man found an emulator in London/ who undertook to ploy a ball from Lud?ate Circus to a fountain basin in Trafalgar-square, There are men who like to drive fine balls' from the glass faces of other people's expensive watches, and others who prefer the tame sport of driving froni the eggs of hens. There was the man of Sandwich, who, with a champagne bottle as his only "olub,"iplayed and beat a neophyte who carried a full bag of most improved clubs. There was the old-time golfer who lofted balls over the spire of St. Giles's Cathedral in Edinburgh, and another who tooled his guttle from Bruntsfield Links to the top of Arthur's Seat. Better and more purooseful was the practice which Mr. Laidley used to undertake before championships, -vyhen, with Jack White for caddy, he would play a ball from the first tee at North Berwick to the Roundel! Hole at Gullane, six miles away, by the way of Eel Burn Hole, the-, sands along the shore, the neighbourhood of the fishermen's cottages, and saway over Muirfield in the louph country to the top of the hill, playine from whatever lie his ball chanced to find, and once doing this course in a total of 97 strokes.

As a wonderful example that polf is a game for all ages .is the famous Octogenarian Foursome played at Westward Ho in 1906. Captain Molesworth was 82, his partner, Mr. R JB. James, was 85, and the opponents, Dr. N. L. B,eid and Captain T. E. Gordon, were aged respectively 87 and 81. The latter couple won by 3 up and 1 to nlay. It will be noticed that tlie apes of the quartette totalled 335, but even this is [no record, for; a match has been played in which the apes of the four players engaged added up t0\340. WATWETU GOLF CLTJB. The Monthly Button was played for on the 20tl>. instant, and was won by Miss L. Walters. The -Atkins Cup competition and the competition for the championship are now in progress. MOUNINGTON CLUB. The Cameron. Challenge Shield, which has been played for this year on the twolife system of competition, has been won by Mr. J. T. Bowness, who played numerous matches and came right through without a loss. The Brett Challenge Cup competition, which has to be won by the best 36 hole net score out of 72 holes, is now. in progress. This club is full of competitions, there being one nearly every week-end.