GOLF NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 7, 8 July 1922, Page 15

GOLF NOTES

(By -"Bunkers.")

Considering the condition of the fairways and green, which were fairly sodden with frequent rains, the scores at Miramar last Saturday were creditable in the qualifying round, those of Balneavis and A. Duncan, each 79, being quite good under the circumstances.

The immediate surroundings of the clubhouse at the Hutt at last week-end looked worse than we remember having seen them for years. There was an exceptional attendance of players for a wet week-end, and the grass near the clubhouse and on the tees was churned into mud by the trampling of many feet. Apart from the slightly heavy going in the fairways and the slippery tees, the conditions were not so bad for the monthly bogey competition, when Oka Heketa returned the best score of 3 up on bogey, with 6 strokes handicap. Heketa has taken his golf pretty seriously this year, and attributed his steadiness to having given himself quite a lot of practice, paying special regard to keeping his chin still till the ball had gone. There is no doubt this is a fine tip to avoid swaying and to ensure proper tension on the back muscles. J. L. Black started brilliantly with a good 33 for the first 9 holes, btrt he could not.keep up that pace, though he finished with the good score of 2 up from the scratch mark. The new holes - were played for the first time, and members were well satisfied with the innovation. Black won his first round of the Speedy competition, 5 up and 4 to play, and is regarded as "a good thing ' for the final on his present form, though he will have to give big handicaps during the journey. Brooks, the professional, notched a useful 69 at the Hutt during the week, and hopes to get some useful practice before the championship, though he is very fully Occupied with coaching on most fine days.

The final of the Speedy trophy for the Hutt ladies is to be now played between Mrs. Wagg and Mrs. Speirs on level terms. On her consistent form, the former should win, though the latter is a courageous match player, and is not a bit afraid to hit the ball.

Some players have asked us why golf in summer is so much easier than in winter. Well, apart altogether from the great run which all can get on the hard ground, there is no doubt that it is easier) to' get a long carry in the summer. The . atmosphere is much lighter than in winter, and offers less resistance to the flight of the ball, while the warm weather undoubtedly affects the balls, making them more resilient. The fact that our proper, season here is in the winter is very hard upon the greens and greenkeepers. There is no chance of dressing and spelling the greens in the appropriate season, so as to get the turf into the best order.

The Golf Council has secured definite guarantees for exhibition matches by Hagen and Kirkwood later on this year from four centres, and it is hoped that other fixtures may yet be arranged, so that these fine players can be induced to include the Dominion in their world tour. It would be a thousand pities not to be able to see them here, the educational value of such matches being enormous.

We are glad to hear that the proposal we made last Hveek regarding a match being arranged between leading amateurs and a team of ladies may come to something. The Golf Council, has decided to ask the .Ladies' Union Executive whether such a proposal would be acceptable and practicable. How popular such an event is at Home can' be gauged from the following breezy, account of this year's match gleaned from the London Observer:— .

"Considerable interest was taken in the annual ■. golf match between teams of ladies and men, which took place recently at Stoke Poges. Unfortunately, the weather conditions were of the meet depressing character, heavy rain falling practically: the wliole day. The teams of tea-side were composed of all the best lady players, including the present open champion, the English champion, and an ex-champion, and many of the finest amateur golfers in the country. Miss Cecil Leitch captained the ladies, and Mr. R. H. de Montmorency, an English internationalist, the men's side. The ladies received half a stroke, for which apparent generous allowance they were expected to play from the men's tees. In none of these annual matches has the handicap worked ,out in favour of the ladies. They 'have been beaten on every occasion, and on this occasion the result was the same. On paper it would seem that the men have the worst of the bargain, but curiously enough the ladies, although they succeed in assembling their strongest forces, never seem able to take a suitable revenge. "Mr. Montmorency displayed sound tactics in leaving Miss Cecil Leitch to the tender mercies of Mr. Roger Wethered. This proved to be a keen and desperate . match, , which was followed with eager interest by a large crowd, principally ladies, who several times were on the verge of committing the awful crime of cheering at the top of their voices when their idol brought off something particularly spectacular. Tlie feminine portion of the crowd was positively consumed with glee, when Miss Leitch became two up at a very early stage of the game. But the period of intense satisfaction did not last for long. At the fifth hole, where Miss Leitch was receiving a stroke, she had the misfortune to knock her opponent's ball into the hole when a half looked a certainty This was a dreadful piece of itt-luck, for it had the effect of turning the match and at the same time palpably depressing the spirits of her army of supporters. Miss Leitch was hitting the ball very hard, but not always in the right place— mostly into bunkers. At the short seventh, where she had a stroke allowance, she failed to carry the stream on the right of the green and had to pick out and lose a shot.

However, she won the eleventh without using her stroke, for she put her iron shot close to the flag, while Mr. Wethered's ball was buried deep^ 'in a bunker. Playing very pluckily in the pouring rain, and without bothering to seek protection from an umbrella,. Miss Leitch took her opponent to the last hole before she capitulated. A supurb mashie-niblick shot by Mr. Wethered at the seventeenth really settled the issue. He sliced his iron shot, after a truly magnificent drive, into a river, and was compelled to pick out and lose a stroke. Mr. Wethered then pitched to within five yards of the pin and holed the putt for a five. It was a little heartbreaking to have a hole snatched from you when you belie zed it was securely in your pocket. He was now dormy one, and, talcing the last, hole in a perfect four, while Miss: Leitch was in serious difficulties in a bunker to the right of the green., He won by two holes. "Meanwhile Mr.' Montmorency had been severely trounced by Mrs. Alan Macbeth, who won the Ladies' championship as' Miss Muriel Dodd. Mr. Montmorency even lost holes where he was not conceding strokes, and as Mrs. Macbeth, played remarkably steadily, added to which she holed putts from anywhere; the game ended in her favour by the overwhelming margin of 7 and 5. This must be the severest defeat that W*. M___i_or*l_ev hat _v«r nurtured. a»d

coming from the hand of a lady there was peculiar pioquancy in it. "Miss Joyce Wethered was much too good for Mr. C. V. L. Hooman at half a stroke. She made very few mistakes and was five up at the turn. Mr. Hooman then settled down to real business, and although he ratled off holes in 4's and 3's, he could not shake Miss Wethered off. He lost by . and 3, and declared that if he had produced his best possible form, he could never have beaten Miss Wethered. The only consolation he would have had, and a very poor one, was to have prolonged the match a few more holes. Tlie last of the victories for tlie l_dies was that of Miss D.. Fowler, who drove too far, and hit her iron shots too crisply for Mr. Mellin's liking. He was beaten 6 and 4, and was thoroughly disillusionised.

"Mr. Cyril Tolley restored the balance by defeating -Miss Molly Griffiths by 6 and .. Mr. Tolley was hardly chivalrous; he crashed the ball such enormous distances that Miss Griffiths was almost overcome with fear. The men took all the last four matches, and so concluded the singles—the most serious part of the day's business—\vith a commanding lead of four points." The men also won the foursome by 3£ to 1-i-