A LARGE BALL AND A HIGH WIND

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

A LARGE BALL AND A HIGH WIND

-"IT MAKES LIFE A MISERY.

Folk who play golf at Home have certain privileges that do not come .he way of the antipodean enthusiast. They can, for instance, make trial of new types of ball; and, judging from the following article in the Daily Telegraph, those incidents are by no means without interest. As a prelude to the Royal St. George's Challenge Cup on experimental test of large size balls of unrestricted weight was made, says the writer, G. W. Greenwood. Among the competitors were Mr. W. I. Hunter, the amateur champion, Mr. Roger Wethered, Mr. Ernest Carter, the Irish champion, Mr. Angus Hambro, M.P., the chairman of the Rules of Golf Committee, Lord Charles Hope, and Mr. Sidney Fry. In brief, the test was a complete farce, because nothing was proved, except, perhaps, that very few people had anything good to say about it; it was a farce seeing that in the exceptional and horrible conditions that prevailed no golfer could be certain of hitting any sort of golf ball truly. As Ido not live by the sea, it seemed to me that the wind was trying its hardest to blow me off the earth. At the height of the gale I estimated the velocity of- the wind at; sixty miles an hour, but I was assured by a coast-guardsman that it was not more than forty. He described it facetiously, I feel, more as a "breeze." Well, it was a breeze that, not once, but many times, blew one completely off my feet. You fellows who play golf in sheltered spots and complain bitterly when there is a puff of wind to disturb your swing should have been facing the North Sea to-day. This was golf in excelsis. If you had been condemned to'play with a large light ball, which some day may be forced upon you, whether you like it or not, you would have picked up the beastly thing,at the second hole and walked in. I devoutly hope it blows like this during the open championship, and then we shall see who is the man who can best control the flight of a golf ball. After a racy description of some individual performances, Mr. Greenwood, goes on: — .... Mr. Wethered was emphatio in declaring that the large experimental ball is a clumsy type of implement, difficult to putt with because of the greater surface for the exercise of wind influence, but as regards length not much different from the present limited ball. Generally speaking, the ball was condemned because it made life a misery, and deprived golf of its pleasure and. entertainment. Mr. Wethered condemned it because a hit with it goes somewhere, whereas a miss-hit with the present ball does not. Appended are some of the considered questions of the players who mostly played the ball of 31dwt:—.

Mr. Hunter r " Bad, horrible."

Mr. Budd Clarke:'-" Useless." Mr. Wethered: "It seems to fly against the wind as far as the limit ball. It is difficult to putt with. The shots do not require to be so well hit as with the limit ball. Certainly it is a clumsy ball,"

Mr. Ernest Carter: "Why not play with a feather ball? Life would be a misery if one were compelled to play with such a ball."

Mr. Sydney Fry: " Might as well play with a shuttlecock."

Mr. Douglas Grant: " Good; but useless in a wind under modern conditions."

Mr. Angus Hambro: " A good ball." Lord Charles Hope: "Goes very nearly as far as the small ball, b__.unpleasant to play with, especially on the greens." A

Mr. Alexander Armour (who made no returns): ." A hopeless sort of ball." Captain Pjggott: " Very similar to any other ball, but rather like a pudding." Mr. E. S. Crowther: " A futile ball. The floater as a standard ball is dead, and now I think we have killed the large ball of unrestricted weight. Frankly, I believe golfers are heartily sick of these experiments, and are totally opposed to the idea of tinkering with the present ball, which affords the maximum of fun and entertainment.".