GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 119, 23 May 1925, Page 19

GOLF

BY "BAFFY"

LADIES' DRESS

KNICKERS ON ORDER

MUNICIPAL LINKS.

COMING EVENTS.

•lay 23—Stroke at Hutt. Slay 25—British Amateur, at Westward Hoi "May 30—Men's Canadian Foursome, at Hutt. Hay 30—Ranui v. Miramur, at Runuij Hay 31—Qualifying Round, Captain's Prize, at i Uanui. June 3—American Open, at Worcester. June 23—British Open, at Prestwick. July 22—Australian Open, at Kensington. August 31—American Amateur, at OnWmont. September 25 to October 3—N.Z. Champion- : ships at Shirley. October 15-22— N.Z. ladies' Championships, at Miramar.

: "It makes a man feel ashamed of himself," I heard a pale-faced, narrowchested, unwholesome-looking youth, -with the inevitable hanging cigarette, remark with l-eforence to my golfing attire as I wandered up Willis street the other day. The strange thing is that even amongst golfers tho new arrival in plusfours does not pass without remark, while in tho streets, though he adopt the proper attire of the game to which he is addicted as the tennis player wears flannels and blazer, he is a subject of curiosity. However, this is but an introduction to the remark that on the links, at least, the interest in new plusfours will- soon be but very small compared with that in a coming venture in which about a dozen ladies, whose names have been mentioned to me, will embark. It may be anticipated that within a few weeks, as soon as the garments can be secured from America., these ladies will take up their games on tho local links attired in knickers very much resembling the men's plus-foura, except that in place of the strap round tho leg there will be a band of the same material of about four inches in width. According to the taste of the wearer, these knickers will be worn with tailored blouses, blouse shirts, jerseys, jumpers, or tailored coats. In the streets the knickers will be covered by the conventional skirt, but this will be removed at the links. Those players who have adopted plus-fours will appreciate the ease of movement in them, and will have some idea of tho great handicap that it must be to th» woman player to wear skirts, particularly when there" is anything of a wind. I suggest to all players, but to these players especially, that they should welcome the new style for women, and should assist women over the first difficulties of appearance. The embarrassment should not last long and the new.style will probably be as early accepted as reasonable and attractive as are now considered riding breeches for women, habits which certainly caused a great deal of remark on their introduction, but about which comment is now confined to cut and style. The idea of the women golfers who are adopting the new style is that they will not be so adversely affected by bad weather and difficult stances as they now are, and that the new style will do a, great deal towards helping them improve their games. In America women wear breeches or knickers in most of the sports, and, more locally, the appearance 'of a woman member of a tramping club, weuring knickers,. passes without •comment. .

Municipal Links. The question as to -whether the City Council should open up a golf links in the Lyall Bay sandhill area is now receiving a considerable amount oi attention The general impression is that a good publio links is required but there are difficulties. Even nongolfers living at Lyall Bay are inclined to think that there would be no objection to a links there. It appears to be ,f f lriy. generally accepted as a principle that if links were constructed at Lyall iiay they must remain public, and that no such links should be constructed and handed over to the dominance of any club or .clubs. : A club could, however, be formed, such as there is at Berhampore, and certain privileges could no doubt be granted club members. If there is one thing.as certain as another it is that the time has come when Berhampore links should be scrapped, and a public links worthy of the only one of its kind m the Dominion provided I Berhampore fills a want, but it fills it i very poorly, and most players who' go there now will agree that it is overcrowded, impossible to control, too snort, and lacking most of the things that go to make up a first-class links or even a second-class one. The position at Lyall Bay could be quite different" though from the very first I believe that it would be an unfortunate step to cramp the links and shorten them by putting vtul holes T 80 acres- The "ft would be a most unwise one, regretted in later years for the establishment of a course at Lyall Bay would immediately be popular, and as soon as there ZZu r UI'S8 "ywMoaaUe order there would be crowded attendances. The opposition to the scheme seems to be that the land is required for play areai a«d grounds. Those who live at L*sl Bay now will know that the reweS amount, and the rest of the week the atepayers put their hands in their S To W. teV°, keep thE resei^ going, lo put the links'in order would cost considerably less than to'put the area down as football grounds or play! ing areas, and a very important point is that several hundred players would use the links m a week, and some would be playing there every day. Berhampore - pays its way and Lyall Bay would more than do that-w fact, the course would be rushed. For what it is worth I sug gest that it would not cost the City Council more to turn Berhampore into football grounds and play areas than to level Lyall Bay and get a sward of ?rass on the sand, while Berhampore is much nearer the city and would be exnect T^' n a pl-ay area" Go]fers expect the City Council, to do its duty to them, viewing all the circumstances. Rules. It is often a noticeable feature on local golf courses that there are a great number of players who may have read ft™ I*l* Wh° d° not them and who may have read the rules of etiquette but certainly very seldom observe them. In the "B" team matches between Ranui and. Hutt lust week-end I sat at the 10th tee and watched the pairs go by. In each of the first four pairs as they passed one or both of the players got into water in the big hazard. Iv three cases the players proceeded to tec up again, until their err- i ing thoughts were corrected, and in the fourth instance tho' player asked right out tor the rules on the position. i liat this rule should be unknown to players on cither Hutt or Raimi courses must surely bo an indication of gross lack of knowledge of the rules. I have seen dozens .of incidents on the links which, carried penalties of Joss of hole

[ or disqualification, bul there is a certain, embarrassment about informing another player of a broken rule or a disqualification, It all. boils down to the position that, every player should know'his rules in fairness to himself, his partnov, and other, competitors.

American Challenge,

Writing of the first British Professional tournament matches and remarking on the American challenges' to be faced next month, J. H. Taylor states: —

"Both Mitchell and Duncan' proved that the California, Florida, and Texas sun baths have put an edge and tone on their game that augurs well. We can only hope that it will last, but it must be remembered that they have just finished a most exhausting tour. They have travelled thousands of miles, and, great as is their natural skill, it is apt to become blunted if tried too severely. As each season comes round we look to these two men to bear a great burden, and from what they tell me the Americans are coming over in increased numbers for the_ 'Open.' Duncan is always emphatic in what he says, and it is somewhat soothing to hear him declare that the two best players in America are Tommy Armour and Bobby Cruickshank —both Scots. He may be right. Cruickshank I know to bo a great little player. Armour, an ex-amateur, I. should not place so highly, but I have great respect for Duncan's opinion. If size and length of limb were the only factors in the making of good players, those who qualified at Roehampton would make it good show. Bay, Bingham, Boomer, and Compston are real sons of Anak, but it has been proved that height has its disadvantages, although it is of considerable aid in driving. With the exception of Bay, the others named are of the younger school. They all have that gift for the game which makes just the difference, and none more so than Aubrey Boomer, the winner. The Jersey School has produced another potential champion, and I look to him to go far. I heartily congratulate him for I opening the season so successfully. These young fellows must concentrate and keep going, for we shall need their help in June." General. We go to the golf professional for instruction and correction. And fortunate are we who find a teacher who can accurately diagnose our ills and straighten out our kinks, and who can teach us the principles of the game clearly and concisely without confusion or error. For these services we pay the professional a small fee, which is seldom commensuratewith the benefits received. But there are other things we get from the professional for which no charge is made, and for which we do not pay. Things so stimulating, so encouraging, so enduring that it would be difficult to gauge their valuewith a. price. It is the confidence he inspires, the ambition he instils, and the inspiration that he imbues us with that do us as much good, perhaps, as do his corrections and instructions. '

Ted-Ray maintains that a slowly swun" heavy club yields better results off tho tee than can be obtained from a quick 1 swing with a light club. Yet Bob.Sl'Donald, one of the longest and most finished drivers, uses light woods. Recently Abe Mitchell counselled the usa of light wood. If for no other reason the lighter club will serve the average player better because the. rapidity of bodily action in the swing will encourage more energetic hip action, which is the thing that adds punch to the wood club swing. ,In the back swing tlia lighter club—say, 12£oz—is as easily controlled as the one a couple ounces heavier. It is: the down swing that tho heavier club gels beyond the player. It promotes too much of a drag on his hand muscles so that at the instant ho should throw the club-head all his muscle strength in his hands has beep exhausted. He then merely holds on to the club while it goes through the ballThere is no question that the great majority of British golfers are against f,™B«.u the present standard ball. UMf Illustrated," of London, has been gathering opinions for several months, with the result that 5644 golfers favour the .retention of the present ball and 1192 favour the adoption of specification which will reduce the distance to which the present ball can Jbe driven. The ballots all came from subscribers representing all classes of players. In view of the popular vote, St. Andrews has decided not' to take any immediate action with regard, to changing the specifications of the standard ball: A most unusual piece of information was received at the U.S.G.A. executive offices recently in which it was stated that a new golf course had been approved by the City Council of Sacramento, California, to he located at the Bnceburg prison road camp, and that the prisoners had formed a- golf club. Should this unique idea be adopted by &11 the penal institutions throughout the country, all golfers \jncurring the wrath of the law would consider a life sentence all too.short.

Although the United States" is the worlds largest producer of golf balls, and the American-made article has no superior, yet imports of foreign goK ?«i, -are steadily increasing. 1923 imports from England, Scotland, and France numbered 2,836,141 balls, valued..at 1,173,659 dollars, with a unit value of .413 cents. Imports for the first ten months of 1924 were 2,579,444 balls, valued at 960,990 dollars, with a unit value or .364 cents. While imports are increasing import, values are declining. The manufacture of golf balls has grown from o an annual production of 800,000 in 1897 to 50,000,000, the estimated number made, annually in this country.—"lndia Eubber World."

H. R. Sinclair, amateur champion of Australia, who recently played a, brilliant round of 64 on the Mooro Park course (Sydney), had a wonderful 70 at, }3onnie Doon at the end of last month. The bogey for the Bonnie boon course is 78, and it is a, hard bogey to get. One has to play first-class/golf, to break 80 at Bonnie Doon, as many of the holes are very tricky. Sinclair's card was :—

Sinclair will be very hard to beat in the amateur championship of New South Wales, which begins at Rose Bay on 30th inst., and also in the amateur championship of Australia at Kensington later on. Dub Dictionary. Abnormal Lies.—The exaggerations that we are compelled to listen to as our golfing friends post-mortem their games. Bogie.—A ghostly player whom everyone is afraid of, except those who can beat him. Concede.—-Giving your opponent a putt that is shorter than the one you hope he wil\ give to you. Down.—Has reference to one's depressed feeling after • everything has gone wrong. Forn.—A golf baw], ' " Golf Nut."—One who plays golf; thinks golf, talks golf, and dreams golf; one who, upon any plausible excuse or otherwise), will neglect his wifo. home, and children to play this, fascinating game. Hazard.—When we chance our dollar, dollar, dollar against th« high binder golfer. Medalist.—The lowest down player in the tournament. Niblick.—The .slugger club. Out.of Bounds.—A golf lie that is out of all reason. Par.—The father of bogey Emger Score—One that rincs our t heart to admit.

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