GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 85, 10 April 1926, Page 22

GOLF

By "Chipbhot"

EASTER ECHOES

CONWAY'S STEADY ACHIEVE* MENT . \

A TEMPERAMENTAL TRIUMPH.

The increasing-popularity of golf was shown everywhere in New Zealand by the number of tournaments. at Easter, which, if all had,received telegraphed recognition, would have needed a page of "The Post" to chronicle their play. Locally, interest centred' in the provincial championships at Herctaunga, where the weather, with the exception of the opening day, was all that could be desired. Nothing sensational in the way of scores, however, wes achieved.

• The best card of tha tournament vai that of H. J. Shanks (Mornington), who dia a 73, 37 out ana 36 in, but J. H. Drake, in a friendly game on the Sunday, did a pretty 70,. showing that his 77 in the gale of Saturday, far and away the best card of that tempestuous day, was no mere flash in the pan. With the exception of an 85 on Saturday afternoon, when the .conditions were truly awful, Conway played the steadiest golf of the tournament, his cards reading 79, 76, 76, .75, with a 36 for the first nine of tho final.. His best complete card was in the hardest fight, with Horton, when the steady uphill struggle, might have been expected to find a weak place in hia temperamental armour, but Conway stood the strain remarkably well,' showing more confidence at the nineteenth, after his break at the previous hole, than his opponent, who was short in hi» iron approach and played a wild chip. .Conway is a careful player, but there was nothing cautious about some of his beautiful brassie and spoon shotsj and there is no doubt that he deserved, his win from Horton, as the latter misnetl several unpardonable short putts , and pulled several long iron shots well out of the way, probably because he has played very little golf for months. If Horton had cause to complain of the luck it was.at the thirteenth, where he. had played a magnificent iron shot to within 15 feetof the pin, and followed it up by a putt-to within less than afoot of the hole, when Conway, who was short with his'second and had played a half-hearted sliced'approach chip, unintentionally laid him a dead stymie in the attempt to hole out the long putt. Con way's, ball .laynot four inches.from the hole, and Horton missed the almost impossible, putt, halving in 5 what had lookedlike a certain 4. Theoretically, there is: a.'way of playing this shot, by putting-hard ■with plenty of top spin direct at the opponent's ball,;which is driven, over the hole, while the top spin pulls the player's ball into it, but: anyone who tries it will discover that if" is. >-too often the opponent's ball that goes down. Horton has played very .little ■golf at Masterton, whereas Conway'has been playing steadily. Horton gets :i tremendous punch into the last foot of his swing at the t'ee,-and.drives, for the most part, a very long, low: ball, with a good deal of run.' Against the wind, he ■is therefore a formidable oppbn'ent, quite apart from the general excellence of his game. When he is in form his iron shots are a: delight/to watch, straight for the pin,; and great wind-cheaters. It was the lack,of firmness in putting on the fast greens that lost him the championship; He tried to coax his short putts, which Vis fatal, instead, of tapping them \in with plenty of top spin, which will. , drag even a fairly fast ball in with a rattle. ' R. O. Chesney played steadily against Conway, who' beat him 2 and 1 only. Had phesney had 1 a-little, more luck on the greens the; story might have been different, but several missed .'short putts and over-firmness on two other occasions, when the ball hit the back of 'the hole-and came out, again, left Conway still in the running after.the .first"round. ■ , : :■•-.•

Taken altogether, the player wfio shows the most improvement since the last provincial championships is. J. B. Parker. He played the steadiest of golf all through, was the only player in the championship to.do a 35.f0r nine,holes, and in the bogey competition on the last day did five holes in 16. • A. Duncan was playing very steadily when he beat Parker 3 and 2, but went ■stray everywhere in the final, except from the tec and round the greens..'He outdrove Conway from most tees,, and throughout the tournament was as deadly as ever with short chips, but his long approaches and putting ..were-: not a shadow of his recent form. ' His 74 in Saturday's gale was the beSt golf produced during the tournament, y D. O. Whyte showed only occasional glimpses of the form he displayed'when he. beat A. Duncan in the club.championship. Strangely enough, when -the strain of the tournament: championship was over he played well, and in another match did a nice 35' over' nine holes. . . ■

Bana "VVagg put up a good battle over the last nine holes agaiUst Conway. Halving the tenth in s's) both having failed to get up the bank with their seconds, they halved the next six holes in 444434, Wagg doing the last nine in 37. ■ Wagg shows increasing signs ''of acquiring the gojf temperament in the philosophic way he recovers from- occasional trouble. He playß a fine brassie shot, and with more steadiness would be the . most promising of ..the younger golfers. • . ;, J. L. Petley was not at his best against Horton, though, owing to the latter's patchy play, the game was all square at the sixth. Playing :H.- J. Shanks, Petley did a race 75. Shanks took 42 going out, but came back in 37. Wonder-shots Foretold. . The announcement beforehand of holes in one and equally miraculous two's has been borne out more than once in well authenticated; instances, but a variation of these double wonders is recorded'of the Cambridge -match with Sunningdale. Mr. Tell,-who accounted for Mr. G. Waterer.by 3. and i,.inußt have derived considerable and peculiar joy when. accomplishing the eleventh hole in two. The hole, which has a blind tee shot over a formidablelooking hill, with a swamp and a clump of pine trees on the right, is 340 yards in length. The joke was. that- as the playcTs stepped on to the teeing ground Mr. Waterer related how on one .occasion he had accomplished a two at this particular hole. Suitably impressed; no doubt, by this information, Mr. Fell proceeded to demonstrate to Mr. Waterer that the feat was not so particularly wonderful, after all. Mr. Tell hit a tcrrifie drive, which finish d about 40 yards from the green, and then-confounded his opponent by holing what was nothing more than a glorified putt. Mr. Watdrer never recovered from this horrid shock, for at the next hole he got into hopeless difficulties, and became three down. Notes. Wellington players did.well at Nelson, M. Evans (Hutt) getting into the final ol! the tournament championship there, and Mason and Mead (Miramat) were well up. '•:■'• The Eanui champion at Manawatu tournament, P.^D. Daniel!,'showed fiho form on his handicap. . .■'.'.■