GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 3, 3 July 1926, Page 22

GOLF

ay "CWMHor"

A SLACK SATURDAY: T

HUTT IMPROVEMENTS

NATHAN CUP INCIDENT.

Masterton Club came down-last veelend with the full confidence that th«y -•■ would take the Nathan Clip back with>" them. Their own course is so much': harder than'that of Hutt, the holders^ . that they anticipated .'.something of ■'«.'"'. , v< marginal win. The Hutt••. team, .heft?:, '' '..„ ever, rose,to the occasion,, and-Hastier;--ton won only 2J games, to SJ. . Hutt'a ; repulse of the third attack was signal-, ,-, Manawatu will probably be the nex,t. o , visitors in challenge. One of the Masterton wins came about in rather■■■!*'• •" sensational1 way. Gorton won the fifit' ■■■ four holes by excellent play, but Hprna-'...----brook took the next' five. , Thereafter','^:' they were never more than a hole apart," "■ ' and when driving off for the, 17th they"^ were all square. The Hutt .player (Gorton) put his second on the greei,>.-V . and got a reasonably good. 4 at 'a-.C, ■•,. bogey hole, but Hornabrook's - spopa, „. shot not only backed the green 'but --' drew up within a foot of the hole;"'"' and he secured a 3. The last.hole wt*' ■■'■'■ halved, bo this 14 handicap man won ""' Bis match with an.;''eagle" at 'ttife' '' . 17th hole. against ' the Hutt playefrV ," "birdie." The junior matches1 played to-day te- '. tween Hutt and' Miramar are meant'i.. to give : the benefits of.interclub play.;;;' to juniors, and the A and B teamsiar.e ••.. comprised of "senior" juniors 'and- ■•'•'•• "junior" juniors. Only fourteen- ■■■ ' handicaps and over ' are V allowed - to participate, and none' of 'the'"" Hutt. Nathan Cup team is inclufle'd,.':'■" so as to pive others the chance of elßbf:,' 0 ■matches on other,'links. .■'■. ■'.' •'.'■'" ■The Kirk ball putting contest has done a lot of good ,to the green play- '■•" of all members. Last week's winner „ , was G. T. Berry, with 32. ' : .;■: •; • The player in a friendly match "on ■ ■Miramar the other day who teed up in--' ■ front of the discs/topped his ball, and '■ recalled the shot, but would not givfe '" himself the penalty in the rules, was: ,'. .disqualified, though he was of the cow-" trary opinion. Rule (2) of rufe -'7"•'.'"■[ states:. "If at any hole a. competitor.''"1 play his first stroke from, outside .the.'.',;., limits of the Seeing ground, he-5ha11;..,,,, count that stroke, tee a ball, and play '"■',' his second stroke ' from within -the- '"'•■ limits. The penalty for a breach ofrthis rule shall be . disqualificatipni ?-''■'- Archie Compston's aisqua|ificatioi'"Sft "''.' the British Open for insisting upon-- ■'"'* playing all his shots which lay out-bf';' v bound?, instead of. playing his nest*"" stroke from as nearly as possible the- — spot from which the out-of-bounds ball' '■•* was played, and adding a penalty stroke to the score'-for that'hole" is quite an unintelligible, action, on-his--part, as; any doubts on'thq question of remission of the penalty' strr'Ve by local rule mtia:t ,have ..been;, knov..„ tp..]W3orZ~; The obstinacy displayed' by spine" of even the best •of players! on- inch' matters is remarkable. '■■ ■ : \.""l" J .7' The second tiein the' Nathan :,Cup,..7".' challenges might have ■ ended otherwise ■■:,. :. but for a fortuitous circumstance which ; savoured of comedy. Twc' ' players ■"'■ drawn against each other agreed; to" ~ meet at a well-known-, corner in-'the ••-'•• city, perhaps better.known to one than"" to tho other. The first arrived "too '•"' much1 at the right time,'that is to sajr~-: quarter of an hour early, and I'after-a; '," -; review of the premises, came oiitj and, ■: seeing an',empty motor-car . heartyI,' ' seated himself therein to, await his op-" '■"' ponent, forthwith becoming immersed.' '; in: the abstruse problems that arepar't'" ■ of his daily round. The second golfer,.,'.'"' arriving- late, pulled up his car in i.a" ,'•'■',,, hurry, ran in and looked round;' Tan,-„„ out.again, and, already past the Bettled-ri. time of departure, sped away fc-'the-' ' Hutt, taking no notico whatever of the v-'----dreamy person in-the strange .motor- — car. So this match ended in a. win Uy default for the man who•'•■wtvs lata'at. ■".". the aforesaid corner. ' .: .',-.■; ■ ■",,[."■,; ."'■',; It is an extraordinary' thing :.'th£t ■/ both Joyce Wethered; and-Bobby' Joner: '■■■• the outstanding golfers of their sexy•lii-;- •■ the ball on their".toes,, and not in.'tfo.^ accepted stylo with the'heels firmly-"on" ■ tho ground. That, with them, com'cs1 "" after the,ball has been hit. , : :-,-": - Hutt have made some visible .steps •""" towards the general improvement of'4he'"' ' course, for which a considerable sum.T/"' was voted at its annual meeting. ;Nj>. 1 green is being reconstructed. ;fhp "'■' old green lay perilously near the out-- --. of-bounds fence on'"the'-'further': side. V:, , The. ground is .being, sloped upwards;*-v from tlie.far side,.of the green, and!a . ' bunker has been put in to trap thefierJK - sloggers whq overrun this .hole from - :-■ the tee. The tenth tee has been', wideiii ";\ ed into quite a formidable looking,"J}Tfi-.;fj J t'eaii. The marsh in a direct line for; r the hole is being filled in to formV «'•" ,'' fairway and good lies. Formerly "it "' was hard to play across the swamp for .; medium hitters, who made a dog leg out of-the hole, with the result that, they trespassed on an . adjoining fairwiy. There still exists a pjiteh of rush to .• trap the topped hook, and, indeed, top- .' ping generally is penalised . frpni ;the .tenth tee. The ■ short ninth has bjsea'.: '■ c made quite a different hole, j Formerly,;,,.,'" th 6 bank just across the water. hazard • was steep and rough, and the general * inclination was to play past the pin and approach back. Now thebank has been sloped away, aiid the only trap' is a bunke.l' jus.t beyond the water's edge, which penalises only, the veriest ,--. half-hearted shot. .The 13th. green"£as''! 'been brought in some 30 yards furfKeK".,'! from the river, and the ground in frpjjt' „..;'-- of it will now allow of better appro^h,- , > ing, while the green is well away froit.: V „the fence. ' ' :ii ii.n.-.-. •Lindsay Eoss, always fairly reliatile^-. t off the tee, not with great, length, 'rjUf:'"' with accftracy, has much improved;;Sjl' ;-, k his shor; game of late, and will npw'bc;- •,- found an opponent to be taken serr : ~ y - " ously. Hitherto he has not hud maiiy.:' opportunities of play, having been :t00. "■„",.. .strenuously occupied teaching. On ;on,c ..,,. - occasion he put through twenty half-,.; hour pupils in a day, something of>»a '- winter aehievem'ent. .' "'; :; :••''< ■;■■•■

; It is to, be regretted that the canons;.-: of golf, cables deny the informatiolff'" that is sought. The1 final roußds'7^'-' not separated, and in ,the case of "the", long driving contests the importanV questions of the nature of the.fairway and the direction of the wind arq:in,- . variably omitted. On such occasions, length alone is striven for, with : sonic • • modicum of direction, to allow the shotto qualify, but an average drive- 6tleading golfers in actual. play of •'■23o'" yards is exceedingly good, when "the' ,' fairways are dry, and there is run'an :, jtho ball. Archie Cpmpston's drive of ' 2SB yards,rand his aggregate' of* 78'o!'.' yards 7 inches, would convey mucJuV more if the conditions were stated. ;.V; .ilJi. Morris,'"'of Wellington Club, nrus.t".'; have been putting, well.,to have thus* impressed a Hawkcs Bay "Tribune" : critic, who watched him, on ; W«iohiki links:—"On.tho greens, in spite of the fact that he had just come away from*l', sodden greens, he rarely took more ■ than two putts from anywhere. Ob; viously ho had a good style ; and a per-": feet sense of st;-ength and no doubt has spent many hours acquiring and perfecting same. His performance sho^fl'.'•'• ithat the greens are not solely respoft- "' sible for ;ill tho complaints one hears, about putting scorers.."- .'..•« In the . championship at KingstpjjV. Eeuch Club, Hobart,' C. B. Da vies's ball ilid not drop out of a tall gum tree. Heclimbed up and found it ' in a bird's;." nest, out .of which: he-played quite ji'r!i satisfactory niblick shot. "* .-