GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 9, 12 January 1927, Page 12

GOLF

by 'Chip-shot.l

WEST BYFLEET RECORD FAMOUS GOLF ARHITECT . <©> A CADDY'S DUTIES. , The Ward Cup. ""Whites" are becoming increasingly popular on -the golf links these summer days. Heretaunga is in the very "best of its condition, now, and there should bo keen interest amongst Wellington Club players in the fourball for the "Ward Cup, being played nest Saturday. G. G. Calender and X.' Douglas are the holders. , The Caddy's Job. Golf is played in Ceylon, and they know there the duties of the perfect caddy. A correspondent has given the "Spectator" a transcription of a set of rules written in Tamil in' a Ceylon golf club. The translation is made "by a clerk of understanding, though unacquainted with the game," and are headed "Commandments to bag-carry-ing children." 1. Keep close to Master. 2. "Watch ball, if going in river or bush run to,help find. 3. Put back grass where Master cutting. 4. Count Master's strokes as ho playing. ■ , i 5. After Master holing in ball.hurry for next tee to tee ball. 6. "Wash Master's ball if dirty. 7. Know bogey to each hole. 8. No speaking, not to move, when Master is playing at stroke. George Duncan's Record. With a score of 70, Duncan won the Guildford and District Alliance competition at West Byfleet, and, incidentally, broke the'professional record of the course by two shots. "Duncan now shares the honours with Mr. 0. C. Bristowe, a British Walker Cup player, who, a month ago, created a new amateur record with, an identical score. Considering that he played in an incessant downpour of rain, Duncan's round was a magnificent effort. It is a long^tim'o since he was hitting the ball so cleanly and so crisply, and it seems ages ago since one saw so delightful a co-ordination of shots from tee to green (says G-. W. Greenwood). In the last few months Duncan has effected a radical _ change in. method, which 'appears to have produced beneficial .results. The change is summed up in the phrase,, " a better transference 'of weight." In other words, tho swing is now started by leg movement instead of by the hands. This is noticeable in the slight lateral sway of tho body instead'of the rotary movement, of the hips. This all sounds horribly, technical, but what Duncan, really meaiis is that we should all play better if wo cultivated freer footwork and allowed the body to give a little in the back swing instead of standing like a block of! wood.

As will he understood, Duncan made very .few mistakes in the courso of his record-breaking round. Ho started a little gingerly, and a topped brassie ahot at the third, cost him a stroke. , However, "he made up for this by holing a long,putt for a 3 at the fifth. Out in 35, he started* home with, a 2 at the tenth,'where a half-mashie shot landed him three yards from the pin. A slightly'pushed No. 3 iron, shot at the thirteenth' gave him only 1 a remote chance for the par 4, and in the end ne , had to be content with a '5. For tlu second time, in the.round Duncan was ■ tempted to use'the brassio for tlie long second shot to the eighteenth green. On this occasion he rather overdid the body sway, with the result,that he top- 1 ped the ball into - the first series of bunkers guarding the right-hand side of the green. As it.happened, little dam--1 age was done, for precious^few did bettoij £han a 5 at this long," raking, hole. Diflican's record-breaking card is as i'olJows:—Out: 410 yds, 4; 380 yds, 4--467 yds, 5^ 125 yds, 3; 309 yds, 3; 428 ,J-as,, 4; 448 yds, s;' 146 yds, 3; 440 yds, 4; total/3153yds, 35 (bogey 39). In130yds, 2; 263 yds, 4; 441 yds, 4; 431 yds, 5; 418 yds, 4; 145 yds, 4; 390 yds, 4: 165 yds, 3; 479 yds, 5; t0ta1,'2862 yds, 35 (bogey 37). ' „ '

Left-hand Australian Champion. Ivo Whitton, tho 'open gold champion of Ai>ralia, was beaten in the iinal of tho Australian Amateur Golf Championship by Len Ncttletold by two holes.' Nettlofold comes from the Kingston Beach Club, Hobart, is lefthanded, )O nly 20 years ojd, and he has played golf since he was six. With his father, Len. NettlefoH holds the foursomes championship of Tasmania! A New Golf Shot. - *

"Linksman" in the "Graphic" devotes space to tho possibility of a new shot in, golf, without violating the rules, and-suggests that the place for it is on or round the greens. He attributes putting troubles to a stance too similar to that of the drive, the strokes being as dissimilar as it is possible to imagine. Single-handed putters with a light short shaft, were on the market recently, but none, has made its appearance here. For the very short chip on to the green, however, the short shafted mashie seems feasible, enabling a sinelehanded wrist shot.

Next British Championship. The Championship Committee of the Eoyal and Ancient Club, St. Andiew's lias decided that the conditions governing the amateur championship of 1927 will be the same as thoso which operated in 1926. ,The championship will be played over the famous "HoyJftfco course, Cheshire, and a charge for admisison will bo made so far as spectators are conceined. "Bobby" Jones has definitely/ decided, owing to business_ reasons, not to defend his title of British open champion next year. He will, 'however, play in the Amoiican open championship, of which he is the holder. Jones's Putting Grip. v "Bobby" Jones overlaps ivith Ins light hand in putting. He puts the forefinger of the left hand over the little nngor of the right—just the rcverso of 99.9 per cent, of the average golfers. As ho is a deadly putter it may suit you to tiy it, too. W. J .Travis, a New Yorker, had this un-' , usual grip when he won the 1904 Brifc-

ish Open, except that he had the first two fingers of his left hand overlapping the right. He holed so many long ones on that occasion that it won him the big title. , . ' ". A Bunker Surgeori.

A notable golf architect is in the Dominion in tlie person of Dr. Alister Mackenzie, of Leeds. He has just ar- ' rived from Australia, where he has re- i constructed most of the leading courses. His first job in New Zeal. - will be to lay down the plans for a new course for the Maungakiekie Club at Auckland, after which he will undertake 1 similar work in other parts of this country. He has two outstanding principles. Krst, the course should bo so interesting that even the plus man is stimulated cgjstantly to improve his I game by attempting shots he had hitherto been unable to play, and the long handicap player, or oven the beginner, should '1 c able to enjoy his round, although he is piling up a big score. Second, green and hazards should be so, constructed that eyery hole wil demand a variety of interesting brassie, iron, and pitch-and-run shots.

A plethora of bunkers does not appeal to him, neither does he like hazards to appear too obviously artificial nor does he believe in a sequenc of narrow fairways bordered by fearsome troughs.