GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 112, 14 May 1927, Page 22

GOLF

*y "Chifmmot-

WELLINGTON BEATEN

MISS ACHESON'S RECORD

ST. ANDREWS COURSE

COMING EVENTS.

May 7—Wellington v. Miraraar. May 7—Hutt v. Banul. ■""Vlnlt^Cup" ChamP'Onßhip and *» .Tune 2 to 4—Masterton Tournament ' Ilfton l~Klrk ° UP Ch<un Ploa Gam<* at HamMay 21—Hutt v. Miramar. '

Miramar showed the value of some of the^young blood in the inter-club matchwith WeLhngton, but the contest was a: close one, and it was won chiefly by the mistakes of Wellington golfers than by the brilliance of the visitors, at least in the A teams match. Heretaunga was in excellent condition for the match : the turf being just heavy enough to demand firm approaches. A new bridge ' <nore substantial than the old one, carried away in the floods, is to be built across the creek between the ninth and tenth holes. Miramax v. Wellington.', ■'.■ There were several close contests in the matches between the A teams of Miramar and Wellington a x Heretaunga last Saturday. J. H. Drake started off by winning the first hole in hismatch with A. D. S. Duncan, but -the latter had evened things up at the ninth, and was all square. The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth were halved in 4's, and the thirteenth in s's. Duncan, won the fourteenth in 3. The fifteenth, and sixteenth were halved. Drake won the seventeenth in 3, and the eighteenth being halved in 4's, the match ended all square. Drake missed several chances on the greens, but the quality of the golf was good. Both did the last nine in 35, and both did 75's for the eighteen. O. J. Wilson has not been playing golf for some time, and he wns not at all in form in some respects, finding, himself 4 down at the turn to W. Flanagan. The latter habl been lucky to halve the third, as he put his tee "hot into the creek. He got well out, however, and a long putt saved him from a loss. Wilson sank more than one long putt, and, winning three holes running, had Flanagan's le* down to 2 up, but the Miramar man won the thirteenth and fourteenth, and halving the fifteenth, won 4 and 3; D. O. Whyte and A. B. Con way-were all Bquare at the ninth, after some good golf. Conway won the tenth in 4. Whyte won the next three holes ,in 4's, sinking a long putt at the thirteenth. The fourteenth, fifteenth, and 1 sixteenth were halved in 3, 4, 4, and Whyte won the last in 4, Conway taking three putts. , S. G& oxbrill proved too steady for 'the long ar hitting lan MacEwan, standing 2uj at the turn. The ninth was halved in s's. MacEwan's long tee shot rattled about in the willows before, coming to rest nearer the sixth than the ninth; fairway. He played a provisional ball, but on finding his first, got the line through the forest, and the ball cannoned its way out on to the ninth fairway. His third was too strong, and he missed his fourth. Gambrill's approach was stopped by the grass, and he was too cautious with the next two. MacEwan, it may be mentioned, drove the seventeenth green^ a tremendous ball in the soft nature of the course. E. O. Hales was 3 down at the turn, but brought E. H. Liddle down to 1 lip at a later stage, and was -beaten-2 and 1 after an interesting game.- : ' J. B. Parker and J. h. Petley were all square at the ninth, and in the end. Parker won 1 up. P. D. Daniell, who did so well at Nelson, playing over the Heretaunga course for the'first time, was 3 down to Morgan Duncan at the turn, where both had adventures. Daniell miss-hit his tee shot, and Duncan hooked his slightly into the rough. Daniell's long approach was short, and in getting his, ball out of a deep, inhospitable hole in the grass, Duncan's second overran the green, the hole being halved in 4. St. Andrews —Good and Bad. Recent Wellington visitors to the St. Andrews course at Hamilton, on which/ the Dominion Championships in September will be played, are enthusiastic about the quality of the fairways and greens. The turf on the latter is a thick mat, calculated in any Weather to give backspin its full value. The greens are not considered likely to be fast under any circumstances, but they will be.very true, and golfers "will be able to strike the ball firmly, instead of "stroking"-it,, a frequent cauße of missed putts where the absence of grass makes putters nervous; . Greens and. fairways having been eulogised, however, visitors are not so enthusiastic , about other features of the course. Some of the holes are long, a large proportion of them beyond the reach of even a long hitter against a strong wind in two. This is not the objection raised, because a certain amount of length is expected of contestants for Dominion honours, but fault is found with the narrowness of some of the long fairways, the quality of the rough, and the lies likely to be got by oven long hitters against the wind from, the tee. Extra long carries are necessary to reach portions of the fairways likely to give good lies for the second shots. Carries of 180 yards are frequently necessary to clear uneven ground where a brassie could not be used. The rough is particularly matted bordering the fairways, the kind of rough from which only a niblick can got the ball out, and combined with the narrow fairways will, state vistors, unduly penalise competitors ot the longer holes. One well-known goHer thinks that the long fairways should all be widened by four or five yards, and the tees so moved that good lies will be found on the fairways at from 180 yards to 200 yards from the tee, in a strong wind. While ' the greens are excellent, they are surrounded by wide expanses of turf that allow, in the opinion of visitors, too much latitude in direction with the second shot. What bunkers there are are narrow and deep, and seem likely to im* pose penalties greater than is justified,but the number of bunkers is so small' that the course may be safd not to be sufficiently bunkered, at any rate round the greens. Players are not likely to find St. Andrews too easy, however, as natural hazards, not' al* ■' ways just where they should be, may; cause a loss of strokes.

General Notes. ' i - Stedman is a decided acquisition to the Hutt Club. Some four years ago he was'provincial champion of Nelson, and his golf has been divided between. Nelson and HagUy Park. He is on the 3-2 mark. The trophy of the captain (Miss Walters) induced a stiff contest amongst Waiwetu ladies in the one club competition last Satarday, Miss S. Acheaon, in her record of 75 on a 78 bogey course at Nelson, which visitors in the Easter tournament found sufficiently hard, . has again demonstrated that women's golf in the Dominion is of a' high standard. This ivas in the early stages of the tournament. Miss Acheson seems to feel the strain of a long meeting, and her best golf is usually produced' in the earlier matches. If she could stand u> to the heavy physical strain' of championship golf, Bhe would long ago have disputed a Now Zealand championship ■final, •■■■■« . . ■■•■ . . ■ „■■