Bowling

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 25, 30 January 1930, Page 23

Bowling

HOLDING THE BOWL

WHAT IS CORRECT WAY?

DIVERGENT VIEWS

In what way should a bowl be held in order to ensure correct delivery? This is a question which has produced much controversy, and, presumably, the end of the argument is not yet in sight. Recently, Mr. Flcm. Laurenson, the former Wellington player, but now of Christchurch, wrote an article, with illustrations, to show what he considorod was the proper stylo to adopt. Mr. Laurenson has now been taken to task by "Boomerang" in the Sydney "Referee." "Boomerang" says:—

."Mr. Fleming Laurensou produces two illustrations, ono witli the thumb pressing against the big disc, and the little iiuger against the small disc, on the opposite side of the bowl. Ho saya that this forms a 'cradle' for the bowl to sit in, and that it is the correct grip or hold. In the second illustration he shows the thumb aa I have always advocated, on the running edge of the bowl, and of this he says: 'Thumb on crown: this style is roundly condemned as inaccurate, and conducive to wobbling.'

"My good old friend has stamped himself indelibly for what he is, a 'palmer,' pure and simple. In his illustration of the 'correct style,' as he terms it, the points of tho fingers show out from the bowl, and the body Bits into the palm. In this way, what Dr. Williams, of Mackay (Queensland) pointed out in a letter to the 'Referee,' is lost completely, viz.: the 'nerve sense' at the tips of the fingers, from whence 'touch' comes.

"It is undisputable that the thumb is the most powerful member of the human hand, for not only does it control many of its actions, but is the great steadying factor. By placing the thumb on the running edge you get power, direction, and touch. By simply placing the thumb at the side you have no controlling factor, simply something to roll the bowl off. One is stiff arm power, the other is wrist power. All the very accurate drivers that I have seen (accurate, I say) hold their bowl with the thumb on the running edge, and I have not met a single accurate hitter who was a palmer. He , lacks the direction by virtue of his thumb deviating from the straight line from the shoulder through his work, for it goes 'round a corner,' when it is placed on the big disc. I have great respect for my old friend, both as a player and an authority, but he is preaching the most dangerous doctrine.

"It is the doctrine of the palmer, Mr. Laurenson says: 'The thumb and fourth fingers are steading factors only,' and in another part: 'The thumb grip on the centre of the,bowl is roundly condemned as most inaccurate, being inducive to wobbling the bowl, and considered not advantageous to correct bowling.' Condemned by whomf

"In all this he is wrong. The thumb placed on the running edge enables the player to get spin, anti-bias, and speed, to say nothing of direction. It is a preventive of wobbling, and only those who cannot grip the bowl with the thumb on the crown condemn it as inaccurate. It is also advantageous in getting the best possible rosults. In short, the palmer and the thumb gripper are absolutely opposed in all points.

"I have cured many a 'wobbler' by persuading him to bring his thumb round from the disc to the top. It does not follow that the thumb must be directly in the centre,' but it must be inside the big rings, at least. All the men who are weak in the firm to fast drive play are palmers. The hand, which includes fingers and thumb, should not be a chute, but a manipulator controlled by the nerve sense through the brain."

Next Dominion Tournament.

In last week's notes "Number Two" discussed the vexed question as to how to make the Dominion tournament more popular, or, at any rate, less cumbersome than it is at present. The subject is dealt with by "Trundler," "the bowling writer of the "Auckland Star," in an outspoken article.

"The plain fact," he saya, "might just as well be stated In words that leave no room for misunderstanding: The principal reason why the entries for the tournament just concluded are almost the smallest on record, in spite of the immense expansion of bowling in recent years, is that it has been held in Dunedin; the principal reason, why everybody here expects a fresh record in entries to be created next year is because that tournament will be held in Auckland. There is nothing parochial in this view, for it is merely based on the fact that)v_whereas Dunedin was the stronghold of bowling in New Zealand until thirty years ago, the centre of gravity has since moved in. this direction, so that now there are very nearly as many bowlers in the Auckland Province alone as there are in the whole of the South Island. The latest figures are 5468 and 5758 respectively, so it is only to be expected that the heavy local pull in the vicinity of Auckland will always weigh' against either Dunedin or Christchurch." I

The main features in the tournament are always fixed at the annual meeting of the council, where the local members have no more power than the rest, except in the greater cogency with which they present their arguments. That is where Dunedin fell in ("Trundler" goes on to say). Four years ago, a perfect time-table was accidentally '' fluked "to fit in with the visit of the British bowlers, and it turned out such a great success, to the surprise of everybody, that it has been followed ever since. Last July, however, the Dunedin members of the council allowed themselves to be argued out of a strong strategical position by the Wellington members, although the latter centre has always urged leaving details as much as possible to the local members. The result was that their motion to run off the rinks during the first week was defeated by one vote, and it will be the duty of those who view the matter in the light of the generally accepted arguments, which were presented in this column on Wednesday, to restore the time-table to what proved so popular during the last four tournaments. The Dominion Council, or, rather, the Dunedin members, in 1926, have only themselves to blame for the competition of other tournaments. Ln effective rule was proposed «nd carried and yet, when the *ides were printed, this was incorrectly given, and the council lost the control which the correct rule gave them. The rule has only been restored to its proper wording, as passed in 1926; and the council will be able to limit all this competition. The date of the tournament must also be settled by the council itself, and here the local knowledge of the Auckland members should prevail in regard to the next tournament, just as the local knowledge of Wellington prevailed over last year's, and presumably the others gave way to Dunedin over this year's. Apparently it all depends on how the local knowledge is presented in each centre. A False Idea. Commenting on the Dominion tournament, "Measurer," in tho Dunedin "Star," says that somo of the

BY "NO TWO"

New Zealand Popular.

The Canadian Tour.

aggregate totals in different games seemod surprisingly large, aud makes one think that the false idea of being generous to a defeated opponent by faking the scoring cards was adopted at timos. On the best of authority, in one rink game the actual figures were 56 to 11, but the cards were made to appear very different.

That others besides tho Canadians would like to visit us is evident from two letters received by Mr. G. G. Adess from bowling friends made on tho last Homo tour of the New Zealandeja (writes "Measurer" in tho Dunediil ' Star"). One (Mr. G. A. M'Cann, of Los Angeles) says: '?Our bowlers will never forget the warm-hearted friendships germinated when honoured as guests by the New Zealand party. Were I younger I would certainly visit your Dominion, but at the age of seventy-six one has to slow down." Another. (Mr. C. E. Sweotman, of San Francisco) says that his wife and himsolf are anxious to visit New Zealand, but business preventa tho trip at present.

With reference to the Canadian bowlers now touring New Zealandj • correspondent who was a member of the 1921 New Zealand touring team to visit the Old Country writes as follows to the "New Zealand Herald": "The visit of the Canadian bowlers brings back to me agreeable recollections of two afternoons spent in Vancouver among tho bowlear there. A party of eight members consisting of Lee (Nelson), Sievwright (Wellington), Eenouf (Napier), . Stewart, Spencer, Adesa (Dunedin), Walton (Auckland), and C. J. Broad (Invercargill) when return* ing from the 1921 tour of Great Britain and Ireland, was received with open arms by the bowlers of Vancouver. From the momont our presence in the city was known, we were treated right royally. The welcome extended to us wherovor we went was really splendid, and words could not express our appreciation of the manner in which we were looked after. Before leaving Canada many members of the bowling clubs expressed a desire to visit the Dominion at some time or other, bo our trip to that part may have in a small way helped to promote the present tour. The later visit by Mr. J. W. Hardley'e team, being of a more comprehensive nature, was no doubt responsible for the ultimate fulfilment of tho tour."

Victorian Rink on Tour.

A party of five members of the Victoria Bowling Club, viz., Messrs. J. S. Keith (Mayor of Timaru, 1898), C. B. Norwood (ex-Mayor of Wellington), Marcus Marks (ex-Government Printer), C. Scolon, and J. Duthie, lately toured the South Island. ■• Their first games were with Victorian team in the annual match against St. Albans, Christchurch, and the Wellington Centre v. Christchurch Centre in the Barnett Tiki. At Timaru they played the Timaru Club on the 14tb. On the evening they were welcomed at the meeting of the Timaru Borough Council by the Mayor (Mr. W. Angland), who said he noted with pleasure that amongst their party was one, namely, Mr. J. Keith, who had been Mayor of Timaru in 1898. Following on the welcome, the visitors and the Councillors spent a pleasant social hour together. At Oamaru the party met a local rink on the old Phoenix Green, and a pleasant afternoon was spent. The green was in good condition and fast. The ladies of the club laid themselves out to entertain the visitors. They journeyed on to Roxburgh, Central Otago, where the local club gave them a beating and overwhelmed them with hospitality. The team afterwards took part in the Dominion Towv nament at Dunedin. The various clubs they played expressed the hope that the visitors would fenew their tour next year. The enjoyment and succoss of the trip was due to Mr. C. J. Norwood who took his motor-car so they could travel with ease and at leisure. I

Australian Items,

Victoria and Queensland chemists will contest against New South Wales at the North Sydney Bowling Club's green, Sydney, from 10th to 15th February, singles and pairs and two-rink championships. Over thirty players have been selected from the other States, and it is expected that an equal number will represent New South Wales. This tournament is played yearly.

Mr. C. Martin, formerly secretary of the Graceville Bowling Club, Brisbane, and a delegate to the Queensland Bowling Association, has recently been appointed manager of the A.M.P., Wellington. So far, Mr. Martin has not had time to make his appearanco on any of J;he Wellington greens. He will miss the "Red Bills" and "Cockatoos" matches at Gracevillo Club.

A year ago it was announced in the Australian States that the last had been seen of that great old champion, Fred. Gould, the Queenslander, who has over 20 championships to his credit. When Gould was reported' as having given up the ancient sport, though still with many years of play in front of him, there was general regret amongst bowlers everywhere. It was stated at the time that golf had attracted to its ranks the brilliant Queensland bowler, but only a couple of weeks ago, when New Farm Club won the State pennant, of Queensland, Fred Gould was one of the successful skippers of the winning club. Quito recently the champion was honoured at his club in recognition of his great service to the sport. Gould has won 21 championships. His record is three times single champion of Queensland, four times skipped the champion rink of his State, once won the Queensland pairs, nine times champion of New Farm Club, on two occasions champion of Toowoomba, once champion of South Brisb .., once ' ampion of Auchen^lower, won pairs at New Farm, and on top of this wonderful record Gould haß played in over 150 test matches. Possessed of a splendid style and a temperament unsurpassed, Gould can be classed as ono of the best play -s known to the ancient game. .. T © follow' is from Queensland: A well-known bowler visited the rooms of the Sydney official tester and while complaining about many things, ho did no forget to tell Billy Vaughan about So-and-So, who plays with woods that aro almost "straights." "How many did he beat you by" asked Billy. "What?'': said the bowler, "did yea hear about it" 'Well, didn't you just Cell me, when you complained about that fellow's straight woods?" waß Vaughan's reply. Master builders of N.S.W., Victoria, and South Australia inaugurated a fund to meet the expenses of carrying out the last bowling carnival in Melbourne, and after meeting all expenses there was £45 to spare. This amount was donated to a children's hospital and destitute children. Mr. Jas. Wall, patron of N.S.W. Bowling Association, is the donor of the fine silver cup played for annually. "I love the big drawing woods," said a skipper to his opponent, whose woods were down to the minimum draw. "So do I," said the latter, "but I abv;.y3 like to toe my oppo "v' using them, because while he is trying his hardest to guess the green I can sneak my woods up to the kitty with ease."