TITIRANGI

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 80, 2 October 1933, Page 11

TITIRANGI

HAZARDS AND CARRIES

CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE

HOLES DESCRIBED

(Special to the "Evening Post.") AUCKLAND, October 1. Competitors iv this year's New Zealand golf championships at Titirangi will bo confronted with something different, if not more difficult, than has been the case in'the past few years. Laid out by Dr. Alister Mackenzie, the eminent British architect, the course is xich in holes at which "routing,"'or the placing of one's shots, if not entirely lieeossary," is always. desirable. Its ter-i-ain, while providing distimct variation fpr play, is fairly gentle in its undulations, but winding through the latter half of the course is the Whau stream, which is crossed and rccrossed in play on some five, occasions. This stroam, gulleys in front of a number of the teos, and tiie rough which 'grows in them, and the. bushy country which borders several of the fairways, are hazards in which players who visit them will encounter serious difficulties, and they are factors which, can 'provide disastrous holes in medal rounds. Primarily, the'course calls for length and accuracy, from the tees, and as the greens are. not heavily bunkered, a feature 'which characterises the Auckland "Golf Club's course, where the championships have been played previously in Auckland, good driving pavos the way for a first-class round, while weak shots from the teo spell serious trouble. A particularly aptly named hole, "Temptation," is one where accuracy of the tee shot is essential, and typical hole to. tempt the long hittor. Hero in driving across a down stream one bites off as much as one dares. A long toe shot which carries the edge of the tea-tree ensures a masKio second to the'green,, while a less ambitious drive, though safer, leaves a much longer second. Situated well above sea level at the foot..of the Waitakere Banges, the course is exposed to winds from all quarters, and should anything above a normal breeze prevail then the natural difficulties of the course are increased. HAZARDS AT FIBST FEW HOLES. The opening,hole is a drive and a znashie, and though perhaps deficient in yardage is rendered difficult enough by the deep gully to be crossed some 100 yards from the tee. A face bunker in the fairway and an out-of-bounds fence close on the right, for which the penalty is stroke and distance, gives spice to the hoje. Ordinary golf, however, should ensure the 4. Tho next hole, of 377 yards, is more or less straight going, though.a. slice is harshly dealt with in the-gully, while a road which runs through tho^course can play havoc with. a loosely-hit second. Tho motto is to bo up with a full second shot. The third is a pretty examplo of routing and is a hole which whets the tippetite.. The tee is" tucked in .near a fence to the right, and the drive muat practically carry over a jutting out-of-bounds area if *the green is to bo open for tho second. A splendidly-placed cross bunker means that the line of the drive must be between it or out of bounds if a- clear green is sought. Stretching far to the left, the bunker exerts a big influence on a pulled teo shot, while the^ barrage of trouble to the left and ieft front'of the green calls for a. courageous second should the correct lino!not be taken from the tee. The lehglh'of the holo varies greatly according to the direction and force ( of tho wind, but'in any circumstances two well-directed shots' are called for. ;ii Next comes .the first of the three onpshot holes, all bogey 3. Its clistance of 155 yards usually requires a full mashie. The tee' is on an eminence and tho green well bunkered. Here one is generally satisfied: with'a 3. Number sis "Long-fellow*," as long as his uamo implies, and for hitting distance has much in common with tho,old ''Long Tom" of Wanganui. The green is skilfully laid out, and one loose shot means a struggle for the 5. , A very distinct dogleg'greets the player at the sixth, but there is an abundance of latitude, and the 4 is always on the cards. No. 7 is a one-shot hole of 170 yards, gunk into the hillside with the green in three tiers. A good tee shot means an easy 3, a poor otic a 5. No. 8 measures 308 yards,, and is tricky more than difficult. The deception lies'in an innocuous-looking, bunker flanking 'the Tight approach to the raised green, ■which latter usually proves about 20 yards further away than it appears. Tho last of the holeson the outward journey 5s a true dog-leg, where the drivo must ■Jjc placed far to the left if the green is 'io be opened up. The whole right sido of the!green is flanked-with bunkers, but beyond a .mounding the, loft is unprotected. All hinges on.the.placing of the shots, and in general-tho 4 is'well-' earned, as for most playc'rs tho hole .calls for two good woods. . THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY. The "Turn", is a full-blooded.-.-. twofehotter of just over:4oo yards into-the prevailing wind, and is a hole at which it were better to be ignorant of the in tlie gnlly which, awaits a pulled second. The green is moulded 3n an eminence, being receptive to the shot and is picturesquely' set. It is a good 4. The eleventh hole, "Redan," was, as its name implies; inspired by the famous North Berwick eleventh, p-nd altors,,according to tho wind." On a plateau. IB! yards distant the shot to it varies, but a spoon will more often than not be brought into play. One of the most beautiful holes on Iho course, the twelfth, runs back into the .direction of Titirangi, from which fit derives its ' name. • A hole of splendid Jutting distance of 476 yards, soino of the long drivers will find it. within jlistance of two shots. T\vb splondidly placed fairway bunkers dictate the line of the drive, after which, if one juggles with fate, the carry to the green may 'Ijc attempted or a shot played for position to open up the approach. Either is fraught with difficulty, as tho fairway— :tiarrow enough—is bordered with teatree. ' 'WRECKER WELL NAMED. Then comes the dreaded "Wrecker." In some eases two good woods will sometimes reach tho green, especially if there.be a following wind, a southerly. The drive has to carry the Whau Stream and is to some extent blind. A liigh pine tree on the left bank of the stream is the sentinel for that side. To play much to tho right of the pine is to court disaster with an out-of-bounds fence, so that a drive straight down the middle is necessary. Were a northerly to prevail for the championship, any shot with a suggestion of a slice would fina the road, and since the left side of the fairway cunno; bo risked the terrors of this holo^cau bo appreciated. A second gully in the middlo of the fairway and tho hazard to the left are at least live factors which make a truly great hole, something which imparts the sensationalism of an Edgar Wallace, from which its title sprang. The third one-shot hole follows, arid is a welcome contrast to the previous hole. Provided the tee shot is up, the 3 should not present any difficulty. 'For tlio champions it is a* .sitting 3. THE FINAL STAGES. "Temptation" has been described at the opening. The sixteenth bids fare? u-cli to the Whau Stream, which has WLOrtcd a large influence on play from

the tenth onwards. Following a drive across stream, tho chief factor hero is the stopping of tho second shot on the terraced green without running through on to the" road back of tho green. Tho gully in front of the green is usually the grave of prospective 3's and 4's. No. 17 runs along a broad highway, the holo being so named, and it requires two fine woods to reach the green,. There is trouble iv the rough about the green, as well as bunkers, and the hole is quite a good 5. The eighteenth is usually a drive and a mashie to a threo-tier green, and though short and possibly wonk as a finishing hole is heavily guarded at its letf t approach.' Tho toe shot needs to be far to tlw right to open up the green, whose tiers present most of the difficulty; A raking second may result in a .">, a weak one iv a 5.

And so we leave Titirangi course, rich in the qualities essential for ■ championship test.