CRAWFORD CRESCENT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 78, 29 September 1938, Page 26

CRAWFORD CRESCENT

HUFFS SAFE WIN

FORM OF HORNE AND BLACK

With- the beautiful weather prevailing last Saturday and the Hutt links in particularly good order, it was anticipated that some exceptional golf would be provided in the match between Hutt and Miramar, for the Crawford Crescent,. but it was not to be, as far as the leading players were concerned at any rate. Guy Home (Hutt) played H. A. Black, and G. P. Roberts . (Hutt) met K. Jeffery, and the four went around together, but apart from Black's last nine holes, when he carded a 37, the golf was not up to the standard that should be expected from players around and on a scratch; handicap. Home and Black, the respective No. 1 men, had an interesting tussle which ended in Home securing a 1 up win, but the golf, with the possible exception of Black's homeward journey, was not up to standard. Home was steady throughout, and apart from occasional approach shots, accurate, but the match lacked any excitement as far as stroke-making was concerned. No phenomenal putts were sunk, no approaches looked like going down, and no stymies were deftly negotiated with niblick shots, although Black, when half-stymied, holed a couple, of tricky putts. ' . Black,, in the second nine holes, showed occasional glimpses of the form that enabled him to win the New Zealand amateur championship a few years ag(|, and, curiously enough, the best shots he made were recovery strokes. He drove well throughout the game, but lack of accuracy in some of his brassey seconds and approach shots on the outward journey allowed Home, who was obviously not satisfied with his own play, to lead 3 up at the turn. Black, although he did not turn on apy fireworks in the home stretch, gradually reduced Home's lead to 1 up at the seventeenth, and the eighteenth, which Black needed to win to square the match, .was played exceedingly carefully by both. There, was little between the drives, but Home, taking an iron for'greater accuracy, was short of the green but dead straight with his second. Black with a magnificent iron second ended nine feet or so from the pin. The result of the match depended on Home's approach, , and with a carefully-played, run-up shot, he ended up in a handy putting position. He holed the putt for a 4, and-took thei match 1 up, when Black failed to sinkhis putt. -.-■■-• ; As was mentioned previously, -Blacic,s inaccuracy on the outward jouraey-ebst him the'match. Heifound.the bunkers frequently, was off the line, at^everal holes, and,, in addition,, he eould ; riot accustom'himself to the pace of the greens. As a matter of fact, considering the links were almost under water a few weeks ago, the greens were exceptionally fast, and it was not only the visiting team that was worried. Home and Black halved the first in steady 4's, but-Black's balj ended up in a clump of trees to the left of the fairway from his drive at the long secdnd. He had to concede a stroke to lift. from-..the bushes and an unfortunate 6 was. oh his-card. Home scored a sound 5 "and stood 1 up. His lead was increased to 2up at the third where he scored a neat 3 to Black's 4. Black's second 6 was carded at the fourth-hole. His drive ended up in rather unpleasant country to the right of the fairway and his recovery shot—a high mashie-niblick effort—ended on the back edge of a bunker-to the left of the green. It was an almost impossible lie and his •third scuttled over the green and ended up ih the opposite bunker. Home, meanwhile, plodded, steadily on and his 5 put him 3 up after four holes. At the fifth Black had a great chance to win a hole back but a half was his penalty for three-putting. Home scored his first 6 and Black his third 6 ctf that hole. The sixth was won by Home in 4 to Black's 5 and he moved to-4 up. Black,.: however, .at last showed definite signs of improvement. He won the seventh in 4 and the eighth and ninth were both halved in 4's, Home turning for home 3 up. The detailed scores for the first nine holes were as follows:— Home: :453564544—40. ~. Slack: 464665444—43.

Black won the tenth in 4, but Home returned: to, his 3 up lead when he took the eleventh in 3 to-4. The ! twelfth - and thirteenth were pseductive of sound golf and were halved in useful figures, but Black took the fifteenth in 4 to 5, making the state of the game more interesting. The fifteenth and sixteenth were also halved in good figures, but Black, winning the seventeenth in 4 to 5, allowed Home to go to the last tee in the none, too secure .position of being dormy 1. Howeyer, the Hutt man was equal to the occasion, and he halved the last hole to clinch the match. The scores for the last nine, in which Black had the edge on his opponent, were as follows:— Home: 535455354—39. Black: 445445344—37. JEFFERY AND ROBERTS. Jeffery started off in grand style against Roberts, and for the first three holes, at least, it looked as if he might produce his form of a few weeks ago, when he scored a phenomenal 66 at the Miramar links. He did the first in 3 to Roberts's 5 and won the second in 4 to 5. Actually he took j threes strokes for the long second but he had to concede a penalty j when he lifted from some bushes foi- j lowing his drive. His clinking brassie second ended a foot or two from the pin and Roberts, who was off the line, had no chance, and went to the third tee 2 down. The third was halved in 4's, but Jeffery had a. bad spasm for the remainder of the outward journey, and Roberts, although he was not particularly impressive on the day, apart from his driving, managed to turn for home 1 up. Jeffery struck form for a spell and recorded three consecutive 4's against Roberts's 5, 3, j5, to be all square at the end of the twelfth. The thirteenth. was halved in 5, but Jeffery struck trouble at the fourteenth and took 6 to his opponent's 4. Roberts went to a 2 up lead at the fifteenth, after Jeffery had picked up following the departure of two of his balls into "tiger country." The sixteenth was halved in excellent 3's and Roberts was dormy 2: A half in 5 at the seventeenth gave him the match 2 and 1.