GOLF

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 92, 20 April 1939, Page 22

GOLF

LADIES' TOURNEY

LEADING PLAYERS BEATEN

SOME SURPRISES

It is not unusual tor recognised leading golfers in the country to have their colours lowered at the New Zealand Ladies' Union annual foursomes championships, and this was illustrated after the first day's play at the Hutt Club's course on Tuesday.

In the first place there is a handicap system, whereby the pair on the higher combined handicaps get, in strokes, three-eighths of the difference between their combined handicaps and the combined handicaps of their opponents. But there are more reasons for the surprising defeats than the handicap concessions. Individually, the top-notch players are excellent, but when it comes to playing with opponents, their play seems to drop away in a remarkable fashion. The underlying cause is the fear of letting their partners down, and there is a tightening up in their play, which is not apparent when they are playing on their own. NEW ZEALAND'S BEST. New Zealand's best players were at the tournament. Miss Joan Horwell (Timaru), a member of the last New Zealand Tasman Cup side, Miss S. Collins (Wellington), holder of the New Zealand ladies' championship, Miss Valmai Fleming (Christchurch), four times winner of the Canterbury ladies' championship, winner of the Otago championship, and Tasman Cup representative, Miss White-Parsons, former New Zealand champion, Miss M. 111----ston, who participated in the Australian championships last year, Mrs. G. Hollis (formerly Miss Oliver Kay), three times winner of the New Zealand ladies' title and twice winner of the Australian ladies' title, Mrs. D. A. Crombie, a Tasman Cup representative, and Miss Helen Buchanan. Miss White-Parsons was the only one of these players who figured in a winning combination on the first day. She was partnered by Mrs. Lewis, and they beat Mrs. Evers Swindell and Mrs. Fraser fairly comfortably. Much of the interest in the tournament was aroused by the reappearance of Mrs. Hollis, after a year or so of inactivity in championship golf. On paper she and Miss Illston appeared to have a great chance of winning the 1939 title, but calculations were upset when Mrs. Whatley started to sink phenomenal putts, so that she and her partner completed their homeward journey in 37. The final result was 3 and 1. Naturally, speculation was rife as to the reasons for this rather surprising defeat, but Mrs. Hollis said that she and her partner had no excuses to make; the other pair had turned on fireworks on the homeward journey and they simply couldn't cope with it. On reaching the clubhouse the winning pair sportingly tried to make all Sorts of excuses for their opponents. "Mrs. Hollis played some lovely shots," said Mrs. Whatley, when discussing the round, "but the ball invariably hit something and kicked right away into bunkers and things." And so on. It was Only after a good deal of questioning that. Mrs. Whatley confessed that she had been trying to putt well all her life, and that she had just come off on that particular morning. "Just come off" was putting things very mildly. Mrs. Whatley would hit the ball on the green and the next thing it would be in the hole. FAILED ON APPROACHES. Mrs. Hall-Jones and Miss M. McCallum, both from Invercargill, put finis to the chances of another well-fancied pair, Miss Collins and Miss Horwell, by running out winners by 2 and 1. The latter pair were erratic at times, but quoting Miss Horwell, "we failed on the approaches to the green." Miss Griffen and Mrs. Monkman, of the Hutt Club, who won the title on the Hokowhitu links, Palmerston North, last year, completed the defeat of the favoured combinations by ending 2 up with 1 to play on Miss Fleming and Miss Buchanan. The winners received four strokes from their opponents, and this was the decisive factor. Miss Griffen had some trouble in picking the ball off the sun-burnt fairway with her brassey, but otherwise was sound. Her partner's experience was valuable. But Miss Fleming, fresh from her wins in the Canterbury and Otago provincial championships, was not in form; nor was Miss Buchanan. It was anticipated that both the Christchurch players would be staying till next week for the Hutt ladies' annual tournament, but unfortunately they do not find this convenient. Mrs. Hollis is another whose attendance at the Hutt tournament is doubtful. A KEEN INTEREST. Mrs. Guy Williams was at the links. As one of the finest lady players produced in this country, she takes the keenest interest in the younger players. A suggestion here and a word of encouragemnt there are typical of Mrs. Williams.

It would not be out of place to mention, the excellent organisation of the tournament. Everything went off smoothly; there were no hitches; and the efforts of Mrs. J. H. "Wagg, secretary of the Hutt Ladies' Club, and a small band of assistants, were most praiseworthy. Norman Smith, the energetic secretary of the men's club at the Hutt, acted as starter.

The links played well, though the fairways were astonishingly fast and very dry. A cold spell followed by some heavy rain will make a lot of mud, for there is very little grass on places in the fairway. The greens, however, are beautifully green and level.