GOLF

Evening Star, Issue 20989, 31 December 1931, Page 4

GOLF

[By Slici.]

The St. Clair Club is to he congratulated on the excellent condition of the course for the tournament commencing to-morrow. It is safe to say that it has never been in better order; the fairways have a good thick thatch of grass and brassy shots can be played with as much freedom as those off the tee, while the greens are playing wonderfully true. There is no doubt that the recent heavy rains have been most invaluable, but that .does not minimise the fact that a great deal of painstaking work has been put in by Mr Alloni and his staff. Further, the heavy rain has slowed the course a little, and generally the effect will be to. give greater control, which is so hard to maintain under summer conditions. St. Clair players are, or should be,sufficiently conversant with their own links, hut for the benefit of the visiting competitors, of whom there are many, a short resume of the course should be of assistance. No, 1, Rushes (363yds).—The drive represents no difficulty, and a good shot will leave a short to medium mashie to the green. Great cars should be taken not to he too strong, as there is a downward slope to the green. No. 2, Terrace.—This is an easy No; 3 of 132yds, and with the green below, the level of the tee, great difficulty, will be experienced in dry weather in staying on, and should the course bs fast, a pitch will nearly always bounce through. A low, fairly hard shot into the dip before the green would then pay best here. No. 3, Centre (450yds)The long player will benefit here, as two good woods will find him nicely .on the green. ’Ware traps on each side of green. Standard scratch is, of course, 5. No. 4, Dip (407yds) .—This is a bogey 5, but a good drive will permit of an easy spoon to the green. Players must keep up a little, as the ground tends towards out of bounds and trouble. No. 6, Pines, (319yds).—Trouble awaits a miss-hit tee shot, but a full slam may (and may not) reach the green. The second to the green is rather a ticklish shot, and, generally, only needs to be landed halfway down the hill to the green. Should the ground be at all other than dry, a full pitch, or nearly so, is necessary. No. 6, Stile (253yds).—Many a card has been ruined at this hole, but a straight drive up the slope makes the rest easy. Remember, the approach,' unless admirably controlled, should be to the right, so as to follow the slope and finish near the pin. A moderately good “ straight ” shot may conceivably finish out of bounds;

No. 7, Cliffs (286yds).—This is an easy 4, and the tee shot _has any, amount of latitude to the right only. A long ball may finish in the bunker guarding the green, and in any case will give no great advantage. No. 8, Spion Kop.,—This hole, 352yd5,calls for an accurate second, and is a nice bogey 4. Four out of five approaches finish short to the right, and the consequent downward approach is the hardest shot to play so as to die out over the edge of the smooth green. No. 9, Porridge Pot (148yds).—An easy No. 3, landing between the ridge and the top edge of the green, solves this hole, but it is not an easy 3. No. 10.—M'Gregor’s.—This hole is another opportunity to the long hitter, and a mashie may even find him on the green. One should snatch a stroke on bogey here. No. 11, Creek (298yds) .—The average drive, over a bunker, leaves one with a narrow ridge to land on and “ stay on.” To run through the green is fatal, and a low pitch to the slop® just short of the green will finish nicely. The writer may be wrong, but a high pitch here may either bounce dead, jump right through, or even trickle back, and the low pitch, once it is learnt, is much more easily controlled. No. 12, Promontory (455yd5.) A' fairly low drive to the left edge of the fairway has an excellent chance ofi taking one within striking distance of the green. All carry is demanded, however, and few players ever make it. An easy 5. No. 13, Old Nick (316yds.) A very, tricky hole. It is much easier if one plays the tee shot to the right, as the approach to a green situated on a hard slope, may be better gauged and controlled. Difficult green to putt on. No. 14,*Sea View (324yd5.) A nice 4, and the second may be played high and full.' ' No. 15, Stocks (198yds.) Should be a certain 3 in fine weather—practically all carry. No. 16, Boundary. Anything off the straight from the tee is heavily penalised. A mashie second will find one on. No. 17, Mukden (93yds.) In dry weather, best to play just short of. green to make sure of a 3. The wind means a lot here. No. 18, Home (398yds.) This is a good hole, and the second shot demands direction, the nature of the shot depending on the length of the tee shot.Everything points to a most enjoyable tournament and there is no doubt that, given average conditions for this time of the year, a new low mark will be set for a local championship, and several players should break 70 in one of their two qualifying rounds. One St. Clair player, on 6, had a 70 gross just recently, despite a 6 at the eighteenth, and as there are about fourteen competitors on 6 or better, some fireworks should be the result.

It is to be hoped that the Bobby Jones series of ‘ How I play Golf *i will shortly arrive in Dunedin. These pictures are understood to be most delightful and instructive, and each one is wrapped round with a human interest story. A men’s foursome, for example, is arguing the point, when someone comes along with Bobby Jones and introduces him. In a few seconds Bobby settles the argument and then demonstrates the shot. The whole thing is made wonderfully clear. For the few weeks which it took Jones to make his pictures, he received the colossal sura of £IOO,OOO, an almost unbelievable amount.