GOLF NOTES

Evening Star, Issue 21315, 20 January 1933, Page 5

GOLF NOTES

[By Sura.]

Last week-end; was a moat remarkable one at Sf. Clair, in that two players holed their tee shots on the Saturday afternoon. A. Watt directed his tee shot - into the hole at Mukden, the short 'seventeenth, but Bush, a visitor Auckland, had—so reports state—the satisfaction ofsinking his tee shot at'porridge Pot under highly remunerative conditions. - A scramble was, played by sixiplavers, and not only" birdies ” ' and “eagles” catered,for, but “puka- ■ kis;” as well—-[“ Slice would like to know why golf .nomenclature has borrowed so extensively, from the feathered tribe]-"© there >ere six cogent reasons why thb usual 'amenities were observed. ' After, returning two good qualifying rounds >in the Mirainar championship, 'B&M. Silk, the Wanganui club champion, wte ; beaten in the first round of the match series by L. ,D. Hurst,; of the Mirainar Club.:) Silk then played, in a different'event in the afternoon, and . returned;a;card .which read:. - , : Outr.4, 3,4, 2,3, 3,4, 4, 3-30 ln: 4,4, 3, : 4, •4, ~4, 4,4, 4—35 ' • ' 65 effort, which, however, cannot 'be ■ recognised' as a course record, aa.'tbis' score was compiled in a bogey competition. vA- northern ■ exchange states i “ Some golfers imagine they have secured a ‘birdie ’ when a hole is done in jope, less than .the scratch score, and w]iete the scratch or bogey, figure equals . tpe .par toe, contention is correct. In America; the origin of the expression, it is ' used where - a hole." is secured in one stroke less Than' the par figure, and .an ‘■‘eagle ’ represents two strokes less thin par, while an * albatross ’—a rare;feat—-is secured' where the player completes a hole; in three less than par. A local golfer recently returned a score of '72 (pkr,7o),:'apd,imagined that ho had secured seven ‘ birdies ’ when describing the round afterwards, wheteas’ in reality he had probably obtained >toe'majority of the‘ imaginary birdies at holes in which the scratch figures exceeded the pair. Golf courses and golf have generally beoofne too easy largely owing to the length of modern bkUs'i and the use of matched sets* of •teel-shafted clubs, is the opinion of some; critics,- who that most cbtttms; now heed' designing in ! order tnhieet.the altered conditions. J. R. Quarton, a noted Australian playerwriter, discussing this topic, in a rec«ntly,published article, says: ‘The great distance obtained from the tee with ; the'modern- ball is largely responsible’for r tne. low scores in modern-day golf.’ . : “Steel-shafted clubs also play their part in the craze for hitting a long ball,-and theee factors lend to minimise the true value of straight hitting. To ba able; to; steer the ball straight down the centre of the fairway, especially inydrivihg, used to be considered a car- ; dihal ! virtue, but nowadays it lacks much, of the appreciation its skilfulness deserves. _ The increased width of the fmrway .also, invites players, to go for distance from the tee,' for they know that uiilißSS the shot is very badly out of direction it will, still’finish somewhere on the--specially prepared area. The test of having to drive on to a ‘ carpet ’ measuring to 70yds wide is not a/vefy-severe-one. .Yet the modern player who.can do this is considered a straight driver. Everyone will agree that; long driving provides a thrill, but the ball that deviates scarcely a foot ffom'the line is’the "most satisfactory sight‘that the'game “provides. It .means perfection of timing, the co-ordination of:many movements that go to -complete, the swing, and marks the player to- be a finishm golfer. The increased width- : of the fairway is the cause of much _ erratic , driving,, and now that many' cross , bunkers .have. been, done away .with ‘there, is little incentive to concentrate jon straight hitting. “.With narrower fairways and the rough: on either side allowed to grow to a .length that .would provide a just penalty, this / craze for ; length would lose itkattractiveness and act as a sober- , ihg influence on those .so affected. Gross - bunkers, especially those on -the fairway,. are looked upon as out of .but.l uphold the utility of these traps-in the cause of straight -driving. In England and America, golf .;, architecture is undergomg: ?a 'change. in favour of * target goTf,’,,that is to say, the player must map but his course to the : hole and place his shots accordingly. Where the fairway, is i strewn with bunkers the player . is ! forced to pick - his way from tele *:to-toe j making the game more interesting- and skilful. . . . Poor old ■ ‘ Colonel, Bogey ’ has been having ■tich'a bad .time, especially from long markers,- and the . only • way to. keep . bogey in the came seems to be by lightening up the conditions. Also, if this were done, it would bring about a decided improvement in the standard of bui; players. ■,, Many of our beginners proclaim that, the present conditions .ate too-exacting, but they should remember •that'it is because of the fact tjhey they are-poor players that they receive‘such,tremendous handicaps. ’’ 'These remarks’ apply particularly to St, Clair, where, one .can almost , invariably ’.hit; one’s toe shots. “ high, wide, and. handsome ” and still be at no-disadvantage ,to the more correct and better golfer. ■ A; paragraph from the decisions by the. Rules of Golf Committee reads: — “Suhdridge - Park ' Golf Club.—Hummocks, .groups of hummocks, and grass bunkers-have -,.been artificially • formed oh- thi*' bourse.'■ May the club be grounded on these hummocks and' in the grass bunkers ? r “ Answer:; A '‘‘.bunker-’ is a- depres-sjon-.m. the ‘..ground where the natural f round is exposed and sometimes toprested with softer soil or sand. It is . the duty .of the authorities in charge of the. golf course to define its hazards hyJocaTrule. In, the absence of a local rule, ■ defining, these . hummocks and , grassy depressions as hazards, the club may v be grounded provided rule 15 is not.dnfringed.” ■