GOLF.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 25 October 1924, Page 9

GOLF.

The Ladies’ Club committee must, like the Tennis Club, be in favour with the genius* who controls the weather, and who releases at will from the places where lie keeps his various types of weather. Whatever the reason, it is certain he let out only all the best and balmiest breezes, so that :he conditions ruling on the picturesque links were such as to bring out' ail who played and many others who were keen on the game or were attracted bv the glorious afternoon. Certain it is that there was' a larger attendance, j-.aba-bly than ever before at a closing day. The gay and varied costumes uf tire players and the smart , attire of the visitors generally made a pretty sight, with, the deep green of the pastures to set it off in relief. The ‘ golf s'ream” to be seen, all over the course during the round in the morning, ail'd the assemblage round the green vlier r took place the competitions, and later in the tea-room and round the go.f hi u&e during the presentation uf prizes—ail •went to make one of the pretriist and most interesting gatherings seen on the links. The men were apparently not in favour with the. same genius, for, they struck last Saturday one of the most unpleasant afternoons possible, rain falling incessantly throughout the tame during which the competition was played. Certainly there was not much vied, so that, a® the Scotch guid wife onoe said, “There is aye a somethin’.” It says much for. the enthusiasm of the au p.ayers who came down, that they went through with the match and, we feel sure, enjoyed the play. . That is the official ending of the season with both clubs. Now will commence the usual summejr golf season, and if-conditions continue as they have done in pervious years, members are in for another interesting time. It is interesting to read that G. F. Colbeck, son of that great Auckland enthusiast and player, W. B. Colbeck, was runner-up in the L Country C hampionship of New tToutli Wales, uilv two. strokes behind. The tournament, which is organised by the Country ami Suburban Golfers’ Association, has come to be regarded as the great coan:ry golfing event of the year in New "South Wales. No fewer than 84 players, includriig representatives from is far afield as: New Zealand and the Malay States, participated m the tourney, which was played on the Australian Club’s links at Kensington. The new champion, Metres, has held the title on two previous occasions. Colbeck and McLelland were only two stroles behind the winner. '

A three-hole golf course, believed to. be .the shortest in the world, has been laid out in the bed of Huntingdon Lake, a mountain resort near Frensno, U.S.A. The yardage for the miniature course is 000. Fresno golf enthusiasts summering at the lake wanted to keep up their game. They began scouting around for some way to get action. Natural greens were found in the bed of the lake, milk cans were sunk for cups and the course was ready. As. the fairwaysare sand, the players maintain it is impossible to .lose a ball on the tiny course. '

The matter of getting out professionals from the Old Country is not being lost sight of by the New Zealand Golf Council, which is awaiting replies from Colonel Roberts. It is hoped to have the new men available to start coaching at . the commencement of the next season.

Some very good golf was played in the first round of the Miramar Championship, Tucker, Conway, Duncan, Liddle and Rawson all doing rounds in the 70’s.

Have you evpr played a game until you are sick of it? When George Gadd finished his fourth round in the championship he exclaimed : ' ‘ ‘Thank goodness that’s over. I won’t hit another beastly ball for two months. lam going to play lawn tennis and enjoy myself.” He had been playing competition golf for three consecutive weeks on end, and was worn out. To play round after round with a card and pencil is a terrific strain.

A player taking part in the last three tournaments —Hamilton, Auckland, and Wanganui—has played over 40 rounds, walked over 220 miles, and has had no less than 600 drives off tees at holes measuring over 200 yards. You must be fit to play tournament. The Masters family "was very much in evidence in Invercargill golf during a recent week (says an exchange). Young Mac. did the round at Otatara in 72, thirty-six each way; Masters senior, playing in a Medal round, ran off a seventy-eight which, since his handicap is 10, gives him a very good 68. Mrs. Masters did the round at the Park in 78. thus making a new record for the ladies. She went out in 36 —a sterling performance. Here is the score; 4,3, 4. 3,7, •4, 4, ‘3, 4, total 36. A three at Yimv Ridge esomething like a score and a splendid offset to the seven at the pines. To an out in 36 would make any good player dream happy dreams of a seventy for the round, but Boge-v triumphed this time in the second hnlf. M's. Masters took five at the nitcher and 42 for the iournev home. c; e-enfcy-oiglit, however, is mightv good going. SPRING VALE Cl.Uii. Karl.v next week (says the He a'cl) the painters and napernauger.s ill be out of the clubhouse, and there v. ill he a surprise in store for liinnv of the members they sea the finished rooms. No effort has been spared to make the new house comfortable and attractive looking. Locker loom, sitting-room, dining-room, and entrance hall have all been papered rnd

.stained, and the lesuit is a line large clubhouse worthy oi any gulf club.

j uutside on tne links tlmru has been a wonUtviui improi’ement i iaae since tuen one monui ;.io. jmvi/ tnirv'ay nas been mowed from lee to green, and beautiful lies are exueriemed throughout. Constant attention to the greens has resulted in lovely pieces of close cropped turf rolled out as smoothly and as true as a billiard table.. The work that has been done on this course in- the short spa.'e that the club has been in occupation is truly wonderful. Afte.r strolling over some of this beautiful country and enjoying the splendid view from the clubhouse, iiom which nearly all the links are visible, and in addition a fine view of Castlecliff and of the coast right down to Kapiti Island is obtained, it is smalt wonder that golf is growing so rapidly into popularity. There : s liu r'cubt that the Seafield links will soon liecome the destination of many a pu tormg party as well as the- recreation ground for* hundreds of Wanganui golfers. ‘ FAREWELL TO VISCOUNT ' JELLICOE. Very representative :pntrios, , totalling 16, from all - partekef. New. Zealand, were received golfeis' farewell to Has Excellency the Gover-nor-General, which took place on ‘he Miramar links on Thursday. It was a fitting farewell from a branch, of ‘port in which His Excellency has taken a very keen interest. STYLE OF IRON SHOT. AMERICAN V. ENGLISH. In a rather caustic article ‘ Wliat’s Wrong with our Golf •*” the British Illustrated Sketch deals somewhat unmercifully with the non-success jI English professionals against the invasion of Americans. One thing the writer says is worth comment. • inferring to the iron play; “Macdonald Smith, vho beat George Duncan in a 79-hole match, scored mostly on his iron play, for he continually played long hori shots right- up to the pin, and was generally near enough to have a good •porting chance of going down. 1 Me adds that lie secured to. have a swing longer in following the rough and more nearly approaching the style of the drive. It was & swing of ease and rhythm as distinct frqm a snappy hit. Each shot seemed, he said, to he like the drive, only shorter, as the distance was less. This sounds rather anathema' bo the modern stylist. It .will be interesting reading." Playing on the Park golf links one evening this week, Captain ' —— did the third hole in one, and the second in 76, which is only one more than the record of 75 made by the professional—Provincial paper. (This is evidently a course, as the golf architects sav, “of ’infinite possibilities.”) SOUTHWOLD FOR SUPER-GOLF. Southwold Silver challenge cup : R. 3. Last (18), 144 for 36 holes. Gold medal: E. J. White, 81 for 36 holes. —(Daily paper). Some golf ! 4f - IX AMERICA. Mr L. Bonnington j of Christchurch, who returned recently after a six months’ tour of North America, was greatly impressed with the phenomenal popularity of golf in the United States. Speaking to a Press reporter, Mr Bonnington said he visited various cities in the United States, and without exception found that golf was booming. Many of the club links were splendidly kept, and he found that in this respect they were ahead of the New Zealand links, the large revenues that the-clubs received enabling them to spend big sums of money on their upkeep.. He was informed that there was an impression that too much was being spent on pavilions, which were generally built on a lavish scale. Some of the pavilions had two dancing floors, and were so well appointed that there was a danger of the social side of the club being developed at the expense of the game itself. One feature which struck Mr Bonnington was the comparative absence of young men on the links. This puzzled him for some, time, but when he heard what the playing fees were it was clear to him that they were generally too high for the younger players. Oil exclusive links no visitors were allowed to play during week-ends, ‘‘but,” added Mi\ Bonnington, “when it became known that I was from so far afield, I was invited to play at any time.”

In different towns visited by him he met quite a number of professional golfers, who, without exception, were a prosperous lot, and good sportsmen. Mr Bonnington said it was pleasing to know that so many ex-New Zealand and Australian professionals were doing well on American links. Captain Bullock Webster, late of Auckland, put up a fine performance in winning the Californian championsip, for which a fine field was entered, and Mr Bonnington was informed that a considerable sum of money changed hands over the

result. It was said, he continued, that even Hagen could not have done better than Webster in the final round. McsEwen, late of Auckland/ was at Presedo links, San Francisco, and had made, a reputation for himself as a capable and excellent teacher. Brooks, late open champion of the Dominion, was at San Jose, and was 5 another professional who had achieved success. East, too, who toured the Dominion a few years ago with Kirkwood, was well spoken of. In order to meet, the demand for professionals, there had been a large inliux of golfers from -England, Scotland and the British Dominions. The fees charged by the professionals, he said, were such as to prove very satisfying. The sum of three dollars was usually charged for a half-hour lesson, while in the case of a professional of the calibre of Kirkwood a fee of 10 dollars was charged. A feature of golf in the States, said Mr Bonnington, was the great popularity of municipal, or, as' they were called there, public links.. A subscription of two dollars a month was charg- - ed in respect of these, pr 50 cents a round. How well they were patronised would be seen from his statement that bn one day that was brought to his attention no fewer than 700 players went round the course. The usual time to go round the' 18 holes was about two and a half hours, but with the* congestion brought about by so many players the time occupied was about five hours. : Instead of handicaps being made out on bogey in America, Mr' Bonnington learned that they were calculated frqm “par.” Par, he explained,‘ was the number of strokes in which the best man went round the links. He was impressed with the system, which, he said, was almost universally adopted in the States. In Canada, however, both systems were in use, although the tendency was to favour the “par” system, which he considered would sooner, or later be taken up in the Dominion. THE HOLE IN THE VALLEY. (London Times.) At the village in the South of England where I have lately been staying and have stayed for many and'pleasant visits before, there is a golf course. So at least, in the language of affidavits, “I am informed and believe.” It stands, in my experience, alone among golf courses in that no one ever appears to play upon it. ■ At a time when there are everywhere, ballots .and time-sheets, and people think themselves lucky if they get round under three hours, here is this highly eligible course crying out for players. I pass it on my way to,the station in the morning, and on my way back in the evening, and I have gazed at it for full half an hour at a time, while waiting in the drowsy afternoon sunshine for : a drowsy, southern train that , never comes, but all in vain. It is a peculiarly “intriguing” course because so very little of it can be seen. At one point of the road, stands a small tin hut, wearing a blank and shattered air, which I take to be the club house. Beyond it the ground rises so sharply that the view is cut off. Hopefully I pass on and turn the corner on the way up to the station, and once again a steep, green bank masks the full beauties of the course. Hero, however, I can at least see something. At the top of the bank is an oak tree, and under'it I can discern a smalL space some two or three yards square surrounded by pests and rails. This, according to the tradition of the countryside, is one of the put- „ ting greens. I have looked at it hopefully for years, but no one ever putts. I have never even heard from beyond that obscuring bank the ring of* the club 1 nor the smothered “tut- tut” of thp local curate who has missed, the globe. • ■ Sometimes I have thought that . I would put an end to, this intolerable state of suspense. I have almost made up my mind to climb the green bank by the station, even as John Ridd climbed up by Bagworthy Water into the valley of the Doones. And then I have hesitated. I Have remembered to have heard that the Doone Valley is in fact rather disillusioning; that John Ridd might have walked to it cjuite comfortably if he had been of a more pedestrian frame of mind, and that to see it is to lose the romance fori ever. If I were to.walk up that hank I might find that my course was a Sphinx without a secret; that it consisted of nothing more nor less than a flat green field, wholly devoid of incident; that the reason why nobody played there was painfully obvious. Therefore I have determined to retain my romance at any cost, and I shall continue to imagine that just out of sight there lies a deep and beautiful valley with a purling burn and the most perfect two-shot holes In the world, winding their way amid bracken and heather and bunkers of golden sand. Godlike Days of Old. Golf courses can be infinitely romantic, because great men played great matches there “in godlike days of old.” Such is St. Andrews or Hoylake. Such is the flat, green, hazardless expanse by the swift-rur.ning Tay at Perth, where once played Bob An- ' drews, the Rook. Such will always be

Blaekheath, where they now cut the holes no more and vandal football players. have trampled the sacred turf till it is no more than bare brown earth. But the courses which are romantic for their own sakes always have holes in valleys. I have only once played among the umbrella • pines of Vafescure, but I still remember one 'Valley hole there. Its number I know not, but there stood a lonely hut at one end of it, and near by stood a? shepherd leaning on his crook in *hn agreeable vacancy of inind. I have almost come to believe by this time that he was piping to his sheep, and the valley grows, for every year of my absence rom it, deeper and more secret. Among courses more widely known none can rival those of Lancashire in these thrilling valleys. Think, for example, of the sixth hole at Formby. For the first four holes we have played in the open country, but have gradually drawn, hearer to the hills. At the fifth we pitch into a punch-bowl. When we: have finished putting we riijg a bell, which is as much as to sav that f we are leaving the dull land and putt- ' ing forth on to fairy seas. And then we drive up . that wonderful gorge among the sand hills, which gradually broadens, out before us, and for the next few / holes we are passing from one enchanted valley into another. The course at Blundellsands lias something of the same quality, and mv recollections of Birkdale is that that charming course is all valleys. It is the mystery of them that makes theSn so fascinating, the feeling that we are alone and unseen, while, yet for all we know, there may be hundreds of hidden foes lurking in ambush just over the sandhills. Sandwich has much of this charm, though no all it once had. An irretrievable, Intangible something was lost to-it for ever when the old tenth green, in its cavernous hollow, was done away with. Plateaux have many good qualities, hut romance-- ; No! ■ . The finest valley holes, in the world, however, are oil a. course which has not yet been made. This is at Dyffryn, : in Wales, which is near to Harlech. There is, indeed, a bourse there, pleasant and pretty enough; hut these great and glorious* valleys of sand lie beyond, between the course and the 1 sea. Each of them is so Vast that it ' eeeihs as if it might hold half a dozen holes, and the 'valleys stretch away, ' one beyond the other, so that I have 1 never come to ah end of them. In- j deed, I like to believe that there is ) no end. Centuries hence, perhaps. ] Nature will clothe them with turf , and J then there will be such a golf course : as we of to-day have never even 1 dreamed of. <