GOLF

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 17 December 1927, Page 12

GOLF

SUMMER PLAY. Much enjoyment has been experienced by those who nave been playing summer golf, the long afternoons giving easy room for a round even alter four, and the weather has not been unduly hot. Flay was very fast at all the holes until the weather—favourable to pastures, though not for golf, unless stock is available or mowing can ho done —made two of the holes very difficult, ‘and now the second and eighteenth fairways are somewhat of a trial, and one can easily lose balls there. it certainly takes from the pleasure oi : the round to have such a condition. Could not some mowing be done round the green or where shots should land? The greens are very nice and playin® true, and there is nothing to complain of in that respect. The long grass so close to the greens, however, makes the approaching pretty tricky and detracts from the pleasure of approaching shots. The summer cup competition is at an interesting stage, the semi-finalists | having been “discovered.” and nothing now remains but three matches to complete the whole competition. Both the semi-finals should be close, and the final should be awaited with interest. Leo Quin is not amongst (lie first eight players set down as probables for the Kirk AA'indeyer Cup. But il' lie goes to Miramar in January ho may play himself into the team, if he is in his best form.

It is. after all, only natural that the golfer who is hitting a short hut straight tee shot should desire to add another few yards to the drive (says “Divot” in a southern paper). Over and over again, in trying for a longer shot, one sees young players step up to a ball, stiffen up ah the muscles, take the club back far too quickly, and make a savage lunge, at it. A hurried back-swing is a sure forerunner of ti mistimed shot. The cecret of how to get- those few extra yards lies in taking the club back with relaxed muscles. AYhen this is done the club travels back slowly and starts on the forward swing much more slowly. The extra weight is put on just before the moment of impact. Next time you are confronted with a shot which requires distance relax the muscles and swing smoothly. A representative match, perhaps unique in the history of golf in the Dominion, was played at Shirley on a recent Saturday between teams of 20 :i-sicle representing the Christchurch Club and the other clubs in North Canterbury. The Christchurch Club was regarded to have the strongest club side in New Zealand, and it proved that it was equal to the task of defeating the rest of North Canterbury combination of seven clubs. The country men finished up with seven wins to the local players’ 13 victories.

The total was conclusive evidence of the high, standard of golf played by the team at Shirley. If golfers would only play straight, the rough might be of gorse or of blackberry tor all it would matter, but very few do (says a critic). Recently a party of five went out to the Hutt" course, two of them persons who can keep straight with some degree of certainty, the others belonging to the great majority. The former lost no balls, and the others nearly a dozen between them. It was only necessary to get a few yards off the cut fairways to lose a ball in the long grass. _ (How all average players would rejoice to play up the fairway all the time, or even 75 pdr cent, of thier shots!) The nuptials of summer golf and daylight saving have been unfortunate as* regards weather (says the Wellington “Post”). There has been plenty of daylight, but little golf, owing to the unusually wet November, which has merely emphasised the time people ivould have to play golf had the evenings been fine. The frequent trains, moreover, have caused the grass to take charge of those courses where the soil is of even fairly good quality, and lost balls have been more numerous than usual

A new course, laid out bv J. A. Clements, has been formed at Russley, near Tlagley (Christchurch). The total length of the course proper, when completed, will be 6250 yards, which means that it will be of full championship length. It will consist of one hole ol 500yds, five of 400yds and over, and three short holes will be included among the remainder. The par iignres, totalling 70, have been decided on and will be very difficult indeed. Talking of the drive of a, leading Australian player a Melbourne critic says of liis shot: “But he goes back very slowly, and ensures a followthrough by slinging his club-head at a distant tree or cliimney-pot or any other landmark that happens to lie on the intended line of flight of the ball.” Though a great golfer—on his day possibly the greatest in England— Archie Campston, the Wolverhampton giant, had met with little success in the leading professional tournaments this season,- but he came with a burst recently to overwhelm James Braid on the veteran’s home course at Walton Heath in the final of the £IO4O tournament. Braid went under by 8 and 7, i hut he was beaten with honour. It was a great feat at the age of 57 to; reach the final round, hut his task was j hopeless, for Compston played superb | golf throughout, making light of the | adverse weather conditions under J which the match was played. Charles ! Whit-combe, the season’s most success- J ful golfer, also went under to the all- I conquering Compston. I Giving an opinion of the “tee,” | Harry Vardon says: “In the first 1 place I take it that the reader remembers that a, low tee pays in the end, because it is good training for the more numerous shots that have to he played from the turf. At any rate, it saves him from developing the pampered condition of mind in which lie always expects his ball to be perched

up high, and is shocked and disposed to exaggerate the difficulties when he finds it nestling a little closer than usual to the turf. You want a tiny pinch of sand or a deeply embedded wooden peg for a tee. A high tee is a delusion and a snare. Abe Mitchell has lately resorted to a small pinch of sand instead of a peg, so as to ensure a low tee. A handful of sand is bad. The sight of it jutting out below the ball on all sides, as though the latter were a kind of ornamental headpiece to a miniature hill distracts attention . ’ ’

Some discussion has raged round the question of the number of clubs to be carried, some good players, mostly professionals, urging that clubs should be carried “for every emergency.”

And these professionals themselves carry up to sixteen. But the consensus of opinion was in favour of a moderate number, five or six, for the average player who has not time to become used to so many.

A father had promised to spend a spare morning teaching liis youngest daughter tile rudiments of golf. When the ball was teed-up and the instruction was about to begin, the girl said suddenly: “Just a moment, daddy; I want to understand this before we commence. Must I swear if I miss?”