GOLF.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 30 March 1929, Page 13

GOLF.

THE HAWERA CLUB SEASON UNDER WAY. GOOD CONDITIONS TO It PLAY. The 1929 season lias now; been set irmly on its way and bids fair to. be me of the the best in the history of the lub. The course, has never been in bet- [ er order, the tees are -better generally ban last year, and the greens, are apidly improving -and with more rain -vill stea-d-ly improve still more. The airways are also quickly improving and fiould never get away, now that the newer is available and proving itself a;ood machine. The opening day of the men's cii:b vas a- pronounced success. There was u good attendance despite the hot weaker experienced. There have been a satisfactory number of new members, 10th of ladies and of men. The arangeinents for the professional ;o be located in Haw.era and to travel round to the other South Taranaki Clubs has been taken up with enthusiast' by the various clubs. He is a good dub maker and efficient coach and lias j proved very popular. j EASTER. TOURNEY. Easter tourneys are being played all over the Dominion. One of the most popular is at New; Plymouth, where is held annually a fixture which attracts golfer,s from many parts. Besides the 1 contingent from Taranaki clubs, there will be a number from Wanganui, Hawke’s Bay, Auckland, and other centres. H. P. Dale, of Bltham, is the present holder of the championship and he will be out to defend his title against all comers. He is playing particularly well j just now. He has shown here and at Balmacew-an that he possesses the right golfing temperament. He is not disturbed by the quality of the opposition, but rather plays- his best- when he is “up against it,” and therefore contenders for his title will have to be in their best form, to have a chance of beating him. , , The prospects are that the standard generally will be high. GENER AL COMENT. On Friday last Mrs Dodgsliun established a- new record for ladies at Balmaoewen with a -splendid round of 76. Her figures for the round were as .follow : —- Out— 4, 53, 4. 5,4, 5. 4,4—2 S; In.—3, 6,6, 5,3, 5,4, 3, 4—38. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club has j been invited to send a- team to Ausj tralia, to visit the different, States, about, the end of the present year. It this invitation is accepted (and it is probable that it will be) funds will be needed for entertaining the visitors. A special meeting of the Association has been called for April 20 to put the whole matter into proper constitutional foim. A remarkable round w r as put up atMoore Park, Sydney, last week by a voting local player, who made outstanding progress during the past year or so and is now rated plus one. He did a 62, being 5 up on bogey. In the British open championship, won by the famous American, Bobbie Jones, it is recorded that he averaged no less than 276 yards from the tee in liis seventy-two drives. A thoughtful act on the part of tne Otago Golf Club is) recorded', by the “Times ” In order to see that players from; the St. Clair Club who intend to compete in the Easter tournament at Bal mace wen filial! Slave ampl<| opportunity of gaining some knowledge of the links for this occasion.the Otago club has declared that- the Balmacewen links shall be open to- St. Clair playei s for a week.

me cmris leu urea unit tuub opens tne season witn a strong nst or low jhuiu»eap prayers, mere are mi. tewer man niAtypsnq whose nanuicaps are i> or under, matte up as loilow : xtiree plus men, seven .scratch, seven J. mark, si a 2 marks, live 3 marks, twelve ti marks, it is questionable it any x\ew Zealand cnibi is as strong. Members or tne .i'overty Jia-y (101 l Club tire looking l'orward to tile open mg or live links (.says tne ‘‘iierald ';, wnicn tlie committee ,hopes. to be m a position to announce iu time tor an

liars tor tournament, the ollicial opening ni tne season is nut u> lake place until Alarch K 5, but as usual tins event will be anticipated by tiie Ji'aster fixture.

Tiie vagaries of golf, the most unce±tain of au games, were well illustrated m the Dominion and m trie Commonwealth lately, fciioan Morpeth won the open championship of New Zealand ai Jjalinacewait and returned to Auckland to compete ill ilia club’s cliampiousinp. tie wa« well and truly beaten by a player whose name is not known to oneplayer in every hundred in New Zealand. Ten. Nettle told, the brilliant ileft-diander, won 'the amateur championship of Australia at Hose Bay (.Sydney) a few weeks ago in a distinguished held, in the championship ot nis. own State, Tasmania, he went under to a comparatively unknown opponent. And it was not by a chance, either —he was beaten all the way. The British amateur championship begins on May 27 at Sandwich, on the lioyal St. George’s course, where, last I May, the open championship was play- j ■ed. New Zealand will be represented in the amateur event by L. M. Campbell, present holder of the Christchurch Club I championship. South Africa will have two* representatives at Sandwich, uameiy T. G. McLelland and W. S. Bryant, I I South African amateur champion oi | 1925 and of 1926 respectively. In 1457, so it is recorded, golf was so popular in Scotland as to* interfere seriously with national military training. The Scottish Parliament issued a decree* in that year to the effect tlia^ ‘‘archerv practice be lielde four tunes yearlie, and that the futebaU and golfe be utterly cryit- doun.” Again, in 1491, the game was rapidly gaining ground, * judging by tlie* edict of .1 nines IN ~ foi,bidding the playing on Sunday of ‘‘hrfce- ' ball, golfe, or uther sic unprohtable sportis” in all parts of Scotland. Few people playing a foursome in golf, probably recall that the first tomj some on record was between the Duke [of York, afterwards James IT., and a noted player of Scotland and two Fugllish noblemen, who issued a challenge \ for a. large stake. The* Duke s partner ! practically Avon the match and °* liis share of the stake built himself a. nice little house. “Watching the ball is a. good motto, but it is pointed out bv an expert that the player needs to “keep his eye on the centre of the back of the ball. There is not much between the two .spots, but that little makes all the dilforonct. You can pick up the ball for all sorts of purpose, says Tarry Vardon, wntiim on “changing conditions —to identify it„ to place it clear of casual water to lift it from an unplayable lie. and what not. Once upon a tune such license would have appalled the golfei. But this is a. tvondrously changed world. Inexperienced players- near a great, deal about the necessity for keeping their eves on hall, for keeping the head steady, and for following through. Those are all good and even essential imes, but they may bo rendered entirely ineffective bv failure to carry the club hack slowly: and deliberately for the

shot from the toe. It is in the order of > things that if the back-swing is too fast the downward swing) will be equally fast, if not faster. There is no doubt that most players, when off their game, could recover it quickly if ' someone would advise them to “go- back much slower.” The hurrying or the swing undoubtedly helps to cause the player to swing off liis balance and consequently to- take his eye off the ball. “Golf, that- select pastime or profession, known sometimes by the barbarous names of “golf”, or “gowfr”—“a kind of Scotch croquet,” as one English humorist of the eighteenth century unkindly called'it —is- a- peculiar mode of recreation invented originally by the Dutch, who played it for centuries in primitive form before it was taken to the bosom of the Scottish race in early times and established as a national institution in that famous country north of the 'Tweed which gave whisky, porridge, Burns, and Harry Lauder to the world (writes Alan Fraser, in the New Zealand “Herald”). He adds- in whimisical vein, that, “some of its more ardent devotees or fanatics, indeed, embrace it with fervour as a kind of supplementary religion, subjecting thomi selves to "a long, stern novitiate or ' period of preparation in its mysteries before giving up the remainder of their lives and incomes to its practice.”