GOLF

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 21 May 1932, Page 8

GOLF

HAWERA CLUB THE ANDERSON CUP There was an unusual number of equal scores at the foot of the qualifying rounds for the Anderson. Cup and the fact of playing two rounds gave the ; event features that mark the championships for the season.. When the. card's were all in, it wag. found that five had to play off for the last places and this fact added much to the keenness of players. All were , anxious to, gbt into the list. The play-off, in rounds, is, also certain to sustain interest right to the end of the 'competition.. , There should be' some good cards returned before the final is completed. ... ■ ,;• .vt • HANDICAP REDUCTIONS.

> Once more a big; batch of reduced handicaps is announced and the handicapper is to be congratulated on the care and thoroughness of his work, and members, for the. capital. way in which they are responding to his appeal for. the, returns of cards. The Americans' claim that it is the “'pencil and cards” method of play which leads to improvement, and certainly there is a good • deal in it for the taking of a score' induces the utmost care, more certainly than in hole play. In the latter method, if a player finds he has lost a hole, he does not take trouble to finish, whereas if he is playing for a medal score, he is out to get the very best for each hole. The return of three cards before an alteration is • made. in a handicap, means that a player is .consistent—and consistency means much in golf. A SISTER CLUB. The newly-formed St. Andrews the Mountain Club, on Mr. John Forbes’ farm at Taurakawa, Normanby, is showing development and a desire to get the best out of the really excellent golfing country to be found on that estate. The holes are not easy and they nearly all demand an absence of “duffing” if a score is to be secured or the player to keep out of trouble. One of the long holes was played right out to the west and in the late afternoon was played right into the sun. A change is now in bourse of -.progress, which Cuts out that particular hole, playing instead over a fairly stiff hazard on to uew country on which has been a grove of karaka trees, of which only a few are left. It has necessitated crossing a stream and a bit. of swamp and the patron hais very kindly got the work done and shown once more how much he wishes to assist the club. For this the members are exceedingly graterul. The change, though fairly hard, completely cuts out the hole into the sun and lengthens the* course quite considerably.

The members are remarkably proud of the course an<l though several axe quite new to the game, all are tns “keen ais mustard.” Anxious, too, they are that rules and etiquette shall be known and followed. Arrange ments are therefore being made lor a member of the Hawera Club, who has a Tair knowledge, of both, to go out and talk to members on the tub jfcct. One'-recruit, a thorough sport, remarked “I f I .go onto a recognised course,-;! ..should probably break- every canon of Correct golf and make myself liable to a. caution and to'incur much displeasure.” In consequence, and at his requests the- little conference is to be. arranged. St, Andrews; By The Mountain, is anxious to follow in the footsteps of its great prototype, the “fons et origo” of golfing rule, law custom and' etiquette; and offend as little, as possible .against those canons of correct procedure. TOURNEY AT ELTHAM.

The institution of a Central .Taranaki Championship, notice of which, has been received from the Eltham Club, to be played on June 3, 4 and 5 on their very nice course, will be very popular with golfers all over the province <and also down the coast. PJayers from Wanganui will recall that Eltham, are and Hawera have been, of the Seafiekl Cup and will be keen to play on the links of the boilers. In addition to the excellence of the course, the members of the ciub have deservedly made a reputation for sportsmanship and are. well known for their hospitality to visitors. These factors will act as an additional pulling power for the King’s Birthday tourney*

Entries will close on May 31 and it is . certain there will be a capital response to the invitation to golfers to take -part. There will be a good list of events and the' fcuiney will make a fine outing for that week-end. KIRK-WINDEYEB CUP.

Writing of the team to go to Australia to play for the Kirk-Windeyer Cup,- the. “Referee” refers-to-them ns “a- powerful band of golf invaders” and applauds the New Zealand Council for selecting a strong, but youthful team, thus looking to the future, than to the immediate present. The Council realises that sooner or ]aJ<r the young players must be given their rightful place and have taken the earliest opportunity to give youth its chance.

The announcement of the approval of the rules for the Kirk-Windeyer G. up. contest submitted by the New Zealand Golf Association clears up several points. The ffmvrsomes and singles are to be over 36 holes, to be ■played to the thirty-sixth hole to enable holes to count in the event of a tie. The States are to plav each other to decide which State will play New Zealand; when the contest is being played in Australia as in the forthcoming instance, but when the contest is played in . New • Zealand all teams will participate in a draw for opponents. RULE! REVISION PROMISED. At long last it would appear that some effort is to he made by the Rules of Golf Committee (Royal and Ancient, St. Andrews’) to make the rules of the game easier to follow and interpret. The new rules, it is reported, will leave more to the golfers’ sense of fair play. The old rules relied largely upon decisions of the Royal and Ancient authority given in specific instances to decide ambiguous or doubtful points. . „ . . Generally, rules are infringed unintentionally. A common breach (before the rule as revised) was removing a

leaf or other substance from the line of tho putt with a club. One of the existing anomalies rests in the definition of the putting green. For example, it is stipulated that “ground within 20 yards of the flag, except hazards,” constitutes the extent of green. Greens on many courses axe twice this size, so in such cases the rule becomes farcical. Only a very dull player would need to have the putting greens defined for him considering the way they are defined by laying put and upkeep. The great majority of golfers throughout the British Empire would be sure to welcome a thorough revision of the rules in the direction of simplification and a reduction in the number of those which seem to the average player to overlap and to be more or less contradictory and confusing. The average player plays golf for recreation and the physical and mental benefit he can get out of it. Ho does not want to be constantly worried and harassed by problems which present themselves in the form of confusing rules.