AROUND THE LINKS

Hawera Star, Volume LIII, 26 August 1933, Page 8

AROUND THE LINKS

SOUTH TARANAKI CLUBS INTER-CLUB CONTEST PROPOSED. NEWS FROM OTHER COURSES. Progress in the llawera Club’is championships is steady, . but somewhat slow, the seniors being held up by the Stratford match at last week-end No doubt they will soon proceed to the most interesting stages, now that inter-club matches and competitions, are about finished. One can look ioiward to close rivalry in the matches to be played and many interesting finishes. The champions ups arc? open questions, but tlieto aic, t course, a few hot favourites, lhe next round "111 sort them out and a line will then he possible- on the piobablc winners.

The institution of the intermediate, junior and limit championships a few •ears ago was a very sage move oil toe part of the committee, because t has widened aiul extended the nitti est right to the highest handicap jnayers 111 the early days of golf to Hawera when there was one championship only, all the players, but a very few, had one match and then ''«> e eliminated. The junior event, instituted in 1909. formed another opening for the second flight of players and the other two have gradually extended the opportunity to secure a champ o - shin and it is safe to say that nixci est among the limit men is a_s keen ?s then in the first-flighters. In any case the scheme of to-day has had a wonderfully stimulating influence ajl round The club owes much to those who initiated the four events. It has been found necessary to extend the time for playing the fust round of the championships until \uo-ust 27, hut members are asked to play their matches at the very earliest opportunity. A PROPOSED CONTEST.

The smaller . clubs in the distnet mvve decided for the present to keep club competitions, down to a minimum and to feature inter-club contests. Ie No-utu members are most enthusiastic to thei approval of this programme and have made their trips to other courses and tlieir welcome to othei clubs real holiday events, this is tut way to get the real enjoyment out of the «ame and. is particularly fitted to “TLSJSn'IS; boon some members that some form oi club competition should be initiated, some“hTon the lines of the oom^M mm in Rimbv or cricket. lhe loii shall take lias not been decided, 1 ft will no doubt- be- discussed before the opento" of next season and some definite form approved. It o "°d be difficult to arrange and should create keen interest. , , wdlV scheme lias been mooted h\ M ell hn'ton to provide, matches, regain J between major «d « “g this mav give some ideas to the local players. In this connection the Fvenpiutci • - “Though there aie ground between members of the ma and minor clubs. Tim Watt. Cup con tests have spurred up the minor clubs a good deal, and have greatly me l eased their standard of phv>, “ competition between major and minoi teams by a Wellington sportsman on father novel lines. Five libers o each of the three majoi clubs, am three members of each of , ~ Watt Cup clubs, it is suggested should p{*y rrV'irthf IS™* signer dufeam optoagainst the bert golfers in the district. This suggestion has not >et been ciallv put before all the clubs concerned but if all agree there is no doubt that the trophy will be foitbcomiim Naturallv agreement "ould he Umething in the cession bv tlie major clubs, ''inch tinu their year all to short- to get- thiou„b their programmes, especially m " Snl Some of the- oh*, tovn■ »1ready a plethora, of club tiopni ... especially of the challenge variety, *© much so that members find A i venient to take part in them -it the same tune go afield in the ' <u ous inter-club contests A m«or v minor inter-club match on the lines siKTdTcsted once a vear would not however, complicate matters .much moie. re the major clubs take kindly to the proposal’? matters of venue and dates could readily be settled.

TALK BY A. D. S. DUNCAN. There have been many interesting talks recently from 2YA, Wellington, by men prominent in various walks of life, but for golfers the short talk by Arthur Duncan—eleven times amateur champion and several times open champion, and champion of Wellington (Heretaunga) Club for many years was of particular interest. Mr Duncan, who is still in the first flight of golfers after a period of nearly 40 years, told how in 1890, when training for football and rowing, he saw these “mad golfers” hitting their little white balls and thinkin'" as so many more have done, of the futility of it all. He had a golf club put into his hands and was told to try. “1 had been used to hitting a fast moving ball at cricket and 1 thought there would be no difficulty for me, but found it otherwise, and it was not until at last I got away a full 100 per cent shot that I caught tlie fever and L have never looked back.” AH golfers will be well aware of his many wonderful feats on tlie links and know, too, of his outstanding sportsmanship which has made him so popular. Often a man who has such success is by no means a really popular player. In 1899 he played first in the New Zealand championships, and some amusing pictures are preserved in the Wellington clubhouse showing the dress and the golfing outfit of players of those days. “Golf,” said Mr Dunncan, “used to be considered an elderly man’s game, and in the early days the young men did not take -it up to any extent. But of recent years this has changed. and now the- champions are often under twenty.” Ho added that “a good young golfer will -generally beat a good old golfer, other circumstances being equal, and the instances of tlie players who maintain their form until old, in a golfing sense, are nob very many. But,” lie added, “practice, steady and consistent, can do a great deal and keeping fit is nn- • tlier attribute to success. Therefore I advise the young players to persevere and To go in for some steady practice,away on their own. on the practice ground.” Mr Duncan gave also valuable, suggestions on the playing of shots, his

first advice being very valuable to young players—“Do not grip too tight, especially with the right hand, because it spoils wrist work.” This stressed the necessity of the firm, left in the shot. He then went on to give valuable suggestions on the rest of the game on the lines laid down by tlie great tutors and urged, in conclusion, the need of studying the methods and the advice of the world’s great golfers. Mr Duncan, it may be added, has aiso been a valued member of the New Zealand Golf Council and for two years has been vice-president. He is, therefore, both on the links and in the council room, perhaps the foremost man in the game to-day.

NEWS AND NOTES. Dr. Church, formerly of Opunake, is now a. regular player at kaiho and playing well as a rule. In the championship, however, after doing a creditable 86, he spoilt his chances of qualifying in the senior ranks by crashing and doing a poor 98. In a friendly match at Titahi last week J. L. Black, of Shandon, was beaten by a. local player named Moore-, who is said to have the makings of a champion. He beat the exDominion player 6 up and 4. He had only one five on bis card and served up 3,3, 4 at the beginning of the homo journey for holes of 248, 347 and 308 yards respectively Moore is a slim, imperturbable young stylist, with a very fine command of woods and irons. Not yet 20, lie lias all the makings of a national finalist before long.