GOLF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15143, 6 November 1912, Page 6

GOLF.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. In his new book, " How to Play Coif," Harry Vardon. the world's greatest, player, makes the surprising statement that .the standard of golf in general is deteriorating. Ho says:—"l have held the opinion for several years, and expressed it to friends. Nothing has happened to justify an alteration in my lvlief- Wherever I have gone, the same evidence of a falling off in the intrinsic quality of the golf has been manifest, and it is attributable to the influence of tho rubber-cored ball. For one thing, players have become careless. The miss is sometimes better than the hit, and everybody is aware of the fact. . . . In the time of the gutty, & player knew that if ho perpetrated a bad stroke he would be punished. He would be short, or, if his 'ball reached a bunker, it. would not jump tho hazard. The knowledge that there was no mercy for those who erred impelled him to he careful. There was only one way to play ©very- shot; it had to be plaved properly. With the present ball there ore several ways of obtaining the desired end, and, what is worse, a good stroke is not infrequently ruined by the resillient ball alighting on very keen ground and bounding away into all ports of trouble."

Vardon is a champion of good carrier f rom the tees and diagonal cross-bunkers, in which respect he and Braid do not think alike. He delivers himself of tho rather revolutionary idea that five short holes are net too many on a course, though there is a tendency with, modern courses to encourage the idea. In modern golf, he explains, 1 o holes are harder to play than short onesThey, therefore, tend to restore some of the demand for skill, since they call for perfect tee shots.

His views on the important question of the drive and brassy shot can be summarised here: —

1. Keep the head steady, and do not let the left heel turn outwards; then the body can only wind up when the arms go back. 2. Grip firmest with the thumbs and forefingers: they are' not. so well adapted as tho other fingers to the purpose of taking a strong hold, and they are the most important of all for the purpose of the golf 3. Let the club-head lead, the left wrist turning inwards, the arms following the club-head, and the right hip screwing next. 4. Don't throw the arms forward as you start to come down, as though you were mowing grass. Bather throw them back, and let them come round in their own way from that point. 5. Let the movement of the right shoulder be steady and rhythmic; it should have nothing in the nature of a sudden drop or jerk. 6. Don't be afraid to hit hard: if you are swinging correctly hard hitting is not " pressing." . 7. Keep your head still until the club has struck the ball- •'

For the second time in throe year?, Jama's Braid ha* provided the sensation of tho £400 professional tournament, promoted by the News of the World, by not qualifying for tlie final stages of the competition. The memliers of the Southern section of the Professional Golfers' Association played off their qualifying tournament as Sundridge Park and Hangers Hill. It was taken for granted that Braid would capture one of the six qualifying positions, and his failure by three strokes to get in the first halfdozen created even greater consternation than his failure two Years ago. Altogether, Braid has experienced about his worst season since he first became prominent. George Duncan easily headed the list, with scores of 69 and 7*—total 145. The second man's total was 152, and Braid's total 156- Dimcan's 69 was a record for the course.