GOLF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19124, 16 September 1925, Page 16

GOLF.

ROTORUA TOURNAMENT. THE OPENING ROUNDS. [BX TELEGRAPH.——OWN CORRESPONDENT. ] ROTORUA, Tuesday. The Rotcrua open coif championship and landioap tournament opened this, moinng. The weather was fine at tho start, but it noon rain commenced to fall and cociinuod nil afternoon. Keen interest was taken in tho play. Tho jreens were very tricky, being fast until he rain fell, and thereafter very difficult X) judge, rosily good short-game men takJiE 3 and 4 putts, this accounting: for big icores. The fairways were good, but wero sluggish in Uio wet. The following were the best cards xe;urned for the two rounda Rojc Goonjo, 150; N. Bell, 152; Goss. 154; Ralph, 158 Other cards were:—l). McCormick, 162: Rees, 164; Hewlett. 169; Powdrell, 16<l; Dolbock, 167 Trice, 161; C. Kunabs, 16"; 3arr, 166; it. Carr, 171; Dr. Hcwdon, 172: Maingay, 165; Sherriff, 165; Wilkia, l8i ; 1. Howden. 173: JJiooll, 177: Simpson, 170; Ford, 185; Redhead, 177; Ross, 170; T. Bloomfield, 170; Campbell, ISO; Western, L 76; Worthington, 379: Dr. Gunson. 177; 3errard, 169; Tattersall, 173; Dr. Wallis, 184; Swanger, 185; Phelan. 186; Haddow, 183: Walden, 181; Paritt, 19G; Ernpen, 180; Robertson. 185; Blackburn, 184; Howie, 184; McFarlane, 193; Spencer, 130; Goo, .96; J. Simpson, ISS; P. Kusabs. 175; Elliott. 173: Reed, 181. The draw for the first 10, open champion;bip, is:—George v. Rons, Bloomfield or Simpson, who tied for 16th place,; Main;ay v. Rees; Trice v. C. Kusabs; Gerrard it. Goes; Ralph v. Colbeok; S. Carr v. Mc?/Ormick; Powdrell v. Sherriff; Hewlett v. Bell. The junior championship 16 will bo tho two eliminated seniors arid Nicoll, Gunson, Tattersal, A. Kusabs, Dr. Howd«n, A. Howdem, 'Wortlungton, Elliott, Western, rtedbead, Campbell, M. Carr, Spencer, Empen and Reed. Bell is playing brilliantly, as are George, Ralph and Goss. Trice, McCormick and Colbeck are all in good form. Though the licht vras good, the visitors were nt a. disadvantage as to distance, vhich is hard to judsre by other standards. The local placers, Kusabs, Sherriff «nd Carr, aro playim? sound, reliable golf, and may be expected to hold up their reputation. Tho weather prospects ave not good the, irind being in tho north-east and rain ins heavily. THE ELDERLY PLAYER, HOW TO KEEP IN FORM", BY ALEXANDER HERD. Golf has long since lived down the giba as to its being "an old man's game-" My own experience—and probably that of nearly everybody who has played all his life—is that a golfer is at his best between the ages of 25 and 35. It is, however, a pastime that can be pursued with unabated pleasure and a great deal of success until very much later in life, and it is suggested that as one who, at the age of 57, has managed to maintain a position in first-class tournaments, I should set down some advice calculated to be useful to people of fifty or morowho are keep, to beep in form. In the first place, I find that, although one may be every bit as enthusiastic and play just as much as at any time, the joints and muscles do not work so easily as_ in former days. Consequently, something has to be done to preserve them in proper condition. Twenty or thirty years ago it cost rap no effort to hit a golf ball. The joints and muscles wero supple, it was just a matter of walking up to the ball and despatching it to tho desired spot. Things are different now. A certain inevitable stiffness comes upon one at the age of 50 or more, but it can be combated successfully by the performance of a few simple exercises every morning. There is scarcely a day in the year when I miss this form of preparation. It takes only five or ten minutes and it is a considerable help. Placing the hands in the hips and pivoting tho body at the hips while keeping the head still, just as one is supposed to do in swinging the 3lub, is a valuable exercise, Plenty of arm swinging movement helps ;o - keep the joints and muscles pliable, rad another useful practise is to extend :ho arms and rotate the wrists twenty of thirty times as far as thtsv will go. " To this kind of preparation—performed ■egnlarly—-do I attribute the fact that I learly won the open championship at the igo of 52, eighteen years after my victory at Hoy lake, and that I have not yet tbandoned hope of winning it again. A Shot Worth Studying. Practising shots—a lot of such practice —is also to be recommended to the golfer vho is getting on in years. This, indeed, s good for every player, no matter what age, although the modern generation locs not seem to realise the fact or, at iny rate, does not give much heed to it. When I was a young man, almost every golfer'with ambition engaged in a great leal of practice in somG secluded corner >f the course. I devoted may hours to H .veekly when I was a professional at Suddersfield, and the shot on which I :oncenl,rated more than any other was the ihort run-up to the hole from a distance of ibout 30 yards. I am certain that the ■rouble taken over it in this way has seen repaid a tHousand-fold, for a thor>ugb knowledge of this stroke has stood ne in good stead on countless occasions. If attention may be diverted for a few noments from the middle-aged to • the foung, I would declare most emphaticilly that the promising players of the aow generation do not practise nearly ;o much as they should. That is why, sven When their golf and their temperaments develop a certain measuio «of naturity, they fail to equal the standird of the great amateurs of the former ara and of Harry V&rdon, 1 James JJraid ind J. H. Taylor in professional competition. These men never lost their heads, becausfe they , knew sc» much ibout the game as a result of their constant practice, and when they fixed their teeth into a winning position, they never relaxed their hold on that position. There are a lot of fina young golfers in the country nowadays. The golf is in them, but too often ono sees them Frittering away chances of doing great things for the sheer lack of knowledge of the right kind of shot to play at the right time. Nothing but practice makes perfect. Clubs to Use. So far as- concerns the 50-year-olds, there is much to be gained, I think, by studying the question of the clubs that ire best suited to a man, labouring under the disadvantage of the lesser or great degree of stiffness that asserts itself at this time of life. Personally, I find that straight-faced clubs are harder to use now than they used to be. Tho older one grows, the less snappy becomes the action of the wrists, with the result that a straight-faced club is apt to smother the ball. For that reason, I have resorted to loft. I am driving with a brassio, and intend to do f.o in all my remaining championships. Its touch of loft is a help, and I find that I can get practically as far with it. as with a driver, or, in any case, far oncm B }l - . - i. To the veteran, a spoon is indispensable,. When well made, it is the easiest club in the bag with which to secure good results, and we players who are getting on in life need to look for the simplest way to do things. With irons as with wooden clubs, I recommend tbe 50-year-olds not to attempt to use straight-faced implements. Tho latter are for young players. The deck, for example, is essentially' a young man's club. So is the driving iron. A spoon serves the same purpose without creating the same difficulties. I do not hope ever again to play as well as in 1895, when, at the age of 27, I won nearly every big tournament ot the year except the Open Championship, in winch Taylor beat me after I had held the big lead of five strokes with one round io go. Still, there is plenty of good golf left in a man when he is nearly 60 if he adopts means of keeping his joints and muscles as supple as jfossible, and prac« tises shots at every opDortunity. One Treat, secret of it is, never to say or think:—"l'm too old now for that sort of thing."