GOLF TOPICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21233, 13 July 1932, Page 15

GOLF TOPICS.

UNEVENTFUL WEEK-END.

AKARANA BEATS GLENDOWIE.

COMPETITION AT PUPUKE. The steady rain which set in on Saturday morning completely disorganised club matches, and only at Pupuke, with its rolling country, was competitive golf possible.. Before noon low-lying country was under water, but, in spite of this, there were many who braved the elements.

•At Middlemore the match between teams selected by the president and captain had to be abandoned, but an effort is being made to arrange the fixture for. some later date.

The winter conditions have lengthened tho Middlemore course considerably, and only tlfe longest hitters can reach holes like the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, sth and 17th iq two. Long drivers have a tremendous advantage at this time of the year, but many players ruin their golf in tbeir attempts to achieve length. Efforts to drive the ball 250 yds. are liable to result in habits of lunging and pressing, and a man whose mind is on length alone is more- likely to miss a putt than one who has his game mapped out in his mind and who preserves balance in his methods. Importance of Length. But long driving has a wonderful fascination. The player who has tho ability to achieve great length must have an advantage over a player who is restricted to about 180 yds. off the tee. Although this superiority is not remarkably apparent on short courses, it is there plainly enough against a head wind on a full-length course. A medium tee shot, which appears no handicap normally, may then land the player in Bome dreaded hazard, and even if he escapes this penalty lio will find it impossible to get near enough to the green in two to play his approach with any decree of certainty. There is also the mental effect of always having to play the odd, which* eventually becomes unsettling and engenders a feeling of inferiority, fatal to success. Although tho ability to achieve great length is certainly important, it is not so important that it warrants the sacrifice of other match-winning virtues At Pupuke the second and final round of the president's prize was played, George Walker narrowly winning from L. H. Saunders, with a net aggregate of 137 to Saunders' 138. Walker's Consistent Form. Walker returned a card of 83, 16—67, good figures under any circumstances, but remarkably so when one considers that he took 10 for the last hole, which is only a bogey 4. No doubt the handicappers will take due regard to the consistent form shown by Walker in recent competitions. A Glendowie team played at Akarana in an inter-club competition, victory going to Akarana by 11 matches to 1. Four-ball matches were played and in the top game B. Smith and J. Coltman defeated F. Trice and Thomas, 4 up andfi 3, and 6 up and 5. Smith played scratch golf with occasional flashes of brilliance, his home journey of 35 being very fine. J. Swanson and "V", Baker had a very even match with N. A. Ching and 0. Wolfgramm, winning by ( 2 and 1 and 3 and 2. Wolfgramm was off his drive, otherwise a very different story would have resulted. G. Brown and W. Greenbank only * just defeated C. Woods'and A. Cole in each match. Greenbank's golf was the deciding factor. Glendowie's only victory came from the Stedman brothers, who beat Cox and Holloway in the first round, but the latter pair won at the second attempt. •

The junior Akarana team journeyed to Glendowie and after a capital game won by the odd match. It is interesting to see that J. L. Black is still producing good figures, his card of 74 gross at Hamilton on Saturday being full of. merit. Under the conditions that prevailed in Sydney for the KirkWindeyer matches, a player of Black's calibre and great experience might well have turned the tide for New Zealand. Conditions at Titirangi.

At Titirangi next Saturday the- final for the Taylor Bowl will be played, when H. Brinsden will meet P. Harrison, the lastnamed receiving 12 strokes. The experience gained by Harrison while playing through to the final in this competition should stand him in good stead and Brinsden will require all his brilliancy to survive.

This course is playing well at present, the greens, perhaps, being the best in Auckland. However, the badly-grassed portions of the fairways .at the fifth, sixth and ninth holes call for attention, as many perfectly-placed shots come to rest on bare clay. ' This class of land would respond to basic slag treatment better 'than would any other. The most noticeable effect of slag is obtained on sour clay land only sparsely grassed and on which there is much unoccupied surface. On siich land slag would cause a remarkable spread of clover —usually of the semi-wild variety—which would colonise the unoccupied patches of ground. The clover would then in turn enrich ttye soil in nitrogen and in humus and' provide a suitable seed-bed for the propagation of useful fairway grasses. The ! extensive improvement scheme which 1 has been carried out on the Maungakiekie golf course is nearing completion and several of the new greens are now in use for match play. Members .are enthusiastic concerning the new third and sixth, . which were opened for the first tiine last Saturday week when the initial round of tho captain's prize, the Eliffe Cup, was played. Tho new seventeenth and eighteenth greens are expected to be available shortly, while new teeing grounds, constructed at various* holes, add to tho length of tho course and make play more interesting.