GOLF.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4407, 13 July 1901, Page 7 (Supplement)

GOLF.

(By “All Square.”) It is a matter of great regret that JMr A. Duncan, the New Zealand champion, will not be able to go over to compete for the Australasian Championship, as he had intended doing. Mr Duncan had the misfortune to gash one of his hands with a razor recently, and will be unable to resume play for some time. Wq shall have to rely on Mr Giles, of Auckland, now to bring back the Championship to New Zealand, and ho gives promise of being able to do it. ■ The Miramar links are in. excellent order just now, a lot of work of late having been put into them by Lindsay, the caretaker. However, one or two of the greens still leave something to be desired. Complaints are made of want of consideration shown to younger members of a certain club of older players. Intolerance of this kind led to a painful scene a short time back, which was much regretted by golfers to whom the incident was reported. Verb sap. The concluding stages of th e English Ladies’ Champion tournament were reached at Aberdovey oU May 17. In the semi-finals a very fine match took place between Miss fthona Adair (Royal Portrush), the champion, and Miss E. O. Neville (Worcestershire). Miss Adair was 2 down at the turn, but she 1 ( squared the match at the sixteenth, and winning the last two holes, passed into, the final. Miss Neville drove the longer ball, but was weak on the green. Mrs 1 Stanley Stubbs (Barham Downs) finished 1 up on Miss M. A. Graham (Holylake), but owing to » dispute at the eighth hole the competitors played on l to the nineteenth, when Miss Grahami seoured the match. Miss Graham had! a good game with Miss Adair in the final round. Miss Graham drove much 1 the longer ball- going out, and was also, superior on the green. As she tired, coming home, however. Miss Adair brought her opponent to 2 down at the fifteenth. She, however, found the bunker at the next, and Miss Graham won: the hole and the match by 2 up and 3 to play.

The eighteen-hole course is now_ open' at Shirley, Christchurch, and will do, away with thq crowding of players which caused so much inconvenience and delay when only nine holes were available. 1 says my contemporary “Dormy.” The, new ground is still rather rough, but when it has been thoroughly rolled, the lies will be satisfactory. Some of it faasl already hact the roller over it, and here, the lies are good enough. The rest of it is to'be rolled this week, and when l , completed there will not be much to, complain of. The course, on the whole, is a very good one - , but several of the 1 holes are too short. It would b*| possible to remedy this, I think, but, some of the greens would need to ho altered from their present positions, 1 Full advantage is taken of the brook,, which has* to be crossed! no less than five times. From three different tees the! player drives through a gap cut in the, willow trees along the brook, and if he does not go straight, he will almost 1 certainly be punished, as the trees on either side ar e tall and close together, ( and if the ball strikes them it will pro* bably land in the brook. Thou there art fences to be negotiated at various holes. Altogether the new course will punish bad play much more severely than the old, which was rather too easy. The greens are wonderfully good, considering the time they hav e been laid down, and in a short time ought t° play very well indeed. The club catt congratulate itself upon now having a very good eight* eon-hole course, and next Saturday should-see a large turn-cut of members, when the monthly medal will he played over the new course. ’

Th e first round! of the handicap competition for the Cox Challenge Cup, open' to members who receive a club, handicap of ten or over, was commenced last Saw urday. Each competitor to, qualify for the Cup, must play in at least four of the six rounds of the competition, and put in a sow 1 ® card for each. At the end of the competition the player who has the lowest average score for his best’ four rounds wins the Cup.

Messrs Hcwden (champion of Victoria), and B. Mann (Hamilton) played ah, eigtheen-hole match'at Stowell recently, which resulted in a victory for Mr Mann, 1 who put up a record of 42 for the links, 1 Mr Howden, however, was not playing! in anything like his usual form. The Amateur Golf Championship l Meeting was commenced at St. Andrews on Tuesday, May 6. There were 115 competitors, or fourteen in excess of tW previous best on record. Th© meet notJ able absentees were Mr John Ball, junJ who held the championship for tw« years, and Mr M. Maxwell, the Scots tish champion, who was expected t« have a good chanoe. The first tw6j rounds produced exceptionalthe favourite still remaining in. (Thij third draw found Mr Hilton, , holder ,i opposed by Mr Laidlay, the winner os 1899 and 1891. A very fine game rp| suited in favour of the former by S an® 2 to, play. The sixth round found sal Englishman and a Scotchman, Mr H. 1 Hilton and Mr J. H. Lowe, left tP contest the final. Thousands of spectae tors witnessed the deciding game, which was splendidly contested Hilton eventually winning by the nuro® margin of one hole. : As at bowls, so in golf, “be up” is « splendid motto, and one which young players cannot do better than keep in mind. In nearly all approach shots th® beginner plays with the strength which!, he thinks will land him adjacent to ths> green, presuming he gets the bajl fait and true, which he generally doesn’t, 1 ergo h e lies short. I The Irish Ladies’ Championship wj® played on the links at Portmamock, when Mis* Rhona Adair again won. Em cent in the fifth round, when, meeting Miss M. E. Stuart, all was plain sailing for th® champion. When, however,, sha crossed the path of Miss Stuart, a’different kind of match was seen, and tW right of entry into the final was only made good after seme very trying and exciting work.