ON THE LINKS

NZ Truth, Issue 869, 22 July 1922, Page 8

ON THE LINKS

WITH THE GOLFERS

BY "SAMMY."

The Wanganui Golf Club is promoting a tourney to take place the week prior to the N.Z. championships. The star item of the tourney will be a professional match for which the sum of £50 is to be given as prize-money. ii 11 ii "There is no more insidious fault than slicing, that Is, hitting the ball so as to make it curl m the air from left to right. It is difficult to cure, because it has many causes. One cause is that the right foot is, too far advanced.. An-, other is that the player is too near the baU, and so is hitting lt off the heeL A third is that the left hand is held too tightly m proportion to the right, and yet another, the most common cause, is that the arms are being contracted and drawn across the body, instead of. following through after the ball." — Miss Cecil Leitch. • . • • ' • • The millenium for golfers is now approaching, for one company has now discovered a way of re-covering balls, and is is claimed for the new article. , that it will last as long as the ordinary | ball. -„ ii ir st The lure of golf is affecting many small towns throughout the Dominion. The latest to form a club and build a nine-hole course is ,the town of Shannon on the Manawatu line. is receiving many applications for membership. ....... Harry Vardon says: "No one makes the game really easier for- himself by long hitting. Of the reputedly big hitters m the English professional ranks, Edward Ray has won the British open championship only once, and Abe Mitchell has yet to win it." it j : i i Harrods*, the big London departmental store, recently staged a big golfing stunt, and for a week they had all the leading pros m England on hand to give advice to those about to purchase clubs. In addition big practice nets were erected and customers were given instruction free by the galaxy of stars. Here is a chance for the big sports depots m the Dominions. t: :i it It is said that the Miramar Executive is considering an idea for extending its course by the formation of another nine holes. This will mean that the membership will be increased, and the waiting list done away with. ii :: i* In the ever-growing domain of golf, the marvellous of yesterday becomes the common -place of to-day, and it is never safe to assume that the records of yester-year still stand. A contemporary recently alluded to the golf course at Gulmarg m Kashmir, 8500 feet above the sea level, as if it were the "highest ever." Alas, they were only 5000 feet out. The honor of using the highest tee is now claimed for La Paz Golf Club, m Bolivia, whose course is fairly on the roof of the world, 13,500 feet above the ocean. Excelsior l E. S. Douglas, open champion of New Zealand, has booked his passage by the Arawa, sailing on the 29th. It is to be regretted such a great \ golfer is leaving New Zealand, and' he will take the good wishes pf his brother professionals with him. Douglas has played some great golf m New Zealand, equalling at times < George ' Duncan's performances at Home. , In the Heretaunga 1914 tournament he was 13 strokes behind the leader and two rounds to go. A 71 and 70 won him the tourney by one stroke. His total was 296. Again,- at' Auckland, He pulled off the Open after being five strokes behind A. D. S. Duncan and one round to play. He had to fight hard at Napier and. won m the play-, off. Such performances stamp him a fighting golfer and, with some months' practice before him, "Sammy" expects to see him well to the fore m English golf next year. He v/ill carry away with him several records and open championship medals, and a nice memento presented by his brothef professionals. •: :s IS The American championships are a big affair now, and the qualifying stages are spread over three days, when 325 players qualify for 78 places. Jock Hutchison's 67-68, equal 135, Is ono of the most wonderful scores returned In a championship. It

is not often the leader of a qualifying stage wins the eventual championship, and this year all British hopes are centred on the invading forces, which include two American open winners Ie Harry Vardon and Ted RayIt seems a coincidence that Douglas Is going Home In tho Arawa. Thi3 is the ship his passage was pencilled In when the New Zealand clubs failed to raise enough money to send him to England for the open championship. tt tt it It is up to the Wellington golfers to give Douglas a presentation. He will do just as well m England as Kirkwood did. "He's a 'gouffer'l" It II ' II So quoth the Irate player when he missed a wee one: "I can't see, upon my soul, why the blithering, demented, half-baked looney who invented this here pastime, made the golf ball Kso much larger than the hole." :: :: :i There will bo a great rush down the fairway of the first hole at St, Andrew's on September 27, to secure the ball which the Prince of Wales will hit off the first tee, following the old custom of playing himself into the captaincy of the Royal and Ancient Club for the year 1922-23. King Edward — when Prince of Wales — was captain of the R. and A. in 1863-64, and Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, m 1876-77.. * j: : t A long felt want m the shape of a putting green for practice will short-' ly remedied at Miramar. A. very big green Is being made and will be fit for use m a few weeks. :: :: :x Beginners should always study the etiquette of golf and endeavor to learn the rules thoroughly. it :: is It has been decided to play two pro. matches at the Wanganui tourney, and the prize money will be £25 for each match. • » ; j ; j The Hagen-Kirkwood tour of New Zealand is not likely to eventuate. Only four clubs wanted them at £40 per match. Our worthy friend, the Heretaunga professional, A. Ham, has pointed out the kind of tournament that might become popular. The purpose is to encourage the members of the club to play more matches with their professionals. A prize could be given by the committee to the member of the club who beats the professional by the biggest number of holes m an eighteen-hole match. The pro. would be handicapped plus four as his opponents would play off their regular marks. At the close of the season the amateur who had beaten the pro. by say five up would play .him m the final from a handicap of 'say thirteen strokes, which would be his handicap of eight and allowance of a stroke for every hole he beat the pro. by. This would improve the member's game and it would also keep the pro. up to his best form, so that he could go to the championships with some prospects of success. If such a tourney were arranged It would be for the good of golf and would materially improve the play of the different members of the cluh. i: :> \\ Mr. Lionel Abraham, the live-wire secretary of the Manawatu Golf Club, which ls running the New Zealand championships m September, forwards tho programme. The meeting commences on Monday, September 11, and c!oses the following Saturday. Entries for all events close on August 30. it t: tt Miss Joyce Wethered, England's lady champion, has a wonderful putting touch. She has it for her own play, too, but she putts exceptionally well, laying her club longways behind the ball when sizing up the drive. In the dramatic final In which she beat Miss Cecil Leitch, the latter, when all is said and done, did nothing so characteristic of her fighting qualities before the utter collapse came, than her longsaving putts. Miss Leitch is specially interesting to women golfers. She takes up two stances for her shots. The first is preliminary while she weighs up tho line. The second which is the stance for hitting, tightens out her skirt to full width. When she has her skirt quite taut that is her regulated stance.