GOLF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23072, 24 December 1936, Page 4

GOLF

By Divot

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES Clair.—New Year, Tournament, January 1,2 and 3.

OTAGO CLUB . ' , Last Saturday the Otago Club's match consisted of a Four-ball Stableford Bogey Handicap, for which a good entry was received. Good scoring was the order of the day, and the winning pair, J. N, Lemon and G. W. returned a fine score of 68 points. T. C. Tyrrell, and W. S. Stewart with 67 points.occupied the position of .runner- . up. During the week-end finality was reached in the Intermediate Competi? tion, the Balmacewen Cup and the Veterans' Cup. ' . , "; In the former competition D. H. Ferguson defeated J. M. Sidey 2and : l. Ferguson has been playing steady golf,-! and his success was well merited. R., G. Sinclair gained a, victo'ry.ih the Bal-. macewen Cup, eliminating G. L. Fer?. ; guson in the final by 3 up and % The,Veterans' Cup wag not sp closely, con-', tended, a well-fancied candidate in-W..; H. Shepherd accounting for A. W. Barnett by 5 and 4.

ST. CLAIR CLUB £|,' ~, . INTERMEDIATE DEWAR CUP ' ',.': FINAL Congratulations are extended to Watson M'Ghie on his acquiring for 1936 the Dewar Cup, symbol of supremacy v in the Intermediate Division. M'Ghie was early in the competition recognised as a prayer who-had, to be reckoned with, and while not securing any spectacular ..victories, played .a consistently steady game. His,opponent in the final was E. N. Elder, Who . started badly by losing the-first four holes. After such a discouraging:: be- : ginning Elder asserted himself and at the turn was 2 down, a stymie robbing him of a chance to reduce further the> deficit. Another stymie at the .eleventh r hole saw M'Ghie obtain, an unexpected > win when Elder's ball knocked .him into the cup. From the eleventh onwards M'Ghie. maintained his lead, and a good match ended in his favour by 3 > up and 2to play. .'■■' . .-■'■ -•, .:.." CAPTAIN v. DEPUTY-CAPTAIN

A match which was in the- nature of an innovation was played on'/Saturday last between teams selected' by the captain (J. E. Macassey) and the deputy-captain (D. C. Bennie). As the i losing team were to entertain the ■ winners at a presentation dinner at the clubhouse after the match* it Was as- ? sured that every player would give of • his best. Players of a similar handicap/, were, in most cases, matched together, and the results were decided on match ' play. After a close and interesting'; struggle the deputy-captain's team > emerged victorious by 12 games to. 11, two games being squared. J. E. Macassey made a desperate and almost successful effort to secure a win for his ' side, when, finding himself in the parlous plight of being 5 down with but seven holes to play in his match withF. Sherriff, he had the latter struggling on the last green to hole a 12-footer to square the game., Macassey is one. of the club's most popular members, and general pleasure is felt at. his reappearance on the links after a disability had for some time forced him to'lay his clubs aside. D. C. Bennie had the satisfaction of defeating;'his'conqueror of the previous week, J. E. Matheson', to the tune of 5 and 3, but in sc-me ; quarters this is regarded as a barren < victory, as Matheson had ■ severely-• ricked his neck earlier m the day When engaged in a humanitarian act. The i club's wishes are accorded him for.'a speedy, recovery, and the hbpfe is expressed that he will be success- ,; - ful in his quest for honours at the * Christchurch Club's Christmas tournament Matheson has been playing so < well of late that it would occasion no ' surprise were he to distinguish himself. at Shirley; Two rivals in J. W. Bain and W. El. V. Fahey temporarily settled ' the question of superiority when the latter secured a 3 and 2 Win. The dinner at the clubhouse, followed by the'presentation of prizes, was a me-' morable affair, and many complimentary speeches were exchanged. -. ' " ST. CLAIR NEW TEAR TOURNA- , MENT „ :>~'::zh The • secretary (Mr W.-W. Clayton, l P.O. Box 215) is now taking entries '■"■ for the New Year tournament, to be held on January 1,2 and 3. Those intending to enter are asked to : forward their entries as soon as possible. A. G. Sime, present holder of the Duriedin Amateur Championship, will bedefending his title at St. Clair, and,though he suffered a severe reverse at the hands of T. C. Tyrrell in the Otago Club Championship, will again be a serious contender. It is anticipated that a record entry will be.received, and most of the Dunedin low-markers will be competing. St. Clair's champion, J. E.. Matheson,, will return from. Shirley to take part in the St. Clair tourney, and he will provide serious, opposition to Sime should they meet. This tournament has been gaining in popularity for some years, and everything points to this tournament being - the most successful yet conducted. " THE RAW RECRUIT" In an article headed "The Raw Recruit," a writer in Golf and Tennis has some helpful hints regarding bunker play. He contends that recovery shots should not occasion the difficulty they. do.. Most novices, he . says, regard such shots as nightmares. The novice, in fear and trembling, goes into the bunker obsessed with the idea that the shot is going to beat him. His first recovery shot fails; he gets, more "hot and bothered" than ever; he has a couple more unsuccessful shots; and , the damage is done—his confidence, if any, is gone completely. :; .. . .-^ Now if these shots were particularly difficult there would be some excuse for the poor efforts and consequent i attack of the "jitters" every time one presents itself. But they are not excessively hard if the player has a,sound knowledge of how to tackle them. The fatal mistake made almost invariably is that of trying to chip the ball out of sand, or perhaps "scoop" it out would be a more apt description. Nine times out of ten this shot is doomed to failure. The margin of error is too small. In his lectures after /his exhibition games, Sarazen stressed the value of the explosion shot. To an interjector who asked what shot should be played when the sand was fairly hard, Gene emphatically answered, " Still the explosion shot." As Sarazen showed in his demonstrations the reason why most golfers fail with the explosion shot is that their stance is wrong. They adopt a square or even closed stance, resulting often in the ball being banged into the face of the bunker. The stance should be open, the club head taken back outside the line of flight so as to cut across the ball from right to left. That helps to get the ball up quickly and to make it stop soon after landing. Firmness and decision are two vital necessities in successful bunker shots. Hit down into the sand an inch or two behind the ball as if you mean it. Have the wrists firm and do not have anything sloppy about the shot. Hit down into the sand, but do not let the club head stay there. Down and through is the proper action.