GOLF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23364, 2 December 1937, Page 5

GOLF

By Divot

St. Clair. —Interclub Match, Otago v. St. Clair. Monthly Medal. OTAGO CLUB The semi-final of the Otago Club championship between T. B. Ferguson and T. C. Tyrrell was not notable for brilliant golf although several holes were very well played by one or other of the players. Ferguson won the first hole after a fine recovery shot from the bunker and became two up at the fourth with a 2. The fifth was halved and then Tyrrell won three holes in succession to be one up at the eighth. Ferguson squared at the turn and a brilliant 2 at the tenth made him 1 up. Tyrrell seemed to lose touch from here on and Ferguson won the next four holes to win the match 5 and 4. The final between T. Wight and T. B. Ferguson will be a contest between two players who have each shown brilliant form this season. ST. CLAIR CHAMPIONSHIP The semi-finals of the St. Clair Championship were both well-con-tested and interesting games. C. B. Wight was very closely pressed by F. V. Drake, who upheld his reputation as a tenacious match player. The golf was of a high standard generally although both players missed opportunities by missing short putts. Wight had slightly the better of the game after a few holes had been played. After being two down Drake produced figures which improved on the standard scratch score to square the game at the fourteenth. The dog leg was well played by both for a half in four, and at the long sixteenth Drake played a weak approach which allowed Wight again to take the lead. The seventeenth appeared to be an easy win for Wight, but Drake holed a 30-footer for a 3 and Wight was faced with a five-footer for a half. He made no mistake, however, . and with a lead one one up on the eighteenth tee his position seemed fairly sound. Drake lost whatever chance he had of squaring the match by hooking his tee shot out of bounds, and Wight won the hole and the match two up. , . . The golf played by Rhodes against Lawrence in the other semi-final was as good as anything seen in the championship. Rhodes stymied Lawrence on more than one occasion, but his golf was good enough to have won without any help derived from stymies. The final between Wight and Rhodes should prove a very interesting one. Rhodes is playing attractive golf, and, although he quay not be driving the prodigious ball that he used to his game is now marked by a greater degree of restraint and accuracy. Wight, on the other hand, seems to have reverted to his former style, and seems to be hitting the ball longer and straighter than he has been of late. His swing is much freer, and he has got out of the habit of crouching. A NEW PUBLICATION Most golfers who have made a world reputation at golf some time or other bring out a book to reveal their methods to the thousands who have tried to gain a like mastery of the game. Pam Barton, the holder of the two major titles in women’s golf, .the British and United States championships, is no exception, but her booklet is notable for two outstanding features —brevity find simplicity. In 88 pages Miss Barton takes the reader to many parts of the world, and in the process she reveals her ideal of a golf course composed of 18 holes situated on links in every part of the world. Her ideal first hole is the twelfth at West Hill, Brookwood, Surrey, and she finished with the sixth hole of the old course at Sunningdale in Berkshire. She chooses several from the United States of America, others from various parts of the world, and one. her fifth, from Heretaunga, Wellington. This is the ninth at Heretaunga, a hole of 324 yards, bogey 4. At each of the holes cited there is some special difficulty, and in the course of the round practically every known kind of golf shot is required, and Miss Barton proceeds to give her methods of producing these shots. The booklet, which is attractively compiled, is published by Blackie, the price being 4s. THE PROPOSED NEW BALL “It seems almost certain,” writes Hugh Anderson in the Australasian, that St. Andrews will introduce a new standard golf ball in 1938. The Advisory Committee has been conducting research for about two years, and it is certain that if a new standard ball is introduced it will be larger and have less specific gravity than the present ball, which is 1.62 in in diameter and weighs 1.620 z, According to reports, a ball similar to the American ball will be chosen as the ideal. The American ball weighs the same as the British ball, but the diameter is 1.68 in. “ Most players do not favour a change, because it will mean that a certain amount of distance will be lost. However, the average handicap man will find that he will lose comparatively little length with his long shots, and what he loses in this direction will be compensated by better fairway lies and easier putting. The larger ball sits up better on the turf, and is easier to handle on the greens. “The power of the long-hitting lowmarker will, however, be curbed, and this is the chief reason for introducing a modified ball. Championship courses have been made to look ridiculous by the terrific hitting of the top-notchers. and the problem has arisen whether to lengthen and alter the architecture of the present courses or to. modify the ball. The obvious solution, and the one most inexpensive to the players, is to reduce tb® power of the ba “About two years ago I played several rounds with the American type ball, and found that it was not any shorter than the British ball downwind. However, it was at least 20 yards shorter into a stiff breeze, and demanded more accurate hitting, ft was more difficult to control, but generally it was a more interesting ball with which to play.” CHAMPIONS INVITED An effort is being made to arrange a visit by Henry Cotton, the British open champion, to Australia during the New South Wales 150th. anniversary celebrations. If Cotton is unable to visit Australia, some of the other prominent British professionals may be persuaded to do so. The name of Sam King, one of the best of the young players, who has had a very successful season, has been mentioned. . , .. If such a visit is arranged it may be possible to have solne of the Players to extend their tour to include New Zealand.