GOLF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23931, 5 October 1939, Page 5

GOLF

By Divot. ST. CLAIR Ideal weather and a course in splendid order were the conditions under which the first round of match play for the St. Clair Club Championship was played last week-end. The winners—D. C. Bennie, C. B. Wight, and F. W, Dixon—all had comfortable margins. Dixon has been playing, consistently good golf, ever since the New Zealand Championship tournament at Balniacewen. and must be a difficult man to eliminate. Lawrence and Ross have yet to play their first-round match, and whoever wins there should be two very interesting semi-finals. 1. There were some close games in the Dewar Cup matches. W. F. Sligo beat L: M. Satterthwaite 1 up. and J.-W. Delbridge took H. J. Rackley to the nineteenth. It is worth mentioning that Delbridge and Rackley were round in 81 and 78 from handicaps of 12 and 10 respectively. In the Junior Cup matches the hardest-fought matches were those between W. D. McCarthy and E. A. Calton, which the former won 2 up. and D. L. Scott and G. M. Burnett, which th» former won 1 up. R. T. Simpson's win on Saturday takes him to the semi-final. , Under the existing conditions, all course construction work will be left in abeyance, and only the work necessarv for the 'maintenance of the course carried out. Quite a number of club members have registered for service with the Special Force, and they will retain full membership until they re.ttirn. AT BALMACEWEN There was no competition at Balmacewen last Saturday, but that did not deter some of the younger brigade from carrying on with merry scoring. A. Gibbs was round in 69 off the stick, and T. W. Wight followed his brilliant rounds of the previous week-end with a 70, which left him 5 up in the professional's Single feogey Match. Young Tom has been taken back to the scratch mark for the professional's matches, and his scoring has been so consistently brilliant lately that a club reduction to the same mark must be due any time now. Gibbs holds his top form remarkably well—the product of a beautifully grooved swing and a style that can be quoted as a model. CHISHOLM PARK A Chisholm Park team spent a most enjoyable day last week-end as the guests of the Macandrew Bay Club. Going from the sandy formation of the park, the visitors took a little while to settle down on the hilly Bay course. They lost six singles matches and won four, but they had a shade the better of the argument in the afternoon, winning three four-ball matches and losing two. The day was a big success. The medal round last Saturday over 18 holes was notable for the remarkable recovery made by A. Anderson over the second nine holes. He took 43 to go out, and then he started sinking his putts with a gross 36 for the second nine as the result. That three over bogey for the second half enabled him to tie with N. Shepherd for first place. The latter at least reaped some reward for diligent practice. He slipped some strokes on the way home on Saturday, but finished with a redoubtable net 62. Another feature was the fine gross round of 70 scored by G. Burns. That was a first-class effort under the conditions, since the fiery greens de- •- umded an extremely delicate putting touch.

The finals of the "Roarers' Bug" have been completed, with wins for E. Falconer, in the senior division, over H. Davies. and R. Phillip over N. Shepherd in the junior division. Closing day, which was scheduled for next Saturday, has been postponed until the end of the month.

A BAD LUCK PENALTY One of the. Invercargill club's most prominent members, J. C. Prain, was the victim of a penalty which seems to have roused some controversy at Otatara last week. The facts given by a writer in the Southland News are that a good approach to the fifteenth (Taipo) green landed near the pin but kicked the wrong way and trickled to a lie in the grassy, bunker side. The player attempted to extricate the ball, but instead- dug his club head into the ground. The ball moved about a foot up the side of the bunker and rolled back on to the club head. The majority of. Invercargill golfers . to. whom the incident has been recounted, it is said, are <of the opinion that an extra stroke was incurred; but mere are some who maintain that such was not the case because the stroke was completed and the player had not addressed the ball for his next stroke.. Apparently there has been quite some discussion on the incident, and the New Zealand Golf Association has been asked for a ruling. It seems to "Divot," though, that the facts are very clear, and the ruling just as clear. The ball definitely was in contact with the club head twice, and therefore van extra stroke was incurred. Incidentally this is a rule that is not always observed as strictly as it might be, It is not an unusual occurrence for a ball to be disturbed when being addressed for a putt, for example. Also incidentally, this particular occurrence was bad luck for Prain, a good player and a grand sportsman. Up to the fifteenth .he was level with par figures, but that hole, a par ,4, cost.him seven. ..-, "ALL WASHED UP" The one and only Walter Hagen, after 25 years as one of golf's most commanding, figures, has finished,.with serious tournament competition. "I'm all washed up," grinned the 47-year-old veteran when announcing his decision. "I'm going to play .for fun in a tournament or two occasionally," he said, "but it's too hard to keep in playing shape any more. Anyway, I've had my share of championships—l figure I've averaged about two a year for 25 years—and I'm ready to call it a day. But it's a great game, isn't it?" „ ■ It's certainly been a "great game for Sir Walter. The records show that he won the United States Open twice, the Western Open five times, the P.G.A. title five times, and the British Open four times—in addition to some 40 other titles. He's generally recognised as the greatest moneymaker professional golf ever knew, earning about 1.000.000 dollars in a quarter of a century. He made 6800 dollars in a match with Bobby Jones, the largest sum ever earned by one golfer for a single match. LOCKE ACCEPTS £2OOO A YEAR APPOINTMENT A. D. Locke's offer of an appointment as golf professional to the Maccauvlei Club, near Vereeniging, where the Boer War Peace Treaty was signed, at a salary which will make all but the Americans blink, must have come as something of a disappointment to the New Zealand golfing. authorities. It had been hoped to . persuade this wonderful young golfer to defend,his New Zealand title, but he decided to return direct to South Africa. He has turned down also some tempting offers from America, and declares that he has no intention of going to the States until he has first won the British Open Championship. And he plans to come here every year until he has done so (writes a London correspondent). That is the right spirit, and, given suitable weather, his pursuit of the Golden Fleece should not be a very protracted affair. With the single exception, perhaps, of young Bruen, the boy golfer from Cork, Locke is the most dazzling figure we have seen on the links since the all too brief reign of Bobby Jones. What interests me most about , his appointment is the report that he is to receive a salary of £2OOO a year for his services to the club to which he is now attached, and on whose course, set amid most glorious apple orchards, he won his first championship in South Africa after turning professional, It

has always seemed .ironical that whereas a professional boxer or a film star makes money that must make the. mouth of a Cabinet Minister water, the professional golfer, who must give uncounted hours of practice to the game if he is ever to join the ranks of the top-notchers, has to be content, in Great Britain at least, with a salary that is little better than that of a firstclass mechanic. Cotton, I know, has done much better for himself than this or indeed than any other British , golfer before him. His earnings to-day from his professional fees, his prize-money, .his newspaper articles and occasional appearances on the stage as a variety turn are estimated to bring him In a sum well in excess of £IO,OOO a year. But the average .first-class professional, whose name is known to every golfer in the country, has to be content, as a rule, with a salary of about £2OO a year, plus what he can make by the sale of golf balls and golf clubs and by giving lessons at anything from 2s 6d to 5s a time. - , ■ . , Even Richard Burton, who won the. championship this year at St. Andrews, has been content to go back to his little club in Cheshire with no idea of putting up his fees or anything of that sort. . • , The success of Locke, who is still only 21 years of age, may encourage professionals as a class to press for greater consideration. Incidentally, the blaze of glory which has marked his visit to England this year must give a great impetus to the game in South Africa. Here in England we like to think that the progress the sport is making. in so many parts of the dominions is due in some measure to the encouragement afforded by the visits of. our own professionals in recent.years. For golf is one of the best games going from the point of view of encouraging international rivalry without bitterness. Whitcombes for Golf*