GOLF.

Otago Witness, Issue 2905, 17 November 1909, Page 62

GOLF.

KOTES BY BULGER.

i The same stationary state in the making j and unmaking of golfing reputations seems to be the outcome of recent professional play. The relative position's of the professionals «eem to be to-day what they were at the dose of the Open Championship. It is true that during the past few months there has been but little serious professional golf, and the opportunities of observation i for valuable comparison between the form , of the leading players at the end of spring and the opening of play next month' have neither been numerous nor conspicuous. Apparently, however, Taylor is in quite as good form as he showed months ago, with Vardon"~and" Braid coming just far ! enough in the rear to mark the open j champion's present ascendancy. Whether the discrepancy in form revealed last week at Honor Oak .• between Taylor and Braid will continue much longer is in the highest degree unlikely.. For the moment. Braid seems to be afflicted with a fit of uncertain | and erratic putting, and it was at the hole ' side that his recent match with Taylor was ! load, complicated with a higher- average of poor tee shots than usually falls to the lot of the Walton Heath player. That inequality on the putting green, however, is not likely to endure. While it is the first, point in a professional's equipment to reveal ! a distressing weakness, it is at the same time a weakness which is more quickly recovered from than the tendency to heel iror shots or to eclaff tee shota. The doc-, trine that putting is an inspiration of the moment rather than a settled point of acquired skill always seems to receive more confirmation from the play of the professionals than from that of the best j amateurs. Between professionals of the calibre of Taylor and Braid the game which is being contested is reduced largely to a question of superiority on the putting „ green, and for the moment Taylor "'s in the ascendant. But the News of the World tournament at Walton Heath early next month may doubtless reverse the positions. In any case it will be a most interesting tournament over a green well adapted to test professional science as well as the match-playing temperament. An interesting case affecting schoolboys • and their desire to earn money on the links by carrying clujjs for visitors arose a few days ago at the North Berwick ' School Board meeting. During the height of the golf season at popular resorts like Gullane and North Berwick" the demand ' for caddie schoolboys is always in excess of the supply. Boys who are at school, and who wish t© carry clubs, have to receive official authority exempting them from school j attendance ; but apparently then is frequently an infraction of the rule committed, either by the boys themselves or with the connivance of their parents, who need the boys' earnings. Some boys were out carrying clubs on the links without this exemp- ! tion at the time the meeting of the school j board was being held. The question raised I was, "Who gave the exemption, and why?" \ A widow had applied for the exemption o r her son, 13 or 14 years of age, for a perior of three weeks, because the boy had "a" [ offer to carry clubs for a gentleman.'" j With the money earned by the boy th<» widow said she would be enabled to bu" clothes for the other children to clofcV' > I them during the coming winter. Sir . | G. Baird, the chairman, moved that ti -» I application should be granted. There w*>i~ I colleagues of the chairman, however, who j were great sticklers for observing the regulations laid down by the Act of Parliament in respect of the employment of the I boys, holding that to grant the exemption in this case would be to establish a precedent. Besides, the plea that there were no clothes foi the other children was alleged to be no ground for exemption ; it was the duty of the board to see that the boye were educated first of all. It was also urged that the board had to consider the question of whether they were justified in granting an exemption from echool attendance to carry clubs, an occupation which many persons thought was not a useful one for boys to loam. One golfer was alleged to have declared that unless he could get a boy caddie for a month he would not engage him at all. There was only one application, from a girl to act as caddie. In the end a motion by the chairman that all the applications made on behalf of the boys to carry clubs should be granted until the end of .Seotember, when the busy season among jrolf-erb on the links would have come to » clo=e. was carried. Most grolfers will sympathise with f,he claim of the poor widow. R^-fosal in such a cage would indeed be hard. Even school board regulations are meant to be administered in a spirit of commonsense and with a fair amount of plasticity to suit varying circumstances. The schoolboys at North Berwick and Gullane know that they can help their parents very materially by earning money in the busy season on the links, and to apply regulations harshly, as some members seemed to plead for, in the stii^z'i cause of

education only leads to defiance and open truancy on the part of the boys. Many of these boya in East Lothian have often earned enough 'money to see their parents through the hardships of a bitter winter and to pay fees tor classes at a higher school or at Edinburgh University to improve tfeeir own educational chances in life. The education of the caddie boy rarely suffers by a little leniency in the way of exemption at holiday times.— Field.

The .annual competition for the Bruntsfield medal took place on Balmacewen Links on Monday last. Mr H. C. Smith was the winner, with an aggregate of 164 for the two .rounds. The- following are some of the best scores: —

Mr H. D. Stronach {handicap 3) won the Mornjng ' Handicap witb 78 net, while Messrs A. H. Fisher and R. P. Ward (handicaps 1 and 7 respectively), with 84 net, tied -for the Afternoon Handicap. A match. Bank of New Zealand (Dunedin) v.Balclutha t Golf Club was played at Balclutha yesterday, and resulted, after a close contest, in a win for the Bank. Perfect golfing weather prevailed. The visitors, who were hospitably entertained, were very favourably impressed with the Balclutha Links. The following' are the scores : Forbes beat Stewarf, 2 up; Barron beat Thompson* 2 up; Purchase v. Spiers, all square; Kelly beat Steward, 2 up; Bilton loat to Bishop, 2 down; Cairns lost to Pennycook, 2 down; Weymouth v. Sheddan, all square.

1 1 $ I IH C. Smith m 79 85 — 164 A F. Roberts ... 88 85 — 173 H. D. Stomach . . 81 94 — 175 J. R. Park 89 87 — 176 A. H. Fisher . . 93 85 — 178 J. O. Kettle ... 89 92 — 181 B- J. Sarifcif 96 ,86 — 182 R, J. Smith ... 83r 100 — 183 H A. Salmon ... 86 98, — 184 T; Brydone 91 95 — 186 R. P. Ward ... . rf 95 91 — 186 JTJ T H. Gale «2 97 ! — 189