GOLF.

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 66

GOLF.

•■'■■-XOTE&i:B*..BirjI6ER. ' - - •■•"-;' The decisions issu&T' by the Rules of Golf Committee are kWdbs interesting readW and tno -patch "'that'"'was issued for'.the month of January presents some nroblems to the gomng mind'Tvbieh are bv no means ea,v of ' settlement;'by what S»V Waiter bimpam called .'f tfe" categorical imperative. I'or example, '.'what constitutes a woffnised! gcjf.cjib?'': asks the Military brjn.fciiana Club of. ; Mauritius, expressing a w*i* to kncw : at.the,same time whether any xerin; of registration. is' necessary. The r%L£l *?s*&?*&■ that the Rules Umimittee are of opinion, that "a recognised golf club is one which has regularly .appointed officebearers," adding that no registration is necessary In a i "l ■•ense &tfdefinition.here given is, no doubt correct, but as a matter in the world <tf golf cmb has /dlwaye ; J -feeen liable to much wfV f f ter and indeed has e ft, of ten founrf to be .a. stumbling block tor the playmg. of open .competitions. The question is . quite; old, and no • satisfactory or . has ■ vet been como to .«*;.&. the just meaning'- of th€ .*» 'The; use of the" ? word "recognised began' i ? be used in advertisements of competitions, and in golf literal ture some years, .after .the .institution of ; the amateur championship, and when the spread 01 the game: ah;, over England tooic suofc enorißOus.stades;.;., But neither the general body of filayera nor the officials of clubs could define, either accurately or satisfactorily what;was meant by. a "recoc-- i nised. club. The natural question -which was always asked was, Recognised by whom? The use of the word implied that there was some central body connected witn the government of golf, which imparted to the status,.of a. club the sanction of recognition as ,a /corporate body. Rut this has not been, eom,the past, and it i 3 not so now; so/thaj;;sie practical working of the term "recognised'-' depends upon the colour imparted to.:it.;by the-executives of golf clubs managirig,;a,- competition or extending the hospitality of its green and clubhouse to the. members of other clubs. Social considerations,,;count for something in the interpretation, of-the word, for legal 6tatus- of constitution is ..by no. means enough, as the.. word is generally interpreted among, golfers to secure entrance through the implied,; open door of being "recognised." ;-./',,]"■ . . Another interesting point is raised by the question of the. Seas.cale Golf Club. Here it is asked whether,,-it. .is. permissible -to touch the ground, .behind the hole in order to point out the line of, a put, and whether the hole is lost because the player's partner or one of the caddies holds a club behind the hole to indicate the line of put while the stroke is ■ being played. The Rules Committee, state that it is not permissible to . touch- the ground behind the hole, that no mark, may be placed, 'and that the player contravening the rule loses the hole. This, decision is a repetition of a similar decision , given three, years ago under the, old. rules, -and which at the time created some - surprise and no little controversy among, players. To-day some golfers are also. disputing the fairness of the decision, on account of the framing of a clause which, has fbeen inserted • in the' : revised rule .setting forth, the procedure on the puttirg green. ;.In 1908 the revised rule for putting was made to declare that the partner or the caddies might "point out a direction.for putting, but in doing this they shall not touch" the ground on the-, proposed lin<» of .the put." These critics fail to inark the additional prohibition forming the end of the rule: "No mark shall" be placed , anywhere on the putting green." When golfers argue that the proposed j line of the put is the only element of danger that should be taken into account, they obviously forget that no two players follow the same line, even in comparatively short puts, to get" their ball into the hole. The line of the put is not a.definite mathematical quantity like a stroke on a sheet of paper. It depends. entirely on the skill, and, above all, on the keenness 1 of observation of the player in, detecting - the bias of the ground around the hole eide. It has also to be remembered that . no putting fault is more common than to ■ go wide of. the hole, and in many ease© to bound the ball over -the tin and he a jard beyond the hole. When a ball is played strongly, therefore, the mark of the club on the ground behind the hole would

serve as a guide to "the line, thereby conferring a. distinct advantage on the player who bad run his ball past. It is to guard against this dDUfe that the decision of the Rules Committee has been rightly given, while at the same time it squares with common sense and every-day golfing experience. . , , , A curious and interesting method of. ma-K----in* golfers contribute to a public charity is sefn in the cheque for £lB 19a which has been sent by the Duke of Devonshire to the Princess Alice Hospital at Eastbourne. This sum represents the proceeds of . the sale of golf bails which have been driven out of bounds during the past year into the grounds of Compton place, the Duke s residence at Eastbourne, which is close to the links. In' looking at this indirect method of levymg tribute upon the golfers who use the Eastbourne links it would-be additionally interesting if the published account of the contribution naa stated toi how much each ball had been sold. As a rule, the prudetiLgolfer when he approaches "out of .bounds 1 ?: territory selects hie oldest balls for the tee shot. It is unlikely, therefore, that the balls which were driven into the Duke's grounds were ail ot the same quality or soundness of condition. If they were sold, sihglv or in half dozens to individual golfers or to a local professional, the prices given for them must nave v : an « d | j and if they were sold in one lot to a ball manufacturer the price is more likely to have averaged not more than 3d each rattier than 6d. However that aspect of the subject is viewed it is clear that the aggregate number of balls driven out of bounds at Compton. place annually must be substantial even to produce the modest sum mentioned. Those players who have lost their balls in' this way at Eastbourne are much more likely to be content to see their propertv converted into a means of helping the abreviation of suffering than of seeing it exploited through nefarious tridks lor the personal benefit of the "ball sn atelier In a letter which has been. written byTaylor a strong plea is put forward asking ■ golf clubs' to show more considerateriess to the professionals in' respect of the. conditions attaching to the sak of golf balls. The cause of Taylor's appeal apparently is the publication of a.n'advertisement by (< a 'golf dub "aVkirw; for the services of" "a" '''first-class professional,"but stipulating that the. otiiV reserves to itself the right of selling balls to its. members. As chairman of the Professional Golfers' Association, .Taylor''says that' he knows from special information which reaches him there are 'a great number of professionals to-day who can hardly "make'"'a 'living" out of their employment in the game. ' It has, of course, long been obvious that the coming of the rubber "core' ball and its subsequent universal use meant two changes in the economic position of the professional. First, it meant the making of the new ball by expensiye machinery, by large capitalised companies, with whom-he was powerless tn compete. -Next, it meant the making of playing clubs by speciallv-designed machinery,* al»o in large "quantities according to an "improved; model, and the introduction of harder and bettor wood. Thus the adoption of the rubber-core in the game hit the professional on the only profitable sources of his trade. It destroyed at a stroke the revenue he steadily gained from the remaking of the old gutta balls, on the making of beech-wood:heads for drivers and brassies, and in the revenue derived from constant small ■ repairs, like leather faces, broken shafts and heads, and fracturedhorns, i' Balls and clubs are now made by intricate machinery and the profeseionaVs part in the game is to-day largely that of a middleman, rIt is- no wonder,' therefore, that the professionals did not look with favour on the coming of the new .b.all when it began to be generally played with eight or nine years ago! The. doubled ;cost of the rubber-core also, as compared -with the gutta, has also injured them... By purchasing balls in large quantities members of clubs can _ obtain them at a reduced price, and it, is this growing practice which manifestly stirs the eloquence of Taylor on behalf of his brethren. The subject is a' difficult and delicate one. ... Everyone wants to buy in : the cheapest market if the practice has the sanction of legality and morality, and it is not. easy to convince any golfer that he is inflicting an injury on : any one if ho combines with, others ■tc obtain a . supply of balls of the best brand at 6d .or 8d a-piece less than he can obtain them at the clubmaker's shop. The only remedy would seem to lie in two directions. Either the professionals should form a syndicate amonc themselves to manufacture the best kind of ball which their knowledge, and experience of the. game suggest is likely to be as popular, at least, as the present brands., or the authorities of elub6 should be asked to consider the existing economic conditions of /-the game, ;and to pay the professional a higher wage in view of his diminished trade from the. sale ot clubs and balls. The main, sources of the revenue of profssionals at present would seem to be derived f rom teaching and from their, winning of money, .prizes in tournaments •through superlative skill in play. But here, it is well known..there ire but half a dozen desirable places in front of. th* professional ranks, and they are likely:'to be stubbornly fought for by a crowd of young professionals for many vears to come.— Field. _ Golf linltshave. been opened, at Arcadia. Paradise. This sounds tempting, and as it is a real fact it. should, be of interest to golfers and those who : would like to. try their hand* at the game when holidaymaking. Paradise, it is hardly .necessary to mention, is in this instance, at the head of Lake Wakatimi; and this latest attraction to the district, will .doubtless be appreciated. Holiday-makers and tourists occasionally find time bansr a. little heavily on their hands, even in this ideal spot. Tn future they will be Me to take their clubs and engasre in. a game on the hnks. There are nine holes and the round is about two miles, just sufficient lot gentle exercise.

A decision which has been given. in a case in the Bride-water...Countv Court enforces the care which should he taken by golfers who plav over links where grazincr animals are roaming- at larg-e. A local farmer and hArsaebreeder sued the Bridgwater Golf Olah* for a, sum of £BO as damages for the death of a, mare which hadl been struck, hv a aolf. ball. The evidence was to the effect that the farmer and the grolf club had made an arrangement for the playing of aolf over" his land, the club acreeanc- to nay. damiage if any . of the cattle were injured.. T?6v its protection the club insured the members, .but in respect of this case the insurance. comoany are allee-ed 'to have denied liability. The mare's death said a veterinary surgeon in his evidence;, was due to .its having been struck with a golf ball. .Judgment was given for

the' amount claimed by the farmer; with costs. The incident shows that a golf ball, when driven hard, is really a dangerous projectile, and that care should be taken to get horses, cows, and sheep out of the line of play. Golfers have a mistaken impression that Nature has adequately protected sheep and cattle from the effects of a blow by a golf ball. The sheep s fleece in undoubtedly a great protection, but in the spring and summer, when sometimes many Hundreds of sheep are on our inland . courses, the writer has seen sheep hit on the head and drop stunned as if they had been shot, and on one occasion a skimming tee shot broke a young lamb s leg. The animal had to be killed, and the plaver to pay compensation. _ If the ball is the governing factor in the evolution of the golf club, it is also becoming more clear every year that it '.s creating a revolution in the ideas hitherto accepted of course construction. ,The cry everywhere, even on the old and classic courses, is for more bunkers to be added to those which have long existed so as to make the game more interesting as well as more difficult with the new ball. At.Montrose,. for example, i scheme is in preparation by the town council and the club to add fifteen new bunkers and to extend five of the present bunkers for next season 9 plav there. At Carnoustie, on the other, hand, an sffort is to be made to add another eighteen-hole. course. .Here the holiday golf in the summer and autumn is nearxy as important as it is at St. Andrews and North Berwick, and to accommodate the crowd of visitors another relief course is wanted. At present there is an eighteenhole course and a relief round of nine holes, and the' proposal is being diecussed by the town council and the. green committee to enlarge the short course tc a full round. ......

For the monthly Bogey competition, played over 10 holes, bv the St. Glair Ladies’ Golf Club (Junior Grade) yesterday, the following cards were handed in;

INVERCARGILU TOURNAMENT. INVERCARGILL, March 28. A golf tournament, at which the contest for the championship of Southland was inaugurated, was held on the InvercargiU Litiks on Friday, Saturday, and to-day. The championship was won by SturrocK, of the local olub, R. J. Smith, of Dunedin, being runner-up. Smith handed in the best card on the first day. but did not maintain his form on Saturday and Monday, while Sturroek improved, his last two rounds showing exception all v fine golf. The scores were:— . Sturrock—Bß, • 81. 79—248. ■•" Smith—B2, 89, 88-259. -.-'•' Banks—9l, 89, 83—263. The Gore players were not successful, and InvercargiU retained the Challenge Shield'.in the Inter-chH Match.

Hp. - • ■ Net. ■ Miss Connie Jackson ... 10 All square Miss Gibson Smith / .i. 10 3 down Mrs Smith ... ••• ... 4 3 down Mrs Isaacs ... ... 10 " 3 down Miss Bust — 4 4 down Miss Wyinks ... ... ... 10 5 down Mrs Kahlenberg ... .... 4 - 4 .down