GOLF

Otago Witness, Issue 3757, 16 March 1926, Page 56

GOLF

BY DIVOT. The excitement ami interest taken in golf as the result of the tournaments played during the course of the last few weeks will Soon he forgotten l»y some, but the players in different matches will refer to little incidents in lays to come, and consider themselves fortunate in having been on the Bpot to meet some old friend or see some brilliant piece of play. Those who (lnring the professional cliainpionsh’p were spectators from the “grand stand” (the shelter shed at ltoy's) to witness that beautiful iron shot played by J. M‘lntosh whilst going to Manuka for the Inst time, will quote this incident in years to come, ns will players who followed the final of the Amateur Championship remember little incidents that are worthy of emuUting and mistakes that were too costly to Ik* repeated. The ladies, too, with perfect weather to help along their golf, have l»a i n good ileal more experience tacked on to their golf. Although the Otago Amateur Cham, :onebip was unfortunate in having the worst of conditions ns regards wind, rain, and sodden fairways and greens, the golf stands was at times very high. It was out of the question to expect brilliant golf on Saturday week, when it rained continuously for the better part of the day. Ihe greens were waterlogged, nnl on several occasions the ball was shifted to get i putt to the hole. Accurate putting was out of the question U visa case of hitting ery flrmlv and triisrmg a good deal to Me* The !>".ll might s'.rkc a soft patch and be JistmlY, bnt it might l*e well past end take some troubie to get the hole on the return. Dr G. F Harnett, runner-up in th» otngo Amateur Championship, played steady golf, and proved himself a good match player. After IS holes of the Championship had lieen played he was leading by one hole His follower’s hopes roared high wlie i ne won the first hole in the afternoon, m Uvc. Dr Tv. Hose got his fighting blood up. an:l at the Mount had reduced matters lo a square. The champion forged ahead from here onward, winning five holes in succession. He presented Spion Kop to hiopponent when he took a six to Harneti s five. The match was not decid-l, however. at this stage, and when Harnett won the next (Hawthorn) the interest was sustained, dormie two being the score. Harnett seemed to got away a good ball going to the seventeenth, while Ross half-topped ids. and it looked like n win again for Harnett. Ross lifted out of casual water, and had a nice lie for his next, loss fortunate, was unplayable in the dihh and it cost a penalty stroke which ga\o Ross the hole and the match. It was a great performance under the conditions, and the number of enthusiasts who closely followed each shot were satisfied that Dr Ross had been extended over his ravou-'r'* C Tr S a curious fact that three out of the four competitors in the semi-finals in the Otago Amateur Championship belonged to the medical profession. Dr Ross wa« almost a stranger to Balmacewen tins >ear until the championship opened. He bas. in fact, played very little golf since Octo her of last year. It did not take him long however, to settle down to his usual sold game. L)r A. I. Hunter, who was beaten after a good fight by the champion, played some very good holes. This young player hits some very long balls, and with a 1 -tl more practice in the short game and cn the green will prove a hard nut to cn.cs in vears to come. Of the three St. Clair players who were in the match n| a - W. Wright, was the most experience'] player. He is reeoa niM)! as a great match player, and Ur u. ft, Barnett had a ding-gong game with him in the semi-finnl. W. Clayton had a "dar nlf” when he met A. S. Hassell iSeV I'lymoutU) who tvon fonr up. F. V. Drake, the other player, had some good -our.ds, and proved that he has plenty of pood golf in him. An Otago Cl ; ,y.nber who was rather dieappoirt'ng ‘‘ A. Reed. In club matohos he ran relied upon to give a goivi account of himself. His match w itn his club male. H. Brasch. which went to the twentieth areen. has taught him the lesson that, short and straig'. t is preferable to long and through. It w* i rather a disappointment that the jcading'playtrs from some of the northern dubs did not find it convenient to participate in the championship. Of the visitors who er.UKht the eye, T. H. A Richards (Christchurch) and A. S. Hassell (New Rhinc-uth) were the mo t prominent. D I* Hufoher, another Otago player worthy of note, is :i very well-known figure at Bai mace wen, and his defeat bv A. I Hunter was a surprise to most of his club mates. , ~ r ,, , The Otago Ladies' Goll Club was favoured with beautiful weather from the time its open tournament opened on Wednesday morning last week, until its conclusion on Saturday. The major event, the ladies' open championship of Otago, aroused a good deal of interest, and, as was expected by most golfers, was won by Mrs: Dodgshun. Mrs Dodgshun made a very bad start in the first round of the tournament, taking nine to the first hole, but to show that she has uow developed the right golfing temperament she did the remaining 17 holes in "7, returning a card of 86, the best in the first round. Her 80 for the second round was a very creditable performance, considering the very much longer course the ladies now play over.

The meeting of Mr 3 Dodgshun and Mrs Cook was reminiscent of the Dominion final, when the same two fought it out, and now, as then, Mrs Dodgshun proved the winner. Mrs Cook gave Mrs Dodg--Bhun a good game, and had her putts found the hole as they did on the previous day in her semi-final match, when she easily accounted for Miss Kay, the result might have been different.

Miss Olive Kay, late of Whangarei, but now of St. Clair, carried off a very fair share of the trophies. For a girl in her teens she hits a long ball, and her drive of 175 yards, with a slight head wind, in the driving competition was a good performance. Miss Kay was second on the list of those who qualified. She holds the Misses Mills’s challenge cup for the best aggregate score (handicap) in the t.. 0 qualifying rounds.

The Balmacewen Vase matches were keenly contested, several of the matches

going beyond the 18 holes before they were decided Mrs G. Henderson, who beat Miss Scott : n the final, was the winner. ‘lhe tournament, which was in every way a success was brought to a close on Saturday afternoon, when a mixed foursome was played. Ninety-two individual players took part in this popular event, in which the possession of the Cook Cup for the year was at stake. Dr Boss and Mrs Cook were in receipt of only one stroke handicap, and with this they managed to hold their own against “the colonel/’ and their card of “all square” proved the best, the next best scores being two down. It is not very often that one gets a practice shot in a championship, especially in a final. This happened in the match between Mrs Dodgshuif and Mrs Cook. The last-named played her brassie to the top of the hill, and it kicked into the rough to the right. After a search a ball was found at the foot of a broom bush. Mrs Cook played it once, and on looking at it discovered that it was not her ball On finding her own she played an entirely different shot, and managed to halve the hole.

When one hears male members at Bal macewen talk of the strenuous course and the stiff hill climb one is impressed there and then. During last week, however, the fact that the ladies could get in two rounds per day, although they had to carry their own clubs, puts a different complexion on the subject. Mrs Gilrr**, a veteran player—if one mav permissibly applv that expression to a lady—and a keen enthusiast of the game, polishes off two rounds seemingly with no effort.

The Glen is a green that is a picture to look upon from the* top of the hill. A much-felt want by players after finishing this hole is an electric light and light refreshments at the turning point. At times even a tap would be welcome. Can a fJaver rronnd the club in hunker or on the sides of bunker whilst addressing a ball ? This question was asLed at Balmacewen last week, and the answer given was in the affirmative. An old rule was read from a St Andrew’s Golf ( lub book, conveying the false idea that one can ground on "rass on sides of bunker For t..e past four vears this rule has been resr nded and if a player grounds in or on the side of bunker penalty stroke* are incurred. The idea that a local rule rovers this question is also a mistaken one. Local rules mitft not be inconsistent w»th the main nrincinles of oolf. The ladies who are still under the impress:on H'at they e n n ground cb'hs on the. sid® of bunkers will be well advised to read the latest rule on t’ - question.

The St. Andrew’s Cross competition "*as played on Balmacewen links on Saturday afternoon under ideal weather conditions. The senior competition resulted in a tie between D. IT. Butcher (2) and S. C. Colbprk (0). with scores of 1 up: and R. W. Dick (12) won the junior medal with a score of 2 up.