GOLF

Southland Times, Issue 19294, 12 July 1924, Page 12

GOLF

■By

"Cleek.”)

September I.—American women’s championship, Rhode Island. September S.—N.Z. open and amateur championships, Middlemore. September 20.—American amateur championship, Marion. The programme of the N.Z. golf championship meeting is to hand. The meeting will begin at Middlemore (Auckland) on sth September and will conclude on 13 th September. Entries close on 22nd August. North Island country clubs are crying out for coaches. The Raetihi and Taumarunui Clubs have appealed to the N.Z. Golf Council to assist them to obtain the services of a coach for the winter months. The Motueka Golf Club has been elected a member of the N.Z. Association and the secretary •reported to the last meeting that the following clubs are in communication with the Association on the subject of joining up:—Glen Massey, Te Puke, Awakino, Carterton, Shannon, Hawarden. On Thursday the Invercargill Ladies’ Club played the third bogey match of the season. The winner. Mrs Carr, finished 2 up. The first qualifying round for the championship will be played on Thursday. All entries must be in not later than Monday, 14th inst. The question of covering public risk on golf courses, that is, the risk of players or the public being injured through being hit with a ball, was brought up at the last meeting of the Council of the N.Z. Golf Association by an affiliated club, and the Council decided to make representations to the Underwriters’ Association to see whether a policy could be obtained covering all affiliated clubs. At the last meeting of the Council of the N.Z. Golf Association a letter was rei ceived r -om an affiliated club with refer- | ence to . efident of the town who coaches i certain m bers and receives payment for so doing, and he wishes to join the club so that he may be able to take part in the i competitions. It was resolved to inform them that under the St. Andrews decision there is nothing to prevent them electing him a member but this would not give him amateur status. Clubs are now permitted to elect professionals as members if they wish to do so. A Canadian foursome, A and B grade players in partnership, was played on the Park on Monday. Although 48 players took part no good scores were returned, this being due, no doubt, to the sodden state of the ground. The net scores were as follows: —Miss Stout and Mrs T. F. Macdonald 90; Mrs Israel and Miss Pilcher 96; Miss Campbell and Mrs Garrett 97; Mrs T. M. Macdonald and Mrs Cruickshank 98; Miss Haggitt and Mrs Spencer 99; Miss Brodrick and Miss Oughton 99; Mrs Hoyles and Mrs C. M. Smith 99. It is important that members of the Queen’s Park Ladies’ Club should closely observe the rule re advising the captain not later than the Saturday before a match if* they will not be playing. The Wellington City Council is hard up against the problem of accommodation on the municipal course at Berhampore. The number of week-end players is rarely less than 200 and is often more, and there are sometimes as many as 20 players at one hole from tee to green. The course returned the Council a nett profit of £5OO last year. In the recent inter-Club match Wellington v. Miramar, J. H. Drake (No. 1 for Miramar), had the chance of his life to beat Arthur Duncan (No. 1 for Heretaunga). Drake was dormy one and had a two-foot putt on the last green to halve the hole and win the match. He missed it and the result was “all square.” After giving the matter very careful consideration, and calling into consultation Messrs A. Gerrard and J. Gilkison, the Committee of the Invercargill Club has decided to plough the fairways of the new holes at the Otatara course, and at a meeting during the week the Green Committee was authorised to act in the matter at once. As there is a good sole of grass

on the ground it was hoped that some means would be found of obtaining smooth fairways without turning the grass under, but the experts agreed that ploughing was unavoidable. Ploughing will be restricted to the fairways only, beginning at a distance of about 50 yards from the tees and covering a strip three chains wide right up to the greens. When the plough has done its work the grader will be put over the earth to obtain a perfectly smooth surface, and after suitable preparation permanent grass will be sown. This should give first class fairways of ample width, and if a good strike of grass is obtained the new holes will be ready for play next season and the full course will be put into regular use. The Green Committee, in the meantime, is working away on the greens and every effort will be made to have them in good order by the time the new fairways are ready for play.

Among those who took part in the British' women’s open golf championship at Portriish was a splendid old lady of 77 summers. This was Mrs Hezlett, who is a member of the Royal fyjrtrush Club. Mrs Hezlet competed in the first ladies’ championship in 1893, and has not missed a year since; to her alone belongs the distinction of having played in every championship. This year she played her match through and was beaten 4 and 3 by Miss Tynte, another Portrush player. Besides being a veteran golfer herself, Mrs Hezlet is the mother of a great golfing family. Her daughter, Miss M. Hezlet (now Mrs M. E. L. Ross), won the ladies’ championship in 1899, 1902 and 1907, and in 1907 Miss F. Hezlett was runner-up to her sister. Miss F. Hezlett was again runner-up in 1909, and Miss V. Hezlet was runner-up in 1911. Major C. O. Hezlet was runnerup in the amateur championship in 1914, and in the Welsh championship in 1923. In 1920 he won the Irish championship. The Hezlets are a great golfing family, but with a mother playing in the ladies’ open championship at 77 years of age, that is not perhaps surprising. At a meeting held during the week the Committee of the Invercargill Club had under discussion the old, old question of how to induce members to replace the turf. Since it was softened by rains the Oratara course has suffered serious damage from the neglect of players to observe the injunction to replace the turf. One has only to play a round on the course to notice on every fairway bare patches of varying sizes, some of them small, others long and deep, where some player’s club has bitten into the turf and he has done nothing to repair the damage. As often as not the divot taken out lies near at hand, and careful players spend a good deal of time putting back other peoples’ divots as well as their own. It is impossible to keep a course in good order in winter time if players refuse to assist by replacing the turf. Sometimes the divot breaks up into small fragments and nothing can be found to put back, but even then the ground should be trodden flat. In most cases, however, the turf taken out can be found, and there is really no excuse for not putting it back and tramping it in. Members of golf clubs will assist greatly in keeping their own property up to the mark if they will make a point of strictly observing, and inducing others to observe, the rule to replace the turf. The flag match played on the Park last week produced some good scoring. In the A grade G. F. Ferguson again came out on top. At the 18th green he had 4 strokes to spare and placed the flag on the 19th green. Ferguson, who played rather indifferently last year, started this year on handicap 18 and after five matches has reduced his handicap to 9. A. W. Morgan finished second in the flag match on the 18th green, and B. Tangney third close up. In the B grade G. Tapper on the 20 mark, who had not so far this season come up to form, came away with a rush and at the 18th hole had 8 strokes to spare. Following on he got a 4 at the first hole and a 3 at the second and placed the flag well down, the fairway of the 21st hole. D. McPherson ran him a close second with 4 strokes to spare at the 18th hole; then came W. J. Brooke, who finished in the 18th hole, and T. F. Macdonald and J. Hain on the 18th green. A medal match will be played on the Park on Wednesday and Saturday of next week. The Park Club was visited last Wednesday by the Riverton golfers, who sent in ten players. The day was ideal for golf, and made the match a pleasure for the players. The Park team were evidently too strong a combination for their opponents, as they won seven games, lost one and drew two. H. G. Leng-Ward beat F. Rouse 5 and 4; G. F. Ferguson beat A. E. Willett 4 and 3; A. Masters beat J. W. Instone 3 and 2; S. E. Wootton beat G. R. Berndtson 5 and 4; D. McPherson lost to L. R. McNeil3 and 2; G. Tapper all square with J. A. McKinnon; A. W. Morgan all square with Kingston; W. S. Ayson beat R. W. Birch 5 and 4; W. J. Brooke beat W. Lockett 4 and 3; T. F. Macdonald beat E. Harrison 8 and 6. After afternoon tea had been partaken of Mr Willett, on behalf of the Riverton Club, expressed the pleasure they had in playing once more against the Park Club, and although they had been badly beaten yet they trusted to see the Park players out at Riverton at an early date, when he hoped they might turn the tables. Mr Kidd, the Park captain, thanked the Riverton golfers for the match that day, and expressed the hope that they would soon meet again in a match at Riverton. Cheers were exchanged by the players before the Riverton players started off on the return trip by motor. Cyril Tolley had a great win in the French open championship, in which he had the distinction of beating Walter Hagen, who had just won the British open championship at Hoylake, as well as George Duncan, Gene Sarazen and other bright stars. Tolley played 72 holes at La Boulie in 290 strokes, Hagen coming second with 295. This was an excellent score, though not the best played in an open championship at La Boulie. A. Boomer won there in 1922 with an aggregate of 286, and in 1911 Arnaud Massy played four rounds of 70, 74, 71 and 69 for a fine aggregate of 284. Tolley’s golf just now must be as good as he has ever played, for he was first amateur in the open championship with an aggregate of 314, only thirteen strokes behind Hagen. He was fourteenth on the list and below him were Arthur Havers, last year’s champion, and Gene Sarazen, the American champion. Following is the draw for the stroke competition to be played at Otatara today:—R. B. Caws (14) plays J. F. Lillicrap (14) ; C. A. Masters (2) plays F. A. Barclay (9) ; C. M. Smith (8) plays Dr. Ewart (14) ; B. Hewat (21) plays S. M. Macalister (24); C. W. S. Cox (12) plays A. A. Cramond (8) ; Rev. Thompson (24) plays A. E. Smith (18) ; A. W. Morgan (20) plays A F. Grenfell (20) ; J. McLeod (24) plays G. Cruickshank (18); R. R. Binney (17) plays J. Hain (24) ; B. Tangney (15) plays C. C. Jennings (24) ; J. D. Mitchell (22) plays D. R. Campbell (20) ; D. McPherson (24) plays C. B. Tapley (16); J. E. Cuthill (15) plays Dr. MacGibbon (20); D. T. Maxwell (24) plays J. P. Butler (24); N. E. Hubbard (24) plays P. C. Clulee (24) ; E. M. Gilmour (24) plays A. Dickens (16); K. De Castro (16) plays M. H. Mitchel (22); F. Hinton (24) plays G. F. Ferguson (22); A. B. Haggitt (22) plays J. B. Reid (18); Dr..

Owen Johnston (24) plays R. W. Jack (24); A. Deaker (24) plays W. Satterthwaite (24).

New Zealand has at one time and another been very well represented in foreign golfing circles by different golfers, and it is always pleasing to read of some once-local player who is creating a good impression cf the. New Zealand golf standard, writes the golf correspondent of the Evening Post. Usually it is a male golfer who upholds the honour, but in the latest reports it is a lady golfer who has achieved prominence, the player being Mrs C. F. Adams, who is now a member of the Goulburn Club, New South Wales. Mrs Adams was at one time well-known in Palmerston North, where she started playing golf, and is a sister of Mrs Meadows, of Lower Hutt, and, I think, a sister-in-law of Dr Adams of Wellington. Mrs Adams has just won the first-grade championship of her Club with 79, 84, 84— 247. In doing this she beat the previous record for the three rounds cf the championship held by Miss Poidevin by the large margin of 11 strokes. During the past nine years Mrs Adams has held the championship for six years, was runner-up on two occasions, and in the other year was not a competitor. None of her three rounds this year has been beaten or equalled, with the exception of an 83 scored two years ago. The Hoylake course, on which- the British open championship was played last month, is the longest of all the championship courses. These are eight in number— St. Andrews, Prestwick, Hoylake, Sandwich, Muirfield, Deal, Westward Ho and Troon. Hoylake is 6.750 yards in length with a par cf 73. The course is nearly 1000 yards longer than the Heretaunga, course at Wellington, and 650 yards longer than the Miramar course. It is 710 yards longer that Middlemore course at Auckland, where the New Zealand championships will be played this year, and 800 yards longer than the Shirley course. When Walter Hagen, half way through the fourth round of the open championship, was informed that he bad to do a 36 fcr the last nine holes to beat E. R. Whitcombe’s he had ahead of him nine tough holes 3,460 yards in length, six of them over 400 yards in length and two of them over 500 yards. This is how he did it:— Hole. Length. Hagen’s Score.

3460 36 It was a great performance—a performance of which, in circumstances involving the utmost degree of strain, only a real champion was capable.

yards. 10 430 4 11 200 4 12 380 4 13 165 3 14 510 4 15 440 4 16 525 5 17 400 4 18 410 4