GOLF

Southland Times, Issue 19458, 24 January 1925, Page 15

GOLF

(By “Cleek.”) H. D. Gillies, the New Zealander who has won great distinction at Home, both in his profession (medicine) and as a golfer, had a great day at the Oxford-Cambridge golf tournament on the 11th inst. In the morning he beat Cyril Tolley (ex-amateur champion; at the 19th hole, and in the afternoon he disposed of Sir Ernest Holderness, the amateur champion, to the tune of 4 and 2. One would have to go a long way back through amateur golf to find a parallel for Dr Gillies’s fine performance. Last week the ranking of British amateurs and professionals by Home writers was given in this column. To follow up the topic, it may be mentioned that Wm. A. White, writing in the Golfers’ Magazine, gives the leading five American players in each class as follows: AMATEUR. WOMEN. PROFESSIONALS. Bobby Jones Glenna Collett W. Hagen G. Von Elm Mrs Hurd C. Walker F. Ouimet Edith Cummings Mac. Simth H. Johnston Marian Hollins W. Melhorn “Ckick” Evans Mary K. Browne J. Farrell As regards fifth place among the professionals, the writer says that it was a toss up between John Farrell, Leo Diegel, Joe. Kirkwood, Mike Brady and Boboy Cruickxhank George Duncan and Abe Mitchell played the first big match of their American tour at Tampa, Florida, on December 7, when they met Johnny Farrell and Bobby Cruickshank. The Americans won 3 and 2. The golf was brilliant throughout. In the morning round Mitchell finished in 72 and Duncan in 73, but, thanks to a round of 70 by Cruickshank, and excellent backing with a 73 from Farrell, the Americans were 3 up. In the afternoon Duncan cut loose with a magnificent 68, but Cruickshank was round in 70 again, and where necessary Farrell halved with Duncan, so that the Americans retained their morning lead and the match finished in their favour 3 and 2. In the 36 holes the scores of the players were:— Cruickshank, 140; Duncan, 141; Mitchell, 143; Farrell, 144. Par of the course was 71. J. H. Kirkwood refereed the match, which was followed by a huge gallery of visitors to the famous American winter resort. The Oamaru Golf Club has decided to acquire an area of land on the Oamaru Cape, about a mile and a-half from the P. 0., for a new course. The Club has been playing for many years on a municipal reserve, but, like most Clubs, has always looked forward to the day when it would own its own freehold. An Oamaru paper commenting on the Club's enterprise says:—“A committee of the Club, with the welfare of the sport thoroughly at heart, has been scouring the district for some time past, and has eventually secured a site which is admirably suited for links. This has been iospeoted by experts, who declare that it not only provides one of the finest courses in the South Island, but is capable of being converted into a championship course. The value of such fine links to the community, as well as to lovers of the sport, can scarcely be overestimated, for they will bring players to our town from all parts of the Dominion. It is gratifying to know that the movement to acquire the new course is being enthusiastically taken up by golf players generally, and there is reason to hope that Oamaru will be as famed in years to come for its splendid golf links as it is for its climate, its educational institutions, and its beautiful streets, gardens, and public buildings.” Information to hand indicates that the land selected is admirably suited for the Club's purpose, and that a good 18-hole course can be laid out on it at very little expense. Only three or four greens will require actual making, and most of the holes will be as interesting as can be got anywhere. The members of the Oamaru Club are heartily supporting the project, and are to be congratulated on the forward step they have taken. It will mean a lot to the game in Oamaru. Local golfers will look forward to playing a game on the new course. The suitability of the ground for the game may be judged from the fact that the new course is expected to be in play during the coming season. The money spent in the pursuit of golf is prodigious, and an analysis of the figures almost takes one’s breath away. Recently the United States Golf Association investigated the subject, and came to the following conclusions, which are interesting not only to the golfer, but to the community at large: "Lace information discloses the fact that there are over 3000 golf and country clubs

in the United States, and 2,000,000 golfers. The annual expenditure by members for dues, permits, golf balls, supplies and caddies totals 217,000,000 dollars.” In sterling this represents about £54,000,000, but to this sum must be added the vast sums expended in railway and motor-car travelling, special golfing clothes, boots and shoes, food and liquid refreshment, tobacco, .insurance premiums, instructional fees, prizes, etc. Altogether the sum of one hundred million pounds sterling would seem to be a low estimate. Nothing like so vast a sum :s spent on any other form of sport, and the tendency is for expenditure to increase rather than to decrease. In Great Britain there are close upon 2000 golf clubs, to which are attached nearly 1000 ladies’ clubs, and the capital invested in these, including land, constructional work, buildings, hotels will total about twenty million pounds. This takes no account of the money spent by the golfer in playing and equipping himself for the game. To arrive at an estimate of the. total sum expended it is necessary to gauge the number of golfers, men and women. I should not think (says the golf correspondent of the London Observer) that the figure would be far short of one million, just about half the number of those playing golf in the States. Taking the average subscription, including entrance fee, at £5 per head, this would mean about £5,000,000 per year. Estimating from the output of the largest ball-manufacturing firm, I should imagine that on an average each player purchases ten new balls a year, representing a total expenditure of £1,250,000. The purchase of new clubs, bags, shafts, and minor repairs would account for about £4 per headr—total, £4.000,000. Whereas some players spend little or nothing on new implements and equipment, others are in possession of veritable ironmonger’s shops. For example, one friend of mine never visits a club without purchasing a new driver, and he confesses to an ownership of over 500 wooden clubs, the vast majority of which have never yetstruck a ball, and, very likely, never will. There is a University golfer with a similar craze for collecting new r dubs, but he does make an effort to use them, even if only to demonstrate their unsuitability. These people are the real friends of the professional, and without their support the man seeking a livelihood from golf would have a very thin time indeed. Caddie hire, fares (railway and motor-car), food and drink, wearing apparel, green fees (£1,000,000 a year) account for an enormous sum, and a conservative amount would place the grand total spent on golf annually in Great Britain at £50.000.000. From a health point of view—the building up pf character, the friendships it creates, the amusement it gives—the money is well spent.

The Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient Club of St. Andrew’s announces that the amateur championship of 1925 will be played on the course of the Royal North Devon Club at Westward Ho, commencing on May 25, and that the open championship of 1925 will be played on the course of the Prestwick Club, Ayrshire, on 25th and 26th June. The qualifying rounds of the open championship will be played on the two courses of the Troon Club, Ayrshire, on 22nd and 23rd June.

In an article, Why England Appears Behind America, Mr Tolley says: “The America amateur can always copy Bobbie Jones, the finest hitter of the ball with one exception, whose footwork, swing, and general execution is the very ideal for a beginner to model his style on.” Mr Tolley also says that if Jones did not take his eye off the ball a trifle too soon and so miss short putts, he would never be beaten. A cable published in Australian papers, and dated from London, January 13, says:

—“The American Golf Association has informed Dunlops, Ltd., that it does not intend to change the size of the golf ball. It was recently proposed to increase the diameter to 1.68 inches, at tftfe same time slightly increasing the weight of the ball. The British golf rules committee rejected the new ball. British manufacturers saw in the move an attempt to restrict the importation into the United States of British golf balls, of which America uses £200,000 worth annually.”

Miss Cecil Leitch (writes Mr G. W. Greenwood in the Daily Telegraph) is an enigma; against any lady except one— Miss Wethered—she can play the type of commanding golf that always wins. Not only is Miss Leitch the dominating figure in the absence of her rival, but she goes about the business of crushing the enemy in most thorough and convincing manner. How different from those tragic clashes with Miss Wethered! Miss Leitch then plays another game entirely; she is anxious, nervous, shaken to the core. From what? Fright! There is no other possible explanation. Strange that Miss Leitch, who inspires fear in every other woman, should herself be consumed with dread when Miss Wethered, with features giving no trace of the human emotions, stands in front of her! It is a rather fascinating psychological problem, rarely met with.

To perfect the turf on the greens in one-fourth of the usual time, electric lights were used to grow grass at the new million dollar Bradley Beach Golf Club, Bradley Beach, N.J., U.S A. Twenty four reflectors, each containing a one thousand watt lamp, were installed over the practice green. The green was seeded with "creeping bent,” the best but most difficult golf grass to grow in the United States because of its slow growth and the comparatively short growing season. Two months after the seed was planted, the green was ready for use, thus saving six or seven months of the ordinary growing time required, and securing a more perfect turf than could otherwise be obtained. The reflectors on the golf green were suspended from cables at a height of about four feet from the ground, and about seven feet apart, furnishing an even light over the whole area so that the grass would grow evenly. The grass seed under the lights came up in five days while on the rest of the course it took two days longer. At the end of six weeks the grass under the lights had reached a growth of four inches, while that outside the lights was only one inch high. It was also found that the grass under the light was much thicker, and there were not nearly so many weeds on the green, probably because the grass was sturdier and heavier. In forcing the growth of the grass by artificial light, the illumination was kept on for five hours every night, allowing the rest of the night for rest* as plants must rest just as human beings’ do. All plants, including grass, assimilate and digest “food” from the air and earth, only under the stimulation of light, so that by giving them several hours more "daylight,” they are enabled to obtain more nourishment and therefore grow much faster. It is estimated that about four hundred new golf clubs open yearly in the United States, and the saving that can be made by applying this use of electric light is tremendous.