GOLF

Southland Times, Issue 22038, 10 June 1933, Page 14

GOLF

(By

“Cleek.”)

INVERCARGILL CLUB. June 10.—Cuthbertson Memorial

Foursomes. June 17.— Medal Handicap. June 24.— Four-ball bogey Handicap.

QUEEN’S PARK CLUB. June 10.— Bogey Handicap. June 17.— Medal Handicap. Holloway

Shield. June 24.— Holloway Shield, 2nd. round.

Bogey handicap at Queen’s Park today. Cuthbertson Memorial Cup foursomes at Otatara this afternoon. King’s Birthday tournament at Otatara, with record entries, was an outstanding success. Plans are being finalized for a visit by a strong team from the Invercargill Club to the St. Clair Club on 24th inst. G. T. Alley, ex-All Black, is coming to the front in golf as a member of the Russley (Christchurch) Club. He is a mighty hitter from the tee. J. O. Anderson, ex-Australian tennis champion, was recently a winner in a Concord (Sydney) Club competition. In golf he has the smooth, rhythmical action that distinguished his tennis when he was in the front rank of the world’s players. B. M. Silk, Wanganui, is steadily enhancing his reputation and consolidating his position as a Kirk-Windeyer Cup player. He won the Auckland provincial championship at the recent Easter tournament and has now added the Masterton championship to his list of successes. In the final of the latter event he defeated a Kirk-Windeyer Cup colleague in J. P. Hornabrook. Miss Bams-Graham (Poverty Bay) who came into prominence at the ladies’ New Zealand championship at Timaru last year, and who recently won the Wellington provincial ladies’ championship, suffered a reverse in the Masterton women’s championship when Miss B. Rutherford, Hawarden, Canterbury, beat her 2 up and one to play in the final. Miss Barns-Graham has been spoken of as a probable member of the New Zealand team to play in the Australian ladies’ championship at Melbourne in the spring. It looks as if Miss Rutherford will have claims. With two fine rounds, 75 and 72, B. V. Wright won the South Canterbury championship at Timaru on the King’s Birthday. Wright got his 75 in the first round despite a bad start, recovering with a great 34 for the nine holes in. His second round was a typical performance, and it is greatly to be regretted that local golfers were prevented by the weather from seeing him in action under favourable conditions at Otatara last month.

In memory of their late mother, Mrs J. Irving (nee Miss Helen Prain), Masterton, and Mr J. C. Prain, hon. secretary of the Invercargill Golf Club, have offered the Invercargill Ladies’ Club a memorial cup as a permanent trophy. The late Mrs Prain was for many years an enthusiastic member of the Invercargill ladies’ club, a regular player in competitions and a zealous worker for the club’s advancement. Needless to say the generous offer of her son and daughter (themselves golfers) was gratefully accepted, and the committee of the ladies’ club has made the suggestion for the approval of the donors that the cup should be a prize for_ a foursomes bogey handicap, thus filling the place in the ladies’ club that the Cuthbertson Memorial Cup holds in the men’s club.

The “Cock o’ the Walk” badges (Otatara) still adorn the coats of C. A. Masters and T. W. B, Stoddart despite a claim to possession of them by H. E. Russell and J. R. Sinclair last weekend. Sinclair found that as the result of outstanding performances' at the King’s Birthday tournament he had considerably fewer strokes to bring into the reckoning, and with T. W. B. Stoddart using his handicap to advantage, and Masters helping usefully from scratch, the holders repulsed the challengers, winning 2 and 1. A. G. Seddon and N. L. Watson will be the next to dispute possession of the trophies. T. W. B. Stoddart holed his second at the Outlook in a tournament round on Saturday last. He got a good drive and his mashie to the green was perfectly played. The ball was never going anywhere else but to the cup. Playing his third with wood at the Rushes W. Buchan holed out for a useful three—also in a tournament round. As might be expected from the scores, many of the tournament cards showed some extraordinarily good holes, and, as might be expected from the handicaps, there was sometimes a somewhat startling contrast between the exceptionally low figures and their neighbours. The foursome is one of the stiffest tests in golf. It is recognized in the big international matches. The Walker Cup, for instance, is decided by foursomes and singles, and so is the ladies’ international between Britain and U.S.A. In Britain many notable matches arc played in foursomes only. There is no let-up in the foursome. The strain is on all the time, and each player must strive to save every possible stroke and to make the best possible use of every opportunity. He must not be depressed by his own mistakes nor upset by those of his partner. Just because it is so difficult and taxing the foursome is nothing like so popular as the four-ball, but there is no comparison between the two from the point of view of a test of the players. For that reason it is a matter" for congratulation that the Invercargill Club has one true foursome on its programme, and it is all to the good that in presenting the club with a handsome cup in memory of their brother, Capt. Douglas Cuthbertson, who fell in the Great War, Messrs George and Denniston Cuthbertson suggested that it should be a trophy for a foursome competition. Because it is a foursomes prize and because of its associations the Cuthbertson Cup is one of the most coveted trophies the Invercargill Club possesses and there is certain to be keen competition for it today. For the first occasion at St. Andrews an admission fee of 2/6 will be charged for this year’s British open championship. A special Act of Parliament had to be passed, however, before this arrangement could be completed. The problem of large crowds which have seriously interfered with the players in recent years will, it is expected, again occur this year, despite the admission fee.

The Otago correspondent of N.Z. Golf Illustrated makes the following kindly reference to the recent visit of an Otago Club team to Otatara: —“During the month a team of Otago players, on the invitation of the Invercargill Club, paid a visit to the Otatara course. Unfortunately the match events arranged had to be abandoned on account of persistent rain which temporarily flooded the course. However, some friendly games were played on Saturday afternoon, and much favourable comment was made on the condition of the Otatara greens and fairways, which indeed were beyond reproach. The hospitality of the Southland members was the feature of the trip.” Queen's Park players will in future play their matches in fours, the committee having decided on this course in order to relieve the congestion that results when the field is out in pairs. A

proposal to play in threes, which would also eliminate hold-ups and occupy less time for a round, was considered and rejected in favour of the plan adopted. The draw for to-day has been made up in pairs and fours will be arranged at the club house. Time will be saved if one pair putt out and then proceed to the next tee and drive off while the other pair are putting, but in medal matches if all four wait on the green until the putting is completed it is going to take a long time to get round. The decision of the committee may not appeal to all, but if some change had not been made tiresome delays would have continued, and playing in fours will certainly be better than a wait before nearly every stroke.

The conditions governing the Holloway Shield competition at Queen’s Park have been altered this season to provide for 32 to qualify instead of 16 as hitherto. There was some talk of 64 qualifying, but half that number was deemed sufficient. Some of the lower handicap men who in the past failed to qualify by three or four strokes should now be able to reach the match play stages and an interesting competition is anticipated. If a match is all square at the 18th it will be continued at the 19th on level terms until one player has won a hole. It is usual to replay handicap matches 'that finish all square, and this was the practice in the Holloway Shield competition until this year. Naturally the advantage from the 19th will rest with the player with the lower handicap; but if he can give away ten or a dozen strokes and be on even terms after 18 holes, no one is likely to object to the concession that the new conditions provide. The weather was anything but pleasant on Tuesday when an L.G.U. match was played by members of the Queen’s Park Ladies’ Club and as a result the scores were not as low as they might have been. Mrs Stalker’s 102—17 —85 was the best score in the A grade, and Mrs Steele led the B graders with 111—28—83. The fixture for next Tuesday is a bogey match. No fairway was ever designed with the idea that some day it might prove useful as a practice ground for hockey, but apparently one hockey enthusiast thought so last' Saturday morning when he was busily engaged coaching a number of lads on one of the fairways at Queen’s Park. Naturally the fairway, which has to put up with _ a good deal of knocking about as it is, was not improved; neither was the temper of golfers who were unfortunate enough to have to May a shot from the battered area.

The Invercargill Ladies Club played the June bogey match for last Thursday afternoon, under very pleasant conditions. The winner was Miss M. Loughnan, 1 down. Mrs E. E. Broad and Mrs P. J. Israel tied for second place with 3 down, Miss L. Stout being next with 4 down. Next week the third round of the captain’s prize will be played. In the putting competition for May, there was a tie between Mrs Garrett, Mrs Sturman and Miss Perrin. The Southland Golf Association has now been established, though its foundations will not be absolutely secure until it has been approved by the N.Z. Golf Council. Assuming that a modus vivendi as between the governing body and the association is found, the Committee of Management elected to office on Saturday night should do excellent work for the game in this province in which golf is growing rapidly. The honour of election as first president was well-earned by Mr W. G. Tait, who has laboured patiently and untiringly to bring the association into being, and equally well-earned was the honour of election as one of the vice-presidents by Mr A. E. Wish, who has been the “live wire” in the movement. He has a useful colleague in Mr T. R. Abercrombie (Riverton) and with a representative and capable committee these gentlemen, with their knowledge of the game and its administration, should be able io set a straight course for the association and guide it with wisdom as well as courage. All golfers will wish the association well and do all that lies in their power to assist it in its work of promoting the welfare and advancement of the game in Southland. A favourite fallacy with the teachers of the old school was that the path followed by the club-head in the downswing was the same as that traversed in the reverse direction in the upswing. When Arnaud Massy, the famous French player, took the British open championship overseas for the first time, it was noticed as a peculiarity that the head of his club described a distinct “loop” at the top of the swing. Later on the same peculiarity was observed in Bobby Jones. The explanation in both these cases seems to be that the club-head is not maintained in the same plane of movement. But even in the case of the grooved swingers, the head of the club docs not return in the same path as it followed going up. A moment’s reflection shows that in fact it cannot do so. In taking the club back, arms and wrists are more or less in a straight line until the “cocking” of the wrists at the finish of the up-swing bends the spoke of the wheel and so reduces the radius of the arc. But in bringing the club down again, the wrists are maintained in this “cocked” position until just before the clubhead reaches the ball, and accordingly the head of the club is moving in a smaller circle for the middle part of the down-swing than it was at the same stage in the road up.—From “Golfing.” King’s Birthday Tournament.

The one day tournament at Otatara on Saturday was the best that has been held since the inception of the fixture. Eight Southland Clubs contributed to the field of over 90 competitors. In addition to the two Invercargill Clubs, Wyndham, Winton, Ohai, Tuatapere, Riverton and Lumsden were represented. It seems certain that within the next few years the King’s Birthday tournament will attain even larger dimensions. In presenting the prizes Mr A. E. Smith said that he foresaw the day when there would be 150 competitors. Well, that forecast may be fulfilled sooner than many people think. The big entry comes forward at present despite some adverse conditions, the chief of which is a lack of confidence in the uniformity of handicaps in country clubs. It is well known that a number of country players withhold their entries, not because they do not want to play, but because they believe, or suspect, that their club handicaps

put them at a disadvantage with the members of some other clubs in which handicaps are framed on a less exacting basis. There is no doubt that with the same handicapping system in operation throughout the province under proper supervision there would be a feeling of confidence that competitors in the King’s Birthday tournament would meet on level terms and that feeling would lead at once to a substantial increase in the number of entries. The Southland Golf Association has now been established. The delegates to the preliminary meetings made it clear that one of the directions in which country clubs expect assistance from the association is in fixing a handicapping basis that will enable any club to meet any other on any course on level terms. Doubtless one of the first jobs of the Committee of Management will be to set up a handicap committee to go into the whole question. After the last Easter Tournament it was pretty clear that the adoption of the timetable system of starting could not be much longer delayed, and the Match Committee of the Invercargill Club, decided to give it a trial at the King’s Birthday tournament. Unfortunately the Committee’s plans were completely upset by the number of late entries. The timetable is in practically universal use at golf tournaments, and in club fixtures where the fields are large. It obviates long waits and works smoothly and simply. Had all the entries for this year’s tournament been in when the draw was made the field could have been accommodated without difficulty and the last competitors would have finished the afternoon match in broad daylight. As it was the draw was made and the starting arranged for 60-odd players. After the publication of the draw over 30 additional entries were received, some of them at the clubhouse on Saturday morning. No organization is possible under these conditions and the committee will have to decide whether late entries can be received in future. Another difficulty on Saturday was that some competitors (and it is a matter for regret to have to record that most of the delinquents belonged to the Invercargill Club), failed to keep their times punctually, thus showing an inexcusable lack of consideration both for those with whom they were drawn and for the club officers in charge of the tournament. The Captain of the Club, Mr R. A. Douglas, and Mr C. A. Masters; a volunteer whose offer of assistance was readily accepted, gave up the whole day to the management of the tournament, leaving town shortly after 8 a.m. so as to be at Otatara in ample time. The hon. secretary, Mr J. C. Prain, though not due to start till 10.45, was also on the scene in time to put in a couple of hours’ work, and it showed a strange lack of appreciation of the zeal and unselfishness of these officers as well as a lack of consideration for the visiting competitors when local players failed in punctuality. Despite these difficulties the timetable worked without a hitch up to the point for which preparation had been made: when steps are taken to close the entry before the draw is made it will work without a hitch right through. The scoring in the competitions was extraordinarily good. In the medal handicap two competitors tied with net 66’s. There was a 67, followed by three 68’s and three 69’s, while scores of from 70 to 74 were “thick as autumn leaves which strow the brooks in Vallambrosa.” To come down from poetic imagery to prosaic fact no fewer than 41 net scores between 66 and 74 were returned. The standard scratch score was treated with great disrespect. Though 80 was the best gross score (by A. Thom and J. R. Woods) there was a remarkable number of scores from 84 to 88 by long handicap competitors. The leaders were:— E. R. Curtis, Winton 86—20—66 L. B. Smith, Q.P. 88—22—66 J. R. Sinclair 86—19—67 E. A. Pankhurst, Wynd. 81—13 —68 A. P. Gibson, Wynd. 88 —20 —68 A. J. Earl, Lums. 88—20—68 T. H. Mills, Q.P. 83—14—69 J. R. Woods 80—11—69 W. J. Mangan, Tuatap. 83—14—69 The tie was decided in favour of Curtis, still a country member of the Invercargill Club, but now resident in Winton. Particularly good was the score of 81 by E. A. Pankhurst, Wyndham. Pankhurst drove a consistently long ball, and had a much better score than 81 in sight with half a dozen holes to go, but failed in the run home. L. B. Smith, Queen’s Park, who won the special prize for the player with not more than two years’ experience, has quickly got below the 22 mark on which he started and will probably come under the notice of the Park handicapper before long. Some eight or ten competitors were eligible for the beginner’s prize, showing that the trophy is serving the purpose of bringing out young players. For the special trophy for the best net score by a competitor with a handicap of 20 or over (for which L. B. Smith as runner-up in the medal handicap was ineligible) there was a tie between A. P. Gibson (Wyndham) and A. J. Earl (Lumsden), each of whom had a score of 88—20 —68. The tie was decided in favour- of Gibson. J. R. Sinclair, who just missed the prize in the medal handicap went out in the bogey match in the afternoon on the 14 mark, which gave him 11 strokes against “the Colonel,” but the loss of five strokes did not prevent him from winning. With 5 up he got home one hole ahead of G. B. Meredith. Short handicap competitors showed up better in the afternoon than in the morning, M. O’Dowda with a round of 79, finishing 3up from the 5 mark. The leading scores were :— J. R. Sinclair (11) 5 up G. B. Meredith (9) 4 up E. R. Curtis, Win, (11) 3 up W. M. Wills (18) 3 up J. C. Prain (8) _ 3 up 'M. O’Dowda (5) ® 3up C. Davies (6) 2 up L. B. Smith, Q.P. (12) 2 up T. W. B. Stoddart (11) 1 up R. C. Stewart (17) 1 up D. W. Stalker, Q.P. (16) 1 up A. H. Oughton 1 up In this event another young player in W. M. Wills distinguished himself, winning two special prizes, one for the best score of a competitor with a handicap of 20 or over, and a second for the best score by a competitor who had not been playing for more than two years. The teams match was contested by eleven teams and was won by the number three team of the Invercargill Club with the very fine net aggregate of 282, the details being:— T. W. B. Stoddart 87—14—73 H. E. Russell 89—17—72 B. W. Hewat 87—17—70 J. R. Sinclair 86—19—67 282 The Invercargill Club’s No. 2 team was second with 288, and then followed Wyndham No. 1, 295, and Lumsden 296. These were the best results achieved since the Shield Competition was instituted.