GOLF

Southland Times, Issue 22293, 7 April 1934, Page 14

GOLF

(By

“Cleek.”)

INVERCARGILL CLUB. April 14.—Medal Handicap.

QUEEN’S PARK CLUB. April 7. —Eclectic Match. April 14.—do—2nd round.

The Easter tournament at Otatara was a conspicuous success.

The regular programme of club fixtures will begin at Otatara with the April medal handicap next Saturday. With just on 80 competitors hitting off from the first tee on Good Friday the Easter tournament at Otatara was one of the largest in the Dominion. The foursomes in the Kirk-Windeyer Cup match between New Zealand and New South Wales were played at Middlemore (Auckland) yesterday and the results appear elsewhere in this issue. The singles will be played to-day. The first round of an eclectic match will be played at Queen’s Park to-day and the second next Saturday. Players are requested to arrange their own partners. The object of this match, two rounds of stroke play, is to provide the handicappers with a guide in their annual revision of handicaps, and adjustments will be posted after next week’s round.

C. J. Ward, the winner of the Canterbury championship, is the second son of Sir Cyril Ward and is in his early “twenties.” Sir Cyril is Captain of the Christchurch Golf Club, and when he lived in Invercargill was a prominent player and officer of the Invercargill Golf Club. The Auckland tournament was a triumph for T. H. (Bill) Horton, the veteran of New Zealand’s Kirk-Win-deyer Cup side. On the other hand it was rather a bitter experience for two of the youthful nominees—B. M. Silk and J. P. Hornabrook. The latter failed to qualify, tearing his card up in the second round, while the former was defeated in the eliminating matches. J. L. Black’s win in the Wellington tournament suggests that had he been selected he might have been a source of strength to the N. Z. team. Congratulations to A. Thom on winning the amateur championship of Southland for the second time. When he won two years ago the way was cleared for him when the redoubtable C. B. Wight (St. Clair) was defeated in an earlier round by a club mate, C. G. Davey. This year Thom had to dispose of Wight himself and it was a sterling win.

Congratulations are due also to M. O’Dowda on reaching the final. O’Dowda has been at the game for a few years only and the final was rather an ordeal for him. It was, however, an invaluable experience as he should have many more finals ahead of him. He has all the makings of a golfer of the first class. His exceptional length off the tee is an invaluable asset. He can also play the irons from the No. 1 to the niblick and he has only to learn to put the shots together consistently to be formidable in any company. When it came to the matches in the junior championship T. Small (Ohai) proved to be in a class by himself and made no race of it. The results speak for themselves. He won in the first round (18 holes) 6 up and 5 to play, in the semi-final (18 holes) 7 up and 5 to play, and in the final (36 holes) 7 up and 6 to play. He drove splendidly throughout and some of his hits from the tee were prodigious. To carry, as he did, the island of manuka bush from the tenth tee was a golfing feat. The ball must have been driven at least 250yds in the air. Again at the 16th he drove clean over the old club house enclosure and that was an air flight not much short of 250yds. His seconds to the green were often excellent and very rarely bad and he got figures with which most senior players would have been satisfied. After his display it may be accepted that Small is definitely done with junior golf. An impromptu long-driving contest at Otatara on Monday afternoon after the tournament was finished caused much hilarity both to competitors and spectators. Needless to say, “pressing” was much in evidence with the inevitable result that most of the drivers got about half their usual distance. The drives were made from the first tee and each competitor was allowed three shots. D. F. Lindsay was the winner. He made a poor job of the first two but “connected” properly with the third and no measure was necessary to make the decision in his favour.

Some excellent rounds were played during the Easter tournament at Otatara. J. C. Prain, who distinguished himself by qualifying second for the championship, had a very sound 74 in one of the bogy matches, all holed out. J. S. Dick also carded a 74. The titbit of the tournament was, of course, C. B. Wight’s 69 in the bogey handicap on the last day. The St. Clair champion gave a characteristic exhibition of accurate hitting from the tee to the cup in this round, his card reading:— Out: 5 3 544434 4—36 In: 4435 4 3 3 4 3—33 It will be noted that he slipped a

stroke at the 14th (Schoolhouse) but he recovered brilliantly with a 3 at Dunn’s Road. Another 3 went down at the Nest, and after getting a par 4 at the 17th he laid his second at the 18th two feet from the hole and that was another “birdie" and an inward half of 33. Wight’s 69 was four strokes better than the standard scratch score for the course. The weather had a lot to do with the success of the Easter tournament at Otatara. Heavy dews at night made the grass wet and holding for the morning rounds, but conditions were so good that even the fussiest golfer had little ground for complaint. In fact the weather was ideal. But other factors besides the weather contributed materially to the success of the fixture. It was efficiently managed and for this the Invercargill Club and the competitors have to thank the hon. secretary, Mr J. C. Prain, and the members of the match committee on duty— Messrs W. Buchan and M. O’Dowda. The starting timetable worked admirably, and in this connection the assistance of the Club’s professional, Basil J. Smith, was invaluable. There was no hitch. The ground staff kept the course in good order by working before play started and after it was finished, and Mrs Harvey’s catering arrangements gave satisfaction to all. An informal but interesting match was played at Otatara last week-end between C. B. Wight, the St. Clair Club’s scratch player, and Basil Smith, the Invercargill Club’s professional. Wight played beautiful golf and holed the course in 72—a stroke better than the scratch score. Good as the round was, it was not quite good enough to win, for Smith was round in 70, including 2’s at all three of the short holes. Smith now has three or four 69’s to his credit, generally with nothing better than a 3 at any of the short holes, and he did not take full advantage of his twos in the round under notice. Some day he will make no mistakes and his score will be 66 or 67. The game between the two cracks was much enjoyed by the group of spectators who followed it. As the result of the Easter tournaments the provincial champions for 1934 are:— Auckland T. H. Horton Wellington J. L. Black Manawatu F. Gover Taranaki G. M. Chong Canterbury C. J. Ward Otago J. R. Laidlaw Southland A. Thom

A letter from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, which was read at the recent annual meeting of the Ladies’ Golf Union, stated that even in a thunderstorm no player must suspend play and take shelter. The penalty is disqualification. Following storms at Gleneagles during the ladies’ championship last year, when sirens warned the competitors to take shelter until the storms had passed, the Ladies’ Golf Union Council considered the permanent adoption of t e principle of allowing competitors in medal play to take temporary shelter during storms and with that in view it got into touch with the Royal and Ancient Club, which strongly advised the Ladies Golf Union to abandon any thought of adding to the rules, and which pointed out that rule 2 of the rules for stroke competitions adequately provided for any emergency.

• While the Southland championship final was fought out by two members of the Invercargill Club competitors from other clubs carried off a fair share of the prizes at the Otatara tournament. The junior championship cup went to T. Small, Ohai, and the trophy for the runner-up to J. Kidd, Gore. The latter player also won the second junior medal handicap. W. Mangan, Tuatapere, won the first senior bogey handicap and I. W. Campbell (Queen’s Park) the junior. A Duff (St. Clair) won the third junior medal handicap. Two Queen’s Park players in the brothers C. and P. Rice won the fourball bogey handicap and C. B. Wight (St. Clair) brilliantly won the second senior bogey handicap. The prizes were good and were greatly appreciated by the winners. “The Titirangi lay-out contains some very fine holes, particularly in the second half,” E. L. Apperley (N.S.W. captain) told a Herald reporter, after practising there. He considered the twelfth and seventeenth ideal two-shot holes under present conditions. The muchdreaded “Wrecker” impressed him, as did “Temptation,” but he said that these holes would not reach their full value until permanent greens were constructed. When asked his opinion of the much-discussed terraced greens, Apperley said that, lie would defer judgment until the pins were placed for the championship. Eric Apperley, captain of the N.S.W. Kirk-Windeyer Cup team now in Auckland, brought over with Jiim to New Zealand a putter with a shaft 44in. long, which is lOin. longer than the ordinary putter. It is said in Australia that while his other game has not deteriorated, his putting in recent years has not been satisfactory. He had the long putter made to his own design, and it is something in the nature of a freak by comparison with present-day putters, inasmuch as it is of the came length as his driver. He is well over 6ft in height, and is, therefore, able to handle this club, a feat difficult for the ordinary golfer. Macdonald Smith is probably the most accomplished golfer in the world, and for that reason is likely to attract attention when he says that he “never spends any practice on shots except the shots that are going well for him.” That to me is a very surprising deliverance; but when he gives the reason for the idea it is quite reasonable (writes H.C. in the Australasian). He says: “If your drive is going well, practise it without end. And if you are knocking them into the pot every time you putt—well, that is the time to practise putting.” The reason Mac Smith advances why you should practise only the shots that are going well, is this:—The first requirement of a golfer is to get a swing. If you have worked patiently to accomplish a good drive, and suddenly find yourself with one—that’s the moment to practise the shot diligently; and go on practising until your muscles groove the action. The more you practise it the deeper you are rooting it into your system.

There has always been a match between the winner of the British open championship and the winner of the United States open championship. The winners, it will be remembered, were Denny Shute and Johnny Goodman respectively. They played to decide the “world’s championship” at Miami Biltmore Country Club recently, and Shute won by the irreducible minimum over 72 holes. Shute opened brilliantly, doing the first nine holes in 32, with Goodman only one behind. But Shute kept it up with a 34 home to Goodman’s 39. The scores were:—Shute, 66, 72, 73, 75—286; Goodman, 72, 71, 71. 73—287. It was the third win for the professional, Hagen beat Bobby Jones. Sarazen beat Ouimet, and Shute beat Goodman. One -of the most ingenious suggestions for winter matches among members of the same club, is the laddercompetition, which has the double advantage of being interesting and exciting in itself, and of giving the man who thinks his handicap is too high, an opportunity to justify his belief. The rules, as used in one club which has adopted this form of competition, are as follows: —(1) A list of names is placed in a conspicuous place in the club house at the head of which is the name of the player with the lowest handicap, finishing at the bottom with the limit men. (2) Members are invited to have their names on the lad-

der, but it is not compulsory. (3) Any member on the iadder is entitled to challenge the player next immediately above him to an 13-hole game, match play. (4) If the challenging member wins he is entitled to have his name placed on the ladder above the player he has defeated. (5) A player so beaten is not entitled to challenge his conqueror within one month after defeat, but if the player next above him is not the person by whom he has previously been beaten he is entitled to challenge any time. (6) If a player who has been challenged fails to fix up a match within three weeks his challenger shall be entitled to a walkover. (7) If a member who is on the panel is unable to play for six consecutive >veeks, he shall request the secretary to remove his name temporarily. His name may later be restored immediately below those of the men with the same handicap. (8) All matches must be played level, and strokes or holes start must not be conceded or received. (9) Immediately upon the conclusion of a match, players should themselves adjust the ladder.— From Golfing. “H.C.” writes in the Australasian: Believing, as I do, that the lifting of the head is the cause of 95 per cent, of all mishits, and foozles of every kind, I think that going out with a dozen or twenty balls and hitting them about indiscriminately is not practice in the proper sense of the word. I am of the opinion that practice, except under the eye of the professional, who ought to see that the head is kept down on every shot, is only calculated to confirm the worst of all faults—namely, raising the head prematurely. It is easy to indicate what takes place when the head is raised before the clubhead gets to the ball. Were it possible to lift the head without moving the body little harm would result, but when the head goes up the body straightens out and up goes the clubhead automatically. The good player will, most likely, hit the ball off the heel. If he is using an iron club he will socket, if a wooden club he will merely mishit the ball. If the player is unskilled, with an ineffective left arm, then the helpless left will collapse at the elbow, the club will be drawn in, and if the head makes contact with the ball at all it will be to send it from the toe of the club away toward cover-point. When a rifle-range is officially opened, the first shot is usually fired by some prominent personage, or a politician, not noted for prowess with the rifle. But the marker invariably signals a bull's-eye, and there is great applause, followed by many congratulations. But this little deception cannot be practised on a golf course. The other day Alderman Blowes, the Mayor of Orange (N.S.W.) drove a ball to officially open the 1934 season. As a preliminary, he remarked that he understood mayors and aldermen found the task a difficult one, because if they put a ball where they could see it they could not reach it, and if they put it where they could hit it they could not see it. Then the Mayor, with a mighty swish, hit the ball exactly 20 feet. LADIES’ MATCHES. The Queen’s Park Ladies’ Club commenced its match season in ideal weather on Tuesday last, the fixture being the monthly L.G.U. match. In the A grade the best card was returned by Mrs Clow, whose score was 101—17—84. Miss McDowell with 105—31—74 had the best card in the B grade and Miss Thom’s 117—36—81 was the best in the C grade. Handicap reductions were earned by Mrs Ridler, Miss McDowell and Mrs Wish. Next Tuesday a bogey match will be played. The Invercargill Ladies’ Golf Club started its season in good weather last Thursday, when the first L.G.U. medal match was played. In the silver division the best scores were returned by Mrs P. J. Israel, 94-13-81; Miss P. Pilcher, 92—10—82; Mrs Dawson 101 — 17—84. In the bronze division the best scores were returned by Mrs J. C. Prain, 105—31—74; Miss Hughes, 99— 19—80. The ball for the best net score in the medal matches presented by Mrs Pottinger each month was won by Mrs Prain, whose card of 105—31—74 reduced her handicap by four strokes and gave her a score in the Handyside Cup for April which will be hard to beat. GOLF BY MATCHLIGHT. INCIDENT AT TITIRANGI. There was a dramatic and somewhat sensational conclusion to the first day’s play in the Auckland provincial golf championship tournament at the Titirangi Golf Club’s links on Saturday evening, states the New Zealand Herald. As the day drew on the competitors who had finished their second round, and the spectators who were at the clubhouse, began to take particular interest in the scoreboard. It was getting dusk and there was every indication that players who had returned scores of 162 would have a chance of getting into the top 16. There were several of these totals. Surprises were .’ i store, however. F. W. Lucas and his partner finished in semi-darkness, and the card returned by the first-named gave him a total of 161, which enabled him to qualify. H. Plumley and his partner were at the seventeenth green when Lucas finished. They drove off and had to search carefully to find the balls in the hollow. All interest centred in Plumley, who required 81 to qualify, and to score this number he had to obtain a four at the eighteenth. His second shot found the bunker on the lefc approach to the green, and, with the aid of a fairly large group of excited onlookers, he was able to locate his ball. The caddie took his post by the flag and lit a match to give the player seme idea of direction. Plumley played his shot in the darkness and the ball came to rest 12ft from the pin. One more stroke to qualify. The excitement was now intense and matches were being freely struck by the player’s supporters and others anxious to assist him. The caddie sat directly in line behind the hole with a lighted match, and a man on either side of him also held similar small flames. “Fire for the middle one,” urged a friend anxious to see the player get the vital stroke. Plumley was quite unperturbed. He took up his stance, nd loud and prolonged cheering heralded the fact that he had putted successfully. It was a dramatic moment for both golfer and spectators and Plumley was very warmly congratulated. Incidentally his putt put all those with scores of 162, (among who was E. L. Apperley the N.S.W. captain), out of the championship.