GOLF

Southland Times, Issue 22345, 9 June 1934, Page 14

GOLF

(By

“Cleek.”)

INVERCARGILL CLUB. June 9—Cuthbertson Memorial Foursomes. June 16. —Medal handicap. QUEEN’S PARK CLUB. June 9.—Medal handicap and first qualifying round of the Holloway Shield competition. June 16.—Second qualifying round, Holloway Shield. June 23—Captain v. Deputy-Captain; teams match. Cuthbertson Memorial foursomes at Otatara this afternoon. Queen’s Park players have a medal handicap for attention this afternoon and in conjunction with it the first qualifying round for the Holloway Shield. Recent American golf journals intimate that several American golf professionals, including Sarazen and Kirkwood, intend to visit New Zealand after attending the Melbourne centenary tournament in November. The team is expected to leave America on October 16. Another King’s Birthday tournament at Otatara hag passed and has to be written down a success. It was admirably managed by the captain (Mr R. A. Douglas) and the deputy captain (Mr M. O’Dowda) of the Invercargill Club and everything went smoothly. The club professional, Basil J. Smith, lent valuable assistance. The popularity of municipal golf courses in America is shown in a report recently published by the Civic Development Department of the United States Chamber of Commerce, which states that 179 cities in the country maintain 272 courses over which 18,000,000 rounds of golf are played annually. i The King’s Birthday tournament at Otatara was originally promoted with the idea of encouraging country golf and the long-handicap player both in town and country. This year as in past years, the tournament was a notable success in that respect. There were very nearly 70 competitors and over fifty of them were from country clubs. The prizes were won by competitors with handicaps of 20 or ovei - . Some good scores were made by senior players, notably P. B. Barnett (Wyndham) and W. J.

Mangan (Tuatapere). The former’s card in the medal handicap read 82—11—71 —a fine score—but the winner’s score was five strokes less. Mangan tied for the prize in the bogey handicap but lost on the count back.

Among the sporting bodies with which Sir Robert Anderson has been associated is the Invercargill Golf Club, of which he was president for some years and of which he is still patron. He donated to the club the handsome cup on which the names of the winners of the club championship are recorded. At a meeting of committee held during the week a resolution congratulating Sir Robert on his Knighthood was recorded in the minutes and the president, Mr A. E. Smith, was requested to communicate it to him.

According to London Golfing of recent issue, golf in England is a weekend game and “one secret of the failure of British golfers is that they are not only week-enders, but poor finishers.”

After - his remarkable win in the British amateur championship at Prestwick Lawson Little, the American, said that he owed his golf to his father. He started to carry his father’s clubs when he was seven years old, joined the club when he was nine and began to take lessons when he was eleven.

The South Canterbury championship, decided by two rounds of stroke play, was completed on the King’s Birthday, the winner being B. V. Wright, whose scores were 75 and 75. His aggregate of 150 was four strokes better than J. G. Niccol’s 76—78—154. Wright has won the title on a number of occasions. The best round was J. R. Mackay’s 72 in the' afternoon, a stroke better than the 73 carded by G. A. Ussher after both had spoiled their chances by taking 83 each in the morning. Among the competitors was A. Thom, who finished ninth on the list with rounds of 83 and 81.

J. Wallace, the artisan golfer from Troon, who was a giant-killer in the amateur championship at Prestwick, but was massacred by Lawson Little in the final, earned much admiration by the manner in which he comported himself while he was going down hole after hole to be beaten 14 and 13. Wallace did not win a hole. He confessed after the game that he was on the verge of tears, adding. “I was all nerves and people said I hadn’t any.” All the same the London Times recorded that Wallace “went down giving a perfect example of golfing manners.” There could be no higher praise than that. Captain Gerald Lowry, the first British officer to lose his sight in the war, has taken up golf. He has been playing only a few months, but already is as good as the average golfer. His latest feat is a round in 77. Every morning he goes for half an hour’s practice to the Kensington Country Club. One of the professionals there has taken him in hand, and goes with him whenever he plays. All he does is to place the club behind the ball. Captain Lowry does the rest, and does it astonishingly well. He drove a ball recently to within three yards of the hole. “I’m playing better golf now than I played before I was blind,” he says. “In some ways I have the advantage of the seeing golfer. I am not frightened by bunkers and obstacles because I don’t know they’re there. Golf is a social game. It brings a man into touch with lots of friends, which is so necessary for a blind man.” The real foursome is a very difficult form of match for the average golfer. That it is not difficult for real topnotchers when they pair together is proved by the success of the Americans in the Walker Cup foursomes against Britain. The foursome is played a great deal in Britain but not at all in U.S.A., yet the Americans easily beat the British in foursome play. The reason is that they have the strokes and play them in foursomes just as they would in singles. With the average golfer, however, the foursome is a different proposition. He makes a good many mistakes in any game and he is always nervous in the foursome lest he should let his partner down by making more than usual, which, as the result of his anxiety to do well, he generally does. Because of its severity the foursome is not popular, but for the same reason it should find a place in every club’s programme. It is an excellent test of skill and match-playing ability. For that reason the Cuthbertson Memorial is one of the most important events in the Invercargill club’s list of fixtures, while the trophy, donated by Messrs George and Denniston Cuthbertson in memory of their brother, the late Captain Douglas Cuthbertson, is one of the most prized in the club’s possession. Some sound advice by Miss Virginia Van Wie, the American champion, on the subject of swinging was published in the April issue of the American Golfer. Miss Van Wie stated:—“Since I have made a practice of forgetting fundamentals and tried only to learn to swing, professionals and other good golfers-have repeatedly remarked how apparent these very fundamentals now are in my swing. This, above all else, has proved to me that the fundamentals of a golf swing, which are taught the world over, are undoubtedly correct, providing you forget them, learn to swing, and just allow them to happen. All this applies to my everyday golf, and has meant much to me. No brain is capable of concentrating on more than one thing at a time, so when I discovered that swinging the club-head was the one fundamental to concentrate upon in order to possess the others, a large portion of the mental disturbance was eliminated.”

Miss Enid Wilson had some nice things to say of the golf of Miss Oliver Kay and Miss B. Gaisford after a game with them soon after their arrival in England. Among other remarks she says: “They hit the ball a surprisingly long way, and played all their shots with great confidence and skill, and with the snap which is the hallmark of much professional coaching. If I were two down with five to play against ’Miss Kay that would be a moment in which I would feel that the famous proverb would prove quite helpless unless it were abetted by a spasm of inspiration, and then it is doubtful whether such a tenacious golfer as Miss Kay would allow the game to slip from her grasp. Miss Gaisford had difficulty in finding the strength of the greens. She has a delightfully easy swing in which the application of power is skilfully disguised. There does not appear to be much force about the blow, but the distance of the shot does not substantiate this argument, and leads to. the conclusion that much power is applied in the correct place and at the right time.”

To grip lightly with the right hand and firmly with the left is a piece of advice which is not adopted as generally as it should be, (says a writer in the Australasian.) The reason for gripping firmly with the left lies in the fart that the left hand and arm are but a shadow of the right, and it must always be remembered that it is not so much the left hand that is liable to be lacking in strength as the left arm. If one glances at the left arm this fact will at once be obvious— it has never done anything, and is incapable of doing anything—it belongs to the ranks of the permanently unemployed. To get it into action then one must make a special effort, and that is what is meant when one is asked to grip tightly with the left. The other hand is only too willing to do everything by itself, and that is the reason for the instruction to grip lightly with the right. The fact is the golf stroke is purely a blend of the two hands and the more equally the left arm shoves in the swing the more effective will the result be. Nearly all left-handers use both hands with equal force, hence the splendid long game which characterises the efforts of the southpaws generally.

AT QUEEN’S PARK. Queen’s Park golfers were engaged in a flag match last Saturday and quite a number were to be seen proceeding to No. 1 after completing the round with some strokes to spare. The winner of the A grade section was G. R. Milward who had sufficient strokes in hand to play out the 19th and finally place the flag within 15 yards of the 20th hole. R. H. Mottram looked to be the winner until Milward came along as he had played four below his handicap and left the flag in the 19th hole. O. G. Gilmour had three strokes left and placed it eight feet from the 19th pin; G. E. Glennie reached a point 30 feet from the 19th and R. Kidd had used up his strokes 15 yards out. In the B grade T. Double, a 24-handicap player, broke 90 and with the strokes he thus had in reserve he carried the flag on to the 20th green and planted it within three feet of the hole. It was a good performance on the part of Double, who no longer enjoys such a liberal handicap. C. Rice, who also had a good round, had previously placed the flag in the 19th hole; R. W. Stewart had reached the 19th green, and N. R. Driver was halfway up the fairway. The following handicap reductions were made after last Saturday’s match: G. E. Glennie, to 8; O. G. Gilmour, to 10; R. H. Mottram, to 13; G. R. Milward, to 14; C. Rice, to 17; T. Double, to 21. A hole in one was recorded at the Park last week-end. P. J. Alley, who has not been playing golf long, played a perfect shot at the Gap and to the delight of his three companions the ball made straight for the cup and dropped in. It is understood that the event will be celebrated in the customary way. LADIES’ MATCHES. On Tuesday the Invercargill Ladies’ Club played the first of the team matches, president v. captain. The course was still very soft, but conditions otherwise were good. The captain’s team had a good lead, winning nine matches, while the president’s team won five and one match was square. The following are the detailed results, the president’s team being mentioned first:— Mrs Dawson and Mrs Pottinger, all square. Mrs A. E. Smith beat Mrs Israel, 2 up. Mrs J. T. Wilson lost to Miss M. Stout, 5 and 3. Mrs Tansley lost to Mrs C. F. A. Jones, 5 and 3. Miss Henderson beat Miss L. Stout, 7 and G. Mrs R. Stout lost to Mrs Sturman, 5 and 3. Miss Hughes lost to Miss N. Gilkison, 2 and 1. Miss D. McCallum lost to Miss E. L. Jones, 4 and 3. Mrs F. K. Tucker lost to Mrs Fordyce, 1 down. Mrs Spencer beat Mrs A. S. Gilkison, 4 and 3. Mrs Corkill beat Mrs Blaxall, 8 and 6. Miss Douglas lost to Mrs Garrett, 2 down. Miss M. Pilcher lost to Miss D. Stout, 1 down. . Mrs Ford lost to Miss Hamilton, 2 down. Miss N Nicholson beat Mrs McCallum, 3 and 2. On Thursday the monthly L.G.U. medal match was played at Otatara. The course was still soft and the teeing up rule was in force. In the silver division the best scores were returned by:—Miss P. Pilcher, 95—10—85; Miss Henderson, 102—17—85; Miss L. Stout, 104—17—87; Mrs Tansley, 103—14 —89. In the bronze division the best scores were:—Miss N Nicholson, 113—36 —77; Miss N. Gilkison, 105—23—82; Mrs McCallum, 120—34—86; Mrs Fordyce, 109— 22—87. Miss Nicholson won the ball for the best net score in the match. The monthly L.G.U. match was played at Queen’s Park on Tuesday in good weather. Miss Guest with 96 — 17—79 had the best card in the A grade, Mrs Smith heading the B grade section with 105—24—81. Miss Swanson won the competition for C grade players. A bogey match will be played next Tuesday AMATEURS V. PROFESSIONALS. The amateurs T. H. Horton and J. P. Hornabrook beat the professional pair A. J. Shaw and J. D. Mclntosh at Masterton on the last green of a 36-hole match, which included some thrills for the gallery of 500. Doubtless the professionals had not the touch of the local greens, but they played fine golf nevertheless. Horton and Shaw played beautiful, effortless golf, their absolute control over their long drives being remarkable. Shaw played his shots with a delightful nip and finish. Hornabrook’s display was rather paradoxical. While his play was not up to his usual high standard he returned a good card. His driving equalled that of Shaw, but he missed many short putts. Mclntosh was steady without being brilliant. His 120 yards mashie shot in the morning to find the Cup at the fourteenth for a 2 was a splendid effort. Honours fluctuated. The local pair were 1 down at the conclusion of the morning round, the cards reading: Horton 71, Hornabrook 74, Shaw 72, Mclntosh 72. In the afternoon Horton and Shaw both returned 71, while Hornabrook did the round in 72. Mclntosh took 74. There was a thrilling finish to the match on the last green. Horton was the only player on the green with his second, but Hornabrook’s third chip (over the bunker) hit the back of the hole, and he was down in 4. Horton also took 4, but both Shaw and Mclntosh missed putts, leaving the local pair 1 up. NEW ZEALAND GOLF COUNCIL. The monthly meeting of the council of the New Zealand Golf Association was held at Wellington, on Tuesday, when there were present:—Sir Alexander Roberts (chairman), Messrs A. D. S. Duncan, W. E. A. Gill, J. H. Drake, A. R. Sclanders and G. O. Sutton (secretary). In regard to the 1934 championship meeting further correspondence was read with the Wanganui Golf Club, but as the club’s draft of the proposed programme did not arrive .in time for the meeting further consideration of details was left over until the next meeting on July 2. Weekly reports showed that both the association professionals engaged for this season were doing very well and it was resolved to advise clubs that any requiring their services next month should send in their requests promptly. A copy of a letter received from an affiliated club asking the council to lay down a definite system of handicapping in the clubs had been circulated to all council members, and the decision was that clubs should follow closely the system adopted by the English Golf Union, which is embodied in a booklet recently circulated to all clubs. A member of the council pointed out that an error occured in a circular recently sent to clubs regarding the principal changes in the new rules. It was stated in the circular that “grass in a hazard is not part of the hazard.” This should read “grass in a bunker is not part of the hazard.” It is to be noted that a hazard is not necessarily a bunker, and that it is only in a bunker that a club may be grounded on grass, which is declared as not being part of i the hazard.