On the Links

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 814, 7 November 1929, Page 13

On the Links

Notes for Golfers

By SLOW-BACK,

Auekli"* Golf Thu most important event of the i was the completion of the Auck- " a Club's championship. Thia year ' has been exceptional interest * to several unexpected victories '"To., appearance of new competitors •‘,h« final. In the last nine years a Lusk has won six times anrl It. !*■ tfrieht three, but this year Lusk 11 « Jot playine. and Wright was dein the first round. ' rL Abbott was the chief lion-killer, fjl*- that to reach the final he had 'dispose of H. Plumley and W. S. 10 , h y the two lowest-handicap r tvi>rn remaining-. In his match Minst V- Ral P h - Abbott played •Jilv and didn't throw much away, ThU round of about ST should not ve troubled Ralph. Ralph was a '• unsteady or the greens, and this • ed to unsettle his game generally, n ths 18 th he ba<i a 6yd Putt to keep -rame alive, but missed it. The s!«ii was a bit trying, but the course S in very good order The final between E. L. Bartleet and nr Abbott, last Saturday, was not so %'J as the spectators had hoped, but c Lre was some good golf. The wind pretty firm, but was in the best barter and the course was in beauv<nl order. Bartleet opened with a „ , t i l6 first, and Abbott replied with Mother 3 at tbe second - but from this Pint Bartleet drew steadily away. p ]av iag excellent golf, he was 6 up at -ha'end of the round. His figures of 'J out and 39 in were good, and. as they included two sixes, were even better ‘or match play purposes. A small. k u * interested gallery followed the afternoon round. Undismayed by his ‘lponent’.s lead. Dr. Abbott took the lirst holes in good fours, and got ilack another at the 4th. Things began in look promising for a close finish, hut Bartleet took the 6th, and playing readily pot back to 5 up at the 12th. \ beautiful tee shot to within 3yds of the pin at the 13th made all safe for j.j-j and he won 6 and 5. The golf a the whole was very satisfactory for i final match, and the winner well deserved the congratulations he reeved. The old idea that cricketers n<i tennis players could not do well Ht golf is not supported bv the club’s iampionship board, both Lusk and Wright having been cricketers and iiartleet holding the New Zealand Lawn Tennis championship. The way is now clear for the t’hampion of Champions match on Saturday next at Mid diem ore. The dinner is not easy to select, there are (our who would seem to be the most ijrmidable. B. J. Smith of Akarana. has done well not only in his club, but ia open company, and is perhaps the favourite, but his acquaintance with Middlemore is not extensive. Then , Glendowie, is playing well ,:nd is quite capable of good rounds at Middlemore. E. L. Bartleet has the idvantage of local knowledge, and H. Brinsden, of Titirangi, knows the ourse well enough. The match should bs very interesting. Akarana and Pupuke both had their official closing days last Saturday. A four-ball at Maungakiekie attracted a good entry and was won by J. Murray (S) and W. P. Danby (12), with 7 up. At Titirangi, despite the strong breeze, R. A. McLean returned a card of 4 up, and R. McCrystal one of 2 up against bogey. The course is in great condition juat now. * • •

A Sarious Loss to N.Z. Golf Sloan Morpeth, secretary of the Maungakiekie Golf. Club, has been offered and has accepted the secretaryship of the Commonwealth Golf Club, Oakleigh, Melbourne. In offering him °ur sincere congratulations, we find it hard to forget the severe loss New Zealand golf will suffer when he departs His career is well known and is a highly distinguished one. He first appeared, a boy in shorts, before the var, and though his early golf had been learned on a very inadequate course at Waihi, he won the Auckland Provincial Championship in 1913 and 1314. As soon as he could persuade the military authorities that he was oid enough, he went off to the war, and did his share toward the very fine "ar record of his family. Before re'urning he won an important tournain England for overseas soldiers. In 1921, at Hamilton, he gave Kirkwood a good run in the open, and won the Amateur for the first time. He ' as easily the outstanding amateur at '"•ft meeting. He then went on the !a nd near Te Kuiti, and golf knew him no mor ® until his return to Hamilton •n 1926. He had in the interval made is mark at football and one good rmc told the writer that with experince in good company, New Zealand onours were well within his reach, m 1927 he won the Amateur at Ham'•on, and to show that he could play slr °J* Play as well, he won the Open ‘n Dunedin in 1928. His win in the vmatetir at Wanganui and his success are too recent to need cording. He has held also the Mlico© Cup for the best single round Open on two occasions. ~ • n °t only has the best wishes of « ■*** Zealand golfers for his sucss in Melbourne, but most of us have confidence that he will do m than well. His charming per-

sonality, which covers .unusual force of character, will carry him far and even if he were not a (treat golfer, he Would still be an excellent golf secretary, in giving him to Melbourne we cungratu‘'l f yictoria and the Commonwealth coif Club on Uts acquisition. Women v. Men This week at Middlemore a teams match between the members of the womens and the mens clubs is being played I hough the match doesn't c .’“i to bs a championship test. it will form an interesting basis of comparison. The men are to give a handicap Of a. halt (9 strokes). In England an annual match of the kind is played, the women receiving a third, but each year the men are finding it harder to give the odds. So far as tins match at Middlemore is concerned, I should have thought a third would be enough, and should expect the women to win with a half. In the past the men have had one- great advantage, that of length, £ut the women n .? w driving very much further + v? an A!i ey did, and there is not nearly the difference that there was. The course is now running quite well, and though the long-driving man may still have an advantage, it won’t usually amount to a stroke. For instance, B. I-i- Wright, under present conditions, could probably get the fourth green 4.oyds, with drive and No. 3 iron, but even from the men’s tee, Miss Culling could reach it with two wooden shots. It is an advantage to be able to plav an iron or mashie where the opponent

has to take the wood,-but it is hardly worth nine strokes or anything like it. In the short play there is not much to choose, though what tests there have been have clearly indicated that the men have an advantage here also. One has noticed among the women a reluctance to hit the putt firmly, though of course there are many exceptions. If players are of anything like equal relative standing in the game, I shall expect a win for the women. Baking the Soil Tile Auckland Golf Club is erecting a plant for the treatment of soil. These are common in the Old Country and some of the New Zealand bowling clubs have them, but so far as I know this is the first to be erected for golf course purposes in this country. Roughly speaking, the plant consists of a furnace housed in a large shed. There are several types of furnace, but this one is to be more or less like the one usual under the domestic copper, and the heat is applied to a large iron plate on which the soil is spread. The rest of the shed space is for the accommodation of the soil. Why our soil in Auckland should be so heavily impregnated with weeds and subterranean clover is hard to say. but anyone who has tried to make a lawn on the more fertile Varieties of soil knows the fact only too well. Baking the soil will have the effect of destroying the seeds, and if all the top soil of a new green could be thoroughly treated it would mean a clean strike of grass. Unfortunately It would mean dealing with perhaps 200 cubic yards, which would be expensive and laborious. Probably it will be necessary to confine the treatment to the top-dress-ing. and this alone would be a great

gain. We must in the past have put many thousands of weeds on to our greens in the top-dressing. There is every chance that in the future weeds may cause much less trouble and expense. MAUNGAKIEKIE LADIES’ Following were the results _ of matches played by members of the Maungakiekie Ladies’ Golf Club at One Tree Hill on closing day: Four-ball Best-ball Medal.—Miss Robson and Mrs. Joplin, 95, 30—65: Miss M. Miller and Mrs. G. White, 90, 21—69’ Miss Easdown and Miss Thompson, 103, - Irs ’ Johr >s<on and Mrs. Burton, “?■ -"—ill Miss J. Easton and Miss Harvey, 95, 24—71; Miss E. Alison and Mrs. Campbell, 104, 33—71 ; Mrs. Oxley and Mrs. Caughey, 105, 31—71. First Oracle Consolation.—Miss M. Harvey, 100, 24—76; Miss M. Milled, 95, 19—76: Mrs. Banister. 88. 9— 79: Mrs 2i l —Bi U ’ ° B, 17 ~~ S1; Miss Haslett, 102, Second Grade Consolation.—Mrs. OhapP e, l, til, 33—78; Mrs. Caughey, 111, 32 79: Mrs. Jerrat, 112, 33—79 The C grade match was won by Mrs. O’Neill. The consolation prize was won by Mrs. Wallis. Following- was the result of the putting competition:—Mrs. I. B. Stewart. 1; Mrs. Mcllraith, 2. The C grade competition was won by Miss P. Reid. The play-off of the tie in the last four-ball match between Miss Robson and Mrs. Joplin, Miss Harvev and Miss J. Easton, Miss Miller and Mrs. G. White, Miss Walker and Miss Moody, was won by Mrs. Robson and Mrs. Joplin.

The season’s eclectic senior grade competition resulted in a tie between Miss A. Grove and Mrs. Swain. The junior competition was won by Miss I. Walker.

A bogey handicap match will be held on Tuesday for trophy presented by Mr. A. Swain.

AUCKLAND

A match was played at the Middle tn#re links* yesterday afternoon be tween teams representing the Auck

land Ladies* Golf Club and the Auckland Golf Club. The ladies, playing from their own tees, and being given nine strokes handicap, had no difficulty in winning by five matches to 3. Rain fell throughout the round. Following were the results: —Miss E. Culling beat E. L. Bartleet, 5 and 3; Miss N. MacCormick lost to W. S. Ralph, 4 and 3; Mrs. J. M. Wilson lost to H. Plumley, 2 up; Miss E. M. Upton beat D.r. W. N. Abbott, 7 and 6: Miss M. Macfarlane lost to L. W. Delph, 1 up: Mrs. Robertson beat R. G. Grainger, 3 and 2; Mrs. Marshall beat J. P. Aldred, 4 and 3; Mrs. Buttle beat A. E. M. Rhind, 5 and 3.