On the Links

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1026, 17 July 1930, Page 6

On the Links

Notes for Golfers

By SLOW-BACK

Auckland Golf Saturday was a good day for golf, with very little wind, and what there was was from the right quarter. A shower about four o’clock caught a good many, and those without umbrellas got a bit wet. All the courses were in good playing condition, though a little muddy, as is usual at this time of year.

At Aliddlemore, there was no club match, as two inter-club games were being played, but an impromptu scramble brought in a good entry. V. E. Wells and T. Clark halved with cards of all square with bogey. Another bogey match saw H. B. Lusk return a card of 2 up from scratch, the medal round being 71. His first five holes were 4,3, 3,4, 3. A fairly strong senior team went to Hamilton to play an inter-club match. They found the course in excellent order, the fairways being well clothed, thanks to fertilising, and the greens even and true, though a bit fast. As always, the Hamilton Club was hospitality itself, and those who went will be glad to go again. The Hamilton players are always hard to beat on their own course, and this time was no exception. J. L. Black was playing well, and ho had a good win over W. S. Ralph by 4 and 2. Auckland won five out of the first seven matches, but lost all the rest, to be 1 down on the singles. Hamilton had an advantage of one in the four-ball matches also, finishing with a margin of nine to seven altogether. A junior team played at Middlemore, and Auckland won by 8 to 4 in the singles, and 3 to 2 in the four-balls.

At Titirangi, the final of the Taylor Bowl was played between F. Trice (8) and C. G. Fisher (10). A very close match only ended at the eighteenth, where Fisher won by 1 up. The first round of the Ballin Cup match was played, and results were fairly true to *- orni - Fisher, who has just won the Taylor Bowl, went out in the first round. The junior team from Hamllton played a series of four-ball matches, and managed to make a draw each side winning five games. z Glendowio had a bogey handicap, but no one managed to beat him, o. Wolfgram, with I down, having the best card. Lho second round oi the Captain s Prize match saw most of the back-makers disappear, C. Alcott, R. ivissiing and F. Trice all being defeated by the narrowest of margins. In the bogey J. Hall did the second hole, lOOycis, in one.

1 upuke sent its A team to Aliddlemore, but was unfortunate in finding several of its opponents playing at M lCl £ best * Miles Thompson met O. E. W ells, one of the most promising young players about, and the latter drove immense distances and otherwise played well to get a 77 and win by 6 and 5. Auckland won 9 matches to 2 and one wits squared. r,r, A^i arai ? a * dic ? well to defeat Otahuhu on tne latter s home course, especiully as B. J. Smith was not playing. r: f . C ,?, )X ‘ SOI L a 'r usual won hi* match, defeating G. Brown by 2 and 1, but Akarana had the advantage by 7 A l > a V tClies to > 4 ' The Junior members of Akarana played a bogey match which was won by D. Symes, 1 up. * + * The American Open •

l« nge xhau st e d all possible superitohiw . ate,y on ■ Don Bradman and dunes, wo are reduced to the baie fact that the latter has won the ; a » ain ' Hi., record in ems event i.s impressive. There can w°,r i, IOU1 OU , b ‘ t s at field since the war has included a larger proportion ° ( L,f. c, ? ri T K machines than has the won the OPen, . a s d yot the amateur has a th- four times, twice after f tie, besides being beaten in the playoff after a tie twice- Since W. Anderve irs W ?,f , f h Ur H mes 111 the early ~ f thf century, no player has had more than two wins, and since once Var m n y Jone f, has won more than once, ills score tins year of 287 has been beaten only once. “Chick" Evans won at Minneapolis in 191(i with a nare l i of 8<! ’ but h »"’ the courses compared we cannot say. This year the necet Was h'ayed at Inverlachen. Min- ’ ,Y est of the Great Lakes, and apparently the heat was extremely trying. Jones, after leading in the“rst Smith a’rfer UV t°l strokes behind Horton amitii after the second, and Hairen three strokes farther off. Then at characteristic record round of **,' whi ' h made the title pretty safe Pe ,s S WUI PlobablyYall a a o ged 75 in the final round was good Hon™ «° •j" fo J hlm by two stroked -Hoi ton Smith and Hagen seem to havp the aPP sm e 2- not helns mentWd in bled fcPOft. and Macdonald famith was second with an excellent scoie oi -89. Kirkwood as usual was among those who also started. This .at of Jones’s, coming on top of his wins in the British Open and Amastm' iLI ther , proof of his amazing skill and consistency. He has now only to win the American Amateur to complete a record which is very unlikely ever to be equalled. If Jones carries out the intention of which we nhfv from championship P“ y atter this year, the game will Popular°flgures S pictu "«tue and P. A. Valle Many of us remember P. A Vailo who used to play good lawn tennis yeara and who even ha , d a leaning toward the theoretical side of the games he played. He has been, m the United States for a long time, I think at Chicago, and he 1B a n accepted authority on the theoretical side of golf. He writes a good deal for the Chicago Golfers’ Magazine, and in the June issue of the New York Golf Illustrated’' he has an excellent article on backspin He traverses the old Badminton article of 1896 by Professor Tait. The professor had published certain conclusions re the power of the bail among other things, and his famous son P , Tait, immediately proved these conclusions quite wrong. In a very ablv written article Mr. Vailo points out some fundamental errors in the professor s reasoning, and gives some quite new theories on tlje value of backspin. I myself owe something to P A. Vaile. I had unconsciouslv developed a sway which was having a sad effect on my game, when I saw an article of his on the anchor of the stroke, meaning the foot grip. The Hew Zealand Golf Annual” reproduced the article about four years ago, and I always considered it one of the most helpful I had s.een. He stressed the necessity of having a firm grip of the ground with the ball of the left foot. This grip, if properiv held, prevents sway, and further causes the knee to turn in in the correct way. To get the position, he recommended driving a croquet hoop into the ground and catching the front part of the foot under it. There is no doubt it is an excellent idea, and anyone whose foot action is too free —and there are many—could not do better than try it. Like the golfers of the United States. I have a strong respect for anything written by P. A. Vaile.

Returning the Cards The bush lawyer who sends so many knotty problems to the Rules of Golf Committee has found a prolific source of conundrums in the questions of marking and returning competition cards. Of course, there is no need to mark cards excepting in medal and bogey matches, and the essentials are

quite clear in each ca.se. The opponent is the marker, unless a special marker lias been appointed, and usually the opponents mark each other’s cards. It is quite unnecessary to mark one’s own score on the card, and in every case the opponent’s card should be the one carried and marked. Some cards make provision for both self and opponent, and, while there is no objection to both columns being filled, it is always the self column that is official, self being the name at the top of the card. The other column should be crossed out. In some clubs cards are issued witli name of competitor and date, and where this is not done these details should be added. In a medal match the score at every hole must be marked, and it is usual to add it up, subtract the handicap, and complete it. It has, however, been decided that the adding, etc., is the duty of the committee in charge, and a card incorrectly added by the marker was adjudged good. In bogey matches, only those holes need be marked where a ha’f or a win has been gained. In both cases the signature of the marker is essential. Unsigned cards have frequently been rejected, but in one case, where the marker had put in the card without signing and without giving the player an opportunity of checking it, the Rules of Golf Committee suggests that it might be accepted. The onus is on the player of seeing that his card i.s correct and properly signed before being put in. There must be no unreasonable delay. The women are even fiercer than the men in this matter, and expect the card to be made up before the clubhouse is entered, and placed in the box at once. In one case a card was held to be properly rejected, when a player, after having tea, went out again to play, and sent it in from the third hole. In another case the competitor’s name was omitted, but all other formalities were comp led with. The Rules of Golf Committee decided that the identification of the marker was sufficient. The rule governing the whole question is rule 5 (stroke competition).

NEW ZEALAND COUNCIL MEETING

NEW CLUBS ELECTED Sir Alexander Roberts presided at the monthly meeting of the Council of the New Zealand Golf Association at Wellington. There were also present: Messrs. A. D. S. Duncan, W. A. Kiely, AI. J. Crombie, L. O. H. Tripp, Colonel R. O. Chesney and G. O. Sutton, secretary.

The following new clubs which hail duly made application were elected members of the association:—Ellesmere Golf Club, Leeston, Canterbury; Alatiero Golf Club, Matiere; Okaihau Golf Club, Okaihau; Ohaewai Golf Club, Ohaewai; Taneatua Golf Club, Taneatua; Utiku Golf Club, Utiku; Waimate North Golf Club, Waimatc North. This makes 14 new clubs elected this year and brings the total membership in the association to 173 clubs.

The principal business of the meet--ing was the finalising of the programme for the 1930 open, amateur and professional championships at Palmerston North on October 24 to November 1. Owing to the fact that the professionals had requested that 16 be allowed to qualify in their championship instead of eight as formerly, it was necessary to put the final of this championship forward one day and play it on the Saturday, the same day as the amateur final.

It was decided that the practice of issuing national handicap certificates will now be discontinued owing to the fact that scratch scores for the courses havo been standardised and club secretaries will be required to certify on each entry that the club is handicapping to a standard scratch score. In connection with the teams’ match for tho O'Rorke Vase, it was a condition that a country member of a club may only play for that club in the event of the club having less than four full members in the qualifying rounds of the amateur championship. Advice was received that one of the affiliated clubs intends to give notice of motion to be considered at the annual general meeting to separate the open and amateur championships instead of playing them at the same

tournament, as has been done up to the present. Forthcoming tournaments advised to the association since last meeting are as follow:

Hutt Golf Club, winter tournament. August 7, 8 and 10; Wanaka Golf annual tournament, August 29 and 30; Rotorua Golf Club, annual contest for New Zealand Golf Veterans’ Cup and handicap tournament, September 2 to 4 (inclusive); Central Otago Ama‘eur Golf Association, annual tournament, Roxburgh Links, women’s events, September 4, men’s events. September 5 and 6; Manawatu Golf Club, annual tournament, September 22, 23 and 24: Wanganui Golf Club, October 9, 10 and 11; Hamilton Golf Club, South Auckland and Waikato Championship, October 9, 10 and 11; Ashburton Golf Club, mid-Canterbury Championship, Otcober 25, 26 and 27. AKARANA CLUB The match which was to have been played by members of the Akarana Golf Club on Saturday has been postponed. EVERSLIE LADIES’ CLUB The following players will represent the Everslie Ladies’ Golf Club in an inter-club match against the Otahuhu Ladies’ Club at Otahuhu on Saturday Miss Thomson, Mrs. Lever, Miss Little. Mrs. Goddard, Miss Smith, Miss Ballis. Mrs. Bilkey, Mrs. Johnson. Miss AgmenSmith, Mrs. Warden. WAITEMATA CLUB Members of the Waitemata Golf Club will play the second round of the Duder Memorial Cup (36 holes bogey) on Saturday afternoon. The draw will take place at the clubhouse at 1.30 p.m. In the final of the junior handicap for the Harvey trophy, A. J. Weir beat B. W. Hunter on the twentieth green. In the senior handicap for the Harvey trophy, R. Hume beat A. Spraggen, 2 up, and will play J. Prime in the final.