On the Links Notes for Golfers

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1044, 7 August 1930, Page 6

On the Links Notes for Golfers

By

Slow-Back

Most of our Auckland courses are aid out with an eye on the prevailing westerly winds, and by a very unfortunate fatality the wind has a knack of coming from the east on Saturdays. The result is that some holes are made unduly easy and others are put out of reach, the net result being that, as a rule, one or two strokes are added to the scores A few of the more enlightened clubs alter some of the tees to suit the wind, but when the wind changes after play has started, as it did on Saturday, no such adjustments can be made The four frosts of last week were unusually severe, an they checked the growth very effectually but with some north-east rain the spring growth should be starting soon The willows are showing signs of life, and the ’‘pussy” willows have been budding for a week or more. This is the time for tree-planting operations At Middlemore some thousands of trees are going in this month, and some of the other courses would be much improved by intelligent tree-planting Advice should be got from the Government or university forestry people, as, like most other things this a matter for the expert. The Auckland Club is putting on a 72-hole medal competition, the first round of which was played on Saturday. Four medal rounds in succession are a bit wearisome, an perhaps next year’s programme will be altered The first round was a Wilson benefit r remember at school at one time there were ten Wilsons, and Saturday’s result reminded me of it. R. B. Wilson led the field with a card of 82, 9 —73. J. McK Wilson was nett 74, W Wilson 75, F Wilson, 74. an others to have their names in the paper were W A. Phillips 74, T. R. Brett 74. A. M. Smith and V JO. Wells 75. The nintli hole of 560yds was a good test on Saturday, three good wooden shots being needed to get the green by all but the big hitters At ' Titirangi the second round of the Ballin Cup match was played. Most of the games were won decisively enough, but A. J Good had to go to the last green to beat A. Fairburn by’ 1 up, and V. L. Humphries won by 2 up at the 18th. The departure of 11. D. Brinsden, who was beaten 3 and 2 by I. V. Stewart, leaves J. M. llockin as the only surviving backmarker. In a bogey match for those not in the Ballin Cup, R. M. JJacre (o) and M. Nelson (8) were both 1 up, a useful result on by no means an easy day. Pupuke travelled* to Glendowie, but found the local players much too strong. Aliles Thompson did very well to defeat C. Allcott on Glendowie, though the margin of 1 up was small. All the other 11 matches were won by Glendowie. Medal play was the order at Akarana, the monthly’ medal and the tourth round of the Tyjer Memorial Cup being decided, it. Clarke (24) and J. McKenzie (10) tied with nett 71, no one else being within four strokes. A Mechanical Putter ,A t the Arlington Turf Nursery’, one or the experimental stations of the United States Golf Association, Green’s Section, they have a very’ ingenious mechanical putter, the invention of a Mr. R. F. Arnott. R consists of a tripod of the height of the average man’s waist, and swinging from the centre •»f the top piece is a pendulum held by lour aluminium rods, ending in a putter-shaped head. The machine can bo adjusted in several ways—for length, i

< ut, top spin, underspin, etc., but the uure pendulum swing is the main feature. At Arlington there are several experimental plots, identical in every way’ except that different grasses are sown in each. Here are tried out the various kinds of bent, fescue and poa. Many prominent golfers have visited the nursery, and the latest form of amusement there is to let the golfers try the plots and test their opinions with the machine. For instance, two famous professionals were quite .i greed that of two plots one was distinctly faster than the other. They tried it out * carefully, and then the machine checked their results, to find that they were wrong, and that the green they thought the faster was really the slower. It is true that there was little difference. The differences of the players’ tastes were very interesting. Some preferred one strain of bent, and others would have none of it, while the stiff fescues had many adherents. A very striking feature was that whenever a play’er had a distinct preference he always got Letter results on the igeen of his choice, which goes to prove, if proof were needed, that putting is largely mental. The machine proved further that no matter how perfect the surlace a certain proportion of putts left the line. It is some consolation to us that a proportion of the putts we miss may not be our own fault. Women and Men This year’s match between the women and the men took place at the New Zealand course at By fleet. By the day', this course, named after our own land, is a very good one. It is close to Woking, S.W., from London about 20 miles. Though the sides didn’t pretend to be representatives, there were some very good players taking part. The women were led by Miss Joyce''Wethered, and on her side were Miss M. Gourlay and Miss I). Pearson. C. J. H. Tolley had with him Rex Hartley, R. H. Wethered. Dale 1 lourn and tjie evergreen Bernard Darwin. Instead of giving the women strokes (they had six last year), they received 2 up and played from the shoi't tees. Tolley, on his day*, is a great player, but to give Miss Wethered 2 up and a start from the tee was too much for him. and he lost by 2 and 1. R. Hartley and R. H. Wethered beat Misses Gourlay and Pearson respectively, and the singles finished with four matches each. In the foursomes the .men won three out of the four, and so won the match by seven to five.

Avoiding the Stymie I was asked the other day if there was any legitimate way of avoiding playing a stymie, apart from the sixinch rule. As it happened I had seen a decision on the subject a short time before. Two players in a match in bad weather were on the green. the ball farther from the hole being stymied bv the nearer, but between the nearer ball the hole was some casual water The player, whose putt it was. claimed to move clear of the water, which was on liis line, but his opponent maintained that he had no right to improve his position by taking advantage of the casual water rule, and either that he ball should be play*ed as it lay or both balls should be moved and the stymie restored as nearly as possible The decision was that -he player whose turn it was to plav had the undoubted right to move his hail clear of he intervening water and that until he had taken his putt ‘he opponent’s right of moving also did not accrue This procedure, which appeals to me as being the onlv possible one certainly has the effect of avoiding playing a stymie. There is a great

deal ui controversy “ a ilome just now about the stymie and it is not unlikely that a year or two will see some modification, if not its entire abolition. At the Road Hole Last week we ried to describe the famous 17th at St. Andrews. This was perhaps the critical hole in the great match between Jones and Tolley in the recent Amateur Championship Tolley had won the It>th and squared the match Both go away good drives, but too much to the left. Jones had to pla\ and he decided to keep to the left of the pot bunker and run in from the side It would have been fa*al to bo up, as the odds would be 100 to 1 he would find the road beyond. He tried to get the crowd moved but the rather inadequate stewards couldn’t clear the way and lie played. He was too s’rong and would h-ve found the road but for hitting a spectator in the stomach, which little accident left his ball where he had played for Tolley tried to get in to ‘he right of the pot bunker but was short and stopped on the near side of the pot It was again Jones to plav and bis run-up was not convincing. being six feet off the line. Tolley played r£ magnificent little pitch and succeeded in stopping well inside Jones on the glassy green. Jones holed his six-footer and* the hole was halved in an adventurous 4. WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FRANKLIN DRAW FOR SATURDAY The annual championship tournament of the Franklin Ladies’ Golf Association will be played on tlie Everslie course at Papakura on Saturday The draw and order of starting are as follows, pairs following at four-minute intervals: Mrs. Goddard v. Miss Muir, Mrs. Rushton v. Miss Neil, Miss McDonald v. Mrs. Ohlson, Mrs. Barker v. Miss Wilkins, Mrs. Lever v Miss McLennan, Miss Little v. Miss Gray. Miss Cameron v. Mr Busing, Miss' A. Potter v. Miss Callis. Mrs. Tilston v. Miss R. Johns. Miss Jeffries v. Mrs. Bilkey, Mrs. Pavitt v. Miss Austin, Miss Glynes v. Miss Thomson, Miss O’Callaghan v. Miss Smith. Mrs. Langford v Miss Arkle, Mrs. Noel Johnson v Miss Andre. Mrs. Maddison v. Miss Agmen Smith, Miss Keats v. Miss O’Neill, Mrs. Taylor v. Miss L. Pott?r. Mrs. Sampson v. another. AUCKLAND LADIES’ CLUB Members of the Auckland Ladies' Golf Club will hold an open day on Friday, August 15. A medal competition will be played in the morning, and will be followed by an approaching and putting competition in the afternoon. Following is the draw for a Hag match to be played on Tuesday next for a prize presented by the Misses V. and K. Souter: Mrs. Craven v. Miss E. Mahoney, Miss L. Cutfield v. Miss Upton, Miss Moglnic v. Miss M. Macfarlane, Mrs. Rainger v Mrs. Abbott, Miss Baylv v. Miss McGovern. Miss E. Wilson v. Mrs. Hughes, Miss Culling v. Miss Noakes, Mrs. Hodges v. Mrs. Ferguson, Mrs. Wilson v. Mrs. Green. Mrs. Wright v. Mrs. Marshall, Mrs. Smith v. Mrs. Rutherford. Miss Macfarlane v Miss Hamlin, Miss H. Cutfield v. Mrs. Robertson. Mrs. Buttle v. Miss MacCormick. Miss R. Roberton v. Miss Clark., Miss Lever v. Mrs. E. Friedlander, Miss C. Bayly v. Mrs. Boddington. Mrs. Nevlll v. Miss Graham, Mrs. Campbell v. Mr** Towle. Miss Jackson v. Miss Egerton. Mrs. Gorrie v. Mrs. Finn, Miss L. Roberton v. Miss S. Mahoney. Miss Coutts v Mrs. A. Friedlander, Mrs. Frater v. Mrs Ralph Mrs. Morris v. Miss Cousins. Mrs Brown v. Miss Porter. Mrs. Carr v. Mrs. Croft. Mrs. Miller v. Miss Rainger. Miss Nevill v. Mrs. Martin. Mrs. Grant v Mrs Jefferson. Miss Walkley v. Miss Reid, Mrs. Foster v. Mrs. Trice, Miss Asser v'. another. An eclectic match will be held for C grade players, commencing this week and continuing until the end of the season. GLENDOWIE CLUB Following is the draw for the Canadian foursome bogey handicap to be played on Saturday by members of the Glendowie Golf Club: A. O. Horspool and F. Lintott v. L. Keys and A. Sleaman, 11. Wright and A. R. Wilson v. J. R. Rendoll and A. Churclihouse, A. C. Johns and C. Thomas v. U. Jefferson and O Wolfgramm, C. Woods and F. Hintz v. R. Barstow and J. Stedman, T. Johns and D. Morrison v. C. Hewson and H. O. Thomson, E. J. Richardson and U. A. Forgie v. J. Kissling and H. G. Thomson, R. Kissling and J. Hall v. A. Duthie and W. Lason. N. C. Snedden and T. Martin v. R. Bradley, and Dr. Horton, G. Kissling and F. Trice v. R. Edmonds and L. Harrison, E. Hutchison and F. Russell v. _H. Goodwin and C. Allcott, P. White and J. Sheen v. C. Lovegrove and A. G. Graham, N. A. Ching and G. Mathieson v. G. Brown and A. Howey Walker, F. Kronfeldt and G. Warren v. F. Faram and F. Combes, C. Biernacki and N. Harrison v. J. C. Graham and A. Sloman, F. Restall and C. Rattray v. B. Lockhart and G. Metcalfe. OTAHUHU CLUB Following are the draw and order of starting for the first qualifying round of the Otahuhu Golf Club’s championship, to be played on the Favona links on Saturday, in conjunction with a medal handicap, for a trophy presented by Mr. G Currie for the best net score: E. vV. Stephenson v. J. L. McCrory. H. Luscomhe v. G. E. Currie, J. B Simpson v B. H Menzies, C. Biggs v. W Blakey. R. G. Moffitt v. H. J. Levy. T. Easterbrook v. W. B. Eustace. .F. Todd v. A. P. Eustace. L. J. Croxson v. C. R. Reader. B. O. Heather v. G. Cox, F. Nicholls v R. Hipkins. 11. Robb v. F. McDonald. R. L. Brown v R. G. Wallace. E. Mai loch v. J. E. Logan, A. D. Leys v. H Fromherz. A. M. Todd v. J A. McArthur. E. Burton v. G. E. Gardner. AKARANA LADIES’ CLUB Following is the draw for a bogey match to be played by members of the Akarana Ladies* Golf Club on Saturday: Miss Fearnley v Miss Wynyard, Miss McMatb v Miss Webber. Miss Roberts v. Miss Longdill, Miss Lawson v. Miss Cousins. Miss Darracli v Miss Deacon. Miss T Davies v Miss Joyce. Miss I Deacon v Miss Dowling Mrs. Sutton v Miss Connett Miss Griffin v Miss TenV«= Miss Knott v Miss Smith The draw for the C grade bogey man •• is as follows- Miss Neville v. Miss Par vin Miss Barton v Miss Broadley. Miss Hoe v. Miss Walmslev. Miss Farrow v. V MTEMATA CLUB oiiovvim s the draw for the second qualifying round of the senior and iunior championships to be played by the members of the Waitemata Golf Club on Saturday afternoon: —Hogan v Prime Layzell v Taylor, O’Connell v O’Connor Porter v ’hapman. Jackson v Whitley Rae v. Miller. McLeod v Baxter Naismith v Hume. Dnder v Sprageen Rudge v Downer. Mac indoe v Bailey Bartley v Lnngbien Walsh v Simmonds McGregor v Burgess Tones v Gooding Weir v’. W Hume. McKenzie v Robinson Hunter v Crompton. Josline v Mason Leitch v Duff D McLeod v Rowan Anderson v. Brambley Wilson v Spence Mundv v Rrett Ash * Robbie. Aid’s v Bruce

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