GOLF.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 September 1920, Page 3

GOLF.

I EIHKWOOD (Aff WAIWAKAIfiO. NEW RECORD OP 71. DAY OF BRILLIANT PLAY. A day of brilliant golf was provided on ■the New Plymouth Club's links at Waiwakaiho yesterday, when J. H. Kirkwood (open champion of Australasia) played two matches against leading New Plymouth golfers. In the tiiorning round Kirkwood equa'.led the course record of 75, and in the after-icon he reduced this total by four strokes, establishing a new record of 71. The attendance was the largest in the history of the club In the morning, Kirkwood played the best ball of, A. Smith and A. Bewley, and he won the match by 5 up and 3. Li the afternoon, lie played the best ball of W. H. Robertshaw and G. Gudgeon, and won by tte same, margin. The aft" loon saw Kirkwood at his best, and for his 71 he played an almost faultless round. The only suspicion of weakness came : on the greens, where Kirkwood lost three or four strokes, but his splendid straight drives, his terrific seconds which covered considerable distance, and his accurate approaching, made an exhibition of a. standard never before seen in New Plymouth. One of the most fascinating attractions of the day was reserved until tte end, when Kirkwood gave an exhibition of fancy strokes. His mastery of the putter, when stymies were foolish things to be jumped or gone round, was nothing short of amazing, while he gave a remarkable variety of other shots with each of his clubs. With his brassy he showed that when you reach Klrkwjod's stage of proficiency it does not really matter what kind of lie you get; Worn the fiat, in a hole, or on an abrupt slope he drove magnificent balls, straight and low, or high, or sliced, as he willed. Then, with his driver, he drove a ball off the face of a watch without touching tte watch. He teed three talis, one on top of the.-other, and drove Iho centre one away without touching the others. Then he took his putter and drove a ball which cmany players would be happy to pet with an iron. And so, with many other extraordinary shots, he ttrllled the spectators for some time, and closed a day which will linger in the memory as a revelation in golf.

THE MORNING MATCH. In the morning, thK champion was pitted igatast A. Bewley and A. Smith in a matcb ot 18 holes, and the game he put up on a course with which he was absolutely unfamiliar, and which contained a number of b"!nd holes, delighted spectators and whetted their appetites for a muck better round in the afternoon. As at Patea features of his play were bis accurate driving, keeping well to the litfe, and his superb approach shots, though he was not quite at home on the greens, missing some fairly easy putts. Smith played a solid, consistent game, and is to be congratulated on his performance, but he had little assistance from' Bewley, who was not r'nying well. The match was won by Kirtwcod, 5 up and ttrce, his round being camHeted in J5, which equalled the record put up.: ly McCormick, and was 4 up on bogey in rcalch play, and also on medal play. Kirkwood's curd with the bogey for each hole in parenthesis, was as follows: 1 (4) s| (5), 3 (3), 5 (5), S (5), 4 (R), 4 (3), (i (6), 4 (5), 3 (3), 4 (5), 3 (3), 4 (5), 3 (3), 5 (5), 3 (4), 5 (5), 3 (3), 4 (5), 5 (5). AFTERNOON PLAY. It was when Kirkwood beat the best ball of Robertshaw and Gudgeon in the afternoon that he returned his card of 71, a 38 going out and 33 coming home. Robertshaw started a very 'fine afternoon's eolf by winning two holes out of the first three, and establishing a lead of two up on the champion. It was too much to expect that Robertshaw would maintain this advantage, but it should be said here that this :ead was thoroughly deserved, for one of the features of the round was fobertshaw's golf. His partner, Gudgeon, occasionally came to his assistance with good play, but it was Robertshaw who carried the burden. And now to follow the champion. He either misjudged the condition of the first green, or used the hole' to test the run, for it cost him 5 to Robertshaw's 4. Kirkwood produced two faultless shots to bring him' to the edge of the green of the second, but he required two more to go down, and found I hat Gudgeon was down in' the like. There was nothing brilliant, in any of the play going to the third, but Robertshaw destroyed competition by holing his third from the Edge of the green, and Kirkwood took 4. At the fourth, Kirkwood outdrove his opponents, and gained further advantage witli a magnificent second, winning 5—C. A four to Kobertshaw'a 5 gave Kirkwood the fifth', and the position was all square, while a brilliant 4 at the sixth gave the champion a lead of one up. It now became evident that Kirkwood would gain the upper hand by two very useful t»ua,litles—splendid length and perfect. acJ curacy of direction. He drove beautiful long balls, and if the course had been drier he would have gained considerable length, while his stralghtness was of exceptional merit. Only once (at the eleventh) did Kirkwood go slightly off his line, and, as already indicated, if his putting had been just a little better his score would have defied challenge. Kirkwood was doing fours now. His eighth was a brilliant piece of play, but it was not quite as good at his ninth. At the eighth a long drive was followed by a wonderful second, and a nicely judged third—well lifted r.nd accurately dropped—left him dead In ttree, and he went down in four. Then it looked as if .this play would be eclipsed at the ninth. A fine drive, perfectly straight, l.ut him well over the ridge, and a magnificent second—going straight for the pin—ran on to the green. On the ninth in two, on a day without a helping breeze, as was yesterday Is something that will not be done at the ninth again for a long time. It should have been a three, but the putt seemed to lack sureness, and kept up, and the hole cost him four. And then, at both the eighth and the ninth, Kirkwood had beaten bogey by a stroke. His score going out 'with bogey in parenthesis) wasj—s (4) 4 !5), 4 (3), 5 (5)..,4 (5), 4 (5), 4 (5),—38 (41). Kirkwood was now 3 up. Coming in, Kirkwood won the tenth with a three. At the eleventh he drove almost up to the stones, but he pulled his second, and took three to get on. But a four was no good, for Robertshaw holed in 3 from the edge of the green, repeating his brilliancy at the third. A splendid two won the twelfth for Kirkwood. At the 13th he drove a wonderful ball—it was nearly up to the rough which acts as bunker for the average player's second stroke—but weak putting prevented a win, and the hole was halved. Then It was an easy passage for Kirkwocd. It could not well be anything else, for his last five holes were 3, 4, 3, 4, and 5. Again his play was characterised by long straight drives and perfect seconds, 30 that he was always up to the green in two. At the last hole a little more luck would have given him a chance to get a four. A line drive well up the field (fences and out of hounds meant nothing to Kirkwood, found a bad lie, and he could not get a full brassy fr»n it. But a splendid approach put him on in three, and down in five. He finished the match at the fifteenth, 5 up and 3, and - ; ...-t lime holes, when compared with bige.s 'make fascinating reading. Never once "in his last nine holes did bogey do better than halve with' the champion, whose card read (bogey in parenthesis) : —3 (3), 4 (5) 2 (3) 5 (5), 3 (4), 4 (5), 3 (3), 4 (5), 5 (H)—33— total for 18 holes, 71 (bogey 7!1). On the 18 holes, Kirkwood was 7 up on bogey. '.. KIRKWOOD INTERVIEWED. ADMIRATION FOR THE COURSE. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. .T. H. Kirkwood, bronzed »ith the tan of an athlete, docs not look a day older than his 24 years, and hf» charming naturainess of manner makes him a genial player, and all the intricacies of the game seem to come to aim with pleasant eaie. It did not

i seem a3 if he could foozle, but if he tad done so one could not imagine him' perturbed, He played with ease and freedom, a •porting recognition of his opponents' good shots, and did not appear in the least conscious that his play was delighting savcral hundred spectators. And his care to replace the turf was a characteristic which was good to see from a player of Kirkwood's standard. Interviewed by a Daily News representative, Kirkwood expressed intense admiration of the Waiwakaiho cSurse. "It is the/best I have seen in New Zealand, and is as good as many of the best courses in Australia," he said, "Yes," he said in reply to a question, "I j like it much better than the 'Hamilton course (where the New Zealand championships were played). The Hamilton course is very attractive at first, but it becomes monotonous. There is far more variety about your holes. Tljey all call for good golf, and must be played properly to ensure the best results. Holes that can be played well carelessly are Lot good holes. Tte trouble at Hamilton is that good shots do not meet their due, but this does not happen on your course. Your fairways could not be better, and though you say your greens are not at their best, I think they are very good. Perhaps they! :re now quite large enough, but it is better to have them small and good than large and -indifferent." Kirkwood only mentions three holes wMeh he considers could be Improved. Tiic fourth creen, he said, should be altered to be made more level, but the length of the hole should rot be altered. This change could be mad* by cutting down the slops approaching the green, and banking it up at the back of the green. The fifth, Kirkwood says, should be similarly treated, and the green Should he placed more on the side of the hill, with the green scooped out, providing a flat surface, and protective banks at the back. The thirteenth, he considers, should be lengthened. At present it is too short for a two-shot hole, and too long far a one-shot hole. The green also tends to be soft and damp,, and he suggests all these difficulties would be removed by shifting the green further ahead, to the side of the hillock. For ihe ottei holes he has nothing but praise, and some of them appealed to him very much. Kirkwood leaves for Wanganui this morning. It is understood there is a probability of L'i3 returning to Auckland, via Taranaki, and, if so, another day's golf should be arranged, for nothing has given Taranaki golfers so much pleasure as yesterday's play at Waiwakaito.