BIG DAY AT WAIWAKAIHO

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1929, Page 3

BIG DAY AT WAIWAKAIHO

CAPTAIN PLAYS SECRETARY USUAL ORDER REVERSED. , - STERN BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY. (By “Stance.”) Tiie big day duly arrived. Both com*, nianders were on the scene of operations early, mustering their battalions and. giving instructions and encouragement to their men. Just at the coininencement a heavy downpour threatened to turn the show into a naval engagement and many were busily preparing to don their oil-skins and. life-belts but therain passed over- and the two com- . nianders Sallied forth to set their followers the good example. . . The Captain, a little bit fearful as to the much-vaunted strength of the opposing side, had hoped to strike terror into the hearts of his opponents by routing the rival commander, but the Secretary lia*d anticipated this move and had undergone a week of strict training and had retired to his downy couch soon . after the sun went, down each night and on the day set oil’ with a spirit of abandon, unmasking fresh and unsuspected;* batteries that soon had the Captain ill at ease. ■ ' Nevertheless it was a stern battle and it was not until the club house was near that the Captain found his position untenable. One of the Secretary’s “shock corps” Chong faced the Captain’s “siege gun” . Grey but for a time the siege gun couldnot obtain either range or direction, and he was well raked by accurate fire and looked like being completely routed. He / obtained the range, however, and slowly ' and stubbornly won back the lost ground. At the club house neither side had any advantage and the battle was continued; 1 for some time till a truce was called, : The Secretary’s “heavy artillery teorpi” ; Stephenson was well astray in the early stages. He had made a forced march to be present, but his work in close quar-„ ters was very weak while his opponent was using his Mills ibom'bs with deadly effect. With half the journey goii'e Stephenson rallied and, his opponent faltering, pushed him back and back until the club house arrived without any decision being reached. They were promptly ordered to continue. Hasell’s; good nature alone Saved his opponent ?>n the 19th but Stephenson housed no suchfeelings for him. immediately afterwards ■ and administered the “coup de grace” on the 20tli green. CAPTAIN FARES BADLY. Meanwhile the battle was going badly for the Captain. Hine carried too many guns for Burgess, and Walter Weston showed that getting offside all the while was no disadvantage by accounting for that sturdy battler Bert Wyatt. Johnson, however, raised the hopes of his side by gradually wearing Johns down bit by bit, though both did some deadly work at close quarters. Frank Quin and Mackay were at each other’s throat allthe way and the latter evacuated his; position only at the last hole.. r . ; Blenncrhassett’s artillery was too solid for T. P. Anderson, though the latter put up a stubborn resistance in th© •final stages. Kirkby gave his side .. a win after he had raked Nicholson fore and after with all sorts of weapons albtho way. Buster Thomson’s long range guns were expected to prove a decisive factor in his contest with Renner bu’t his sighting apparatus was defective . and the Gay Caballero had to beat a retreat at the I4th hole.

Despite the "writing on the wall” J. M. O’Reilly proved too solid for Ivan Thompson, the extra one per cent, of primage (supplied gratis by the. Prime Minister) in his artillery just turning the scales in his favour. One pair from the rank and file appeared at the pavilion and announced with relieved and smiling faces that s their fight had ended with honours easy. They were sternly ordered by their commanders to ''Continue with the battle. The gravity of the situation was cyl- J dently too much for one of them, for in attempting to fire some Bobby Jones ammunition from a Hagen gun ha achieved a/ clean miss in his first attempt. This seemed to have a bad effect on him, for he hauled down his flag immediately. The earlier returns gave the Secretary a good lead but as the tail-enders began to struggle home this margin began to lessen and the Captain’s face was full of hope, * ,!■ ? Arthur Humphries was out fighting against heavy odds, especially after, a very deliberate effort had been made by some following players to lay him out earlier in the game. He was all square at the 18th hole and then hearing that Star had been defeated he thought that he had better avenge them and forced his opponent to lower his colours on the 29th. SECRETARY IN ASCENDANCY. , George Spence’s great knowledge of the beauty spots of the district availed •him little against Harold Witham’s extra -weight, and the hopes of the Captain fell again. He was consoling himself, however, that he had still one moral to come in. He had reliable information that Rex Brewster could account for his opponent by a big space, in fact he was expected to push him out to sea at the 12th, but, Fraser who is one of the < Jockey’s Club’s judicial stewards, knew something about disguising his real form in trials and he had unmasked a battery r of guns that nothing could resist and ho came home on the bit'and the final hope of the Captain’s command had gone and < the result was posted amid the loud cheers of the victors. In the evening a peace conference was . held in the dub house, where the victors did ample justice to the spoils of war. After long consultations it was decided not to sign the Kellogg Pact nor to become members of the League of Nations', It seemed the general opinion that war was good for the race, but it was agreed that both sides should observe a truce until this time next year, when hostilities should be resumed, but only, after ample notice had been given. Apparently all is fair in love and war, even if that war be a golf war, for when the Captain inquired of those members of his team who had suffered defeat as to whether they were beaten fairly they all replied in loud voices that they had not. Evidently they had been studying tho sportsman’s Koran “Win, Tie or Wrangle.” One speaker who proudly announced that ho had helped with the wag of the tail proceeded to tell the "tale of the wag,” and that tale is still one of the main topics of conversation