EVENTS IN GOLF WORLD

Taranaki Daily News, 2 September 1929, Page 11

EVENTS IN GOLF WORLD

INGLEWOOD CLUB HAVE VICTORY

DURHAM ROAD LINKS REVIEWED.

(By “Stance.”) Despite the fact that a fairly strong New Plymouth team made the journey to Inglewood during last week-end, the Inglewood players rose to the. occasion and, aided by a superior knowledge of the greens, came out victorious oy the narrow margin of two games. Nearly all the games were extremely well contested and no less than four were ah square when the 18th hole had been played. llasell and Stephenson were opposed by S. Lovell and J. F. Ritchie. Over the first nine holes Stephenson could do nothing right and Ritchie, who will be remembered as having defeated A. E. Ekstcdt in the final of a Taranaki championship, was playing very well, esepeially with his mashie, and though rhe New Plymouth pair fought hard in the final half they suffered defeat. In the afternoon Stephenson played better but the Inglewood pair worked together well and'the match was squared. . Johns and Quin had a battle royal with Smith and Darlow. In the morning Johns sank a great putt on the last green to square the match, but in the afternoon they were doriny three, only to lose the last three holes. vVyatc and W. C. Weston were playing steadily and comfortably accounted for O'Carroll and Thompson, both morning and afternoon. At times one of the Inglewood players did not seem to be very much enamoured with his game. Greiner and Carlson , won in the morning against Grant and Sutherland, but suffered a narrow defeat in the afternoon. Greiner 'made a costly discovery that a slice at the second hole is not a very profitable shot. Maetzig and Winter carried too many guns for I. Thomson and Twoomey, both in the morning and the afternoon, while Russell «nd Martin were unable to., hold Olsen and Mulholland. Torlesse and Reg. Brokenshire had a runaway win over Winfield and Partridge in the morning, but evidently did themselves too well at lunchtime, for they could only square the game in the afternoon. The visitors were hospitably entertained by the Inglewood Club and, despite the rather unexpected defeat, all .went home feeling that they had spent a most enjoyable day. NEW INGLEWOOD COURSE. The new Inglewood course, juff by the Durham Road railway station, has the makings of quite a good ninc-hclc-links. This is only the second season that it has been played upon and, taking everything into consideration, the club has done wonders. Some of the greens are rather obscured by mounds in front of them and some of the lies are none too easy, but these faults can casi’y be remedied in time. The writer would like to make the suggestion that they should put into force a teeing-up rule for a while. A number of golfers are of the opinion that this is contrary to the spirit of the. game, but the old inle that the “ball must be played fr.m where it lies and the only boundaries are the boundaries of the kingdom of Fife” is now rather ancient, and the constant playing out of impossible positions is very detrimental to one’s game. When all the metropolitan clubs in New Zealand have had recourse to this rule it is well within the rights of a small club with a course in the making to resort to it for a time at least.

The first hole is quite a good one and could be considerably improved if the hummock in front were removed and the earth used to build it up at the back. The second is an exceptionally fine two-shotter which calls for a well placed drive and an accurate second to the green. The third hole is also quite a good one, but would be much improved if the green were moved back about 30 yards. The fifth hole is a weak one and the green should be at the other side of the hedge. If this were done the short fifth would be’ played from

a different angle across the creek, and would be much improved. The seventh is a good hole, but the green should be “moved forward a little to enable the player to see the foot of the flag when playing his second. The eighth is a nice two-shotter calling for a well-placed drive and a good second. The ninth is quite a good hole, though it would be improved by a bunker on the right. Taking it all round it is a good piece of country and the club in the course of a couple of years should have a very good nine-hole test. Following is a list of the holes, distances and bogies:— First: Distance, 230 yards; bogie 4. Second: Distance, 380 yards; bogie 4. Third: Distance, 160 yards; bogie 3. Fourth: Distance, 280 yards; bogie 4. Fifth; Distance, 420 yards; bogie, 5. Sixth: Distance, 105 yards; bogie, 3. Seventh: Distance, 290 yards; bogie, 4. Eighth: Distance, 370 yards; bogie, 5. Ninth: Distance, 235 yards; bogie, 4. Total Course: Distance, 2470 yards; bogie, 36. COLTMAN CUP COMPETITION. Conway aud Mackay met in the semifinal of the Coltman Cup competition, and after a very hard-fought struggle in'which the fortunes swayed backwards and forwards the former won by the narrow margin of a single hole. Mackay was one up when they came to the fifteenth and looked like, winning the long hole, but Conway sank a nasty eight-footer for a half. Conway had to negotiate a dead stymie to. win the 10th, and became one up when Mackay’s putt on the 17th refused to disappear. The last hole was halved, leaving Conway to meet Haughton in the final.

All New Zealand followed the fortunes of Sloan Morpeth in the Australian championships very closely during the last week. He had a very hard row to hoc. In the first round he was faced by the brilliant young Victorian Bulte, but proved equal to the occasion, running home a comfortable winner. In the next round he had a more formidable opponent in Ivo Whitton, who had just annexed the open championship. Morpeth was down nearly all the way, but squared the game at the 35th hole. He missed an easy putt at the 36th for the match and had to play another six holes before he eventually triumphed. In the semi-final Morpeth met Apperley, his conqueror of the Kirk-Win-deycr Cup contest, and had his revenge to the tune of 8 up and 7 to play. However, he had to lower his colours i the final to M, J. Ryan. Private advices received indicate that Morpeth’s health has not been too good of late, and this is probably the reason for his weak finish in the open, as the two strenuous games with Whitton and Apperley would doubtless take their toll.