THE GAME OF GOLF

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1930, Page 4

THE GAME OF GOLF

PLAY IN NEW PLYMOUTH. COLTMAN CUP COMPETITION.

(By

"Stance.”).

G. W. Haughton won his way into the final of the Coltman Cup competition of the New Plymouth Golf- Club last, week-end by defeating last - .year’s .winner, A. E. Conway, by three up and two to play. Haughton was playing very steady golf, his. putting being steady afid reliable, and .he. deserved his Tvih.' Cdn,way, hd.wever, must..have given him a bad shock .when lie .holed his,,tee shot at'the fourth. On the lower side of the draw G. jßich' played- too well for C. IL. "Wynyard and will meet J. O’Neill in the. third round.. .The winner .of this game will be faced by F. D. Johns in the'semifinal. Last. Saturday was not a very inviting day, and the broadcast description of the fourth Test in Auckland did not tend: to. swell the numbers, at Waiwakailio. Nevertheless, a surprisingly good field took part in the game, in which P. Hawkins returned the best card. This week the match will be a four-ball best; .ball bogie and as this is one of the most popular, foyms of the game there is sure to be a big field. ' During the week-end a New Plymouth team will pay the annual visit to Inglewood. , The : Inglewood ; men are always hard to dispose of on their own links, but they, will be faced by a fairly strong team from New Plymouth. The Inglewood links have been greatly improved this year and are reported to be in first-class order. DOMINION CHAMPIOMSHIP.S The New Zealand Golf Council lias decided to limit the number of competitors at the Dominion championships this year to 88, 08 amateurs and 20 professionals, Probably this is necessary, but it will lead to a riumber’of players being allotted handicaps to which they have never been able to- play down, and thus enable them to play and force out some players from . clubs that have strict -and conscientious handicappers. Every year there are players at the Dominion event with- club handicaps of one and two, but who scarcely return one round of under 90,’ and return year after year with the same tale and the same old scores. It is hard to remedy this difficulty, but the council might easily make it a, rule that when the number of. entries. exceeds the required number the first 50 amateurs in the open of the previous year should take preference. After all, it is the performance in the big event that counts. A much better way would be to extend the fixture another day. Lot up to 120 play one. round on the -first ' two-., days and the first 32 play off over 36 holes on thb.,filial.day, the qualifying fc the amateur to take place on the first two rounds. This would clear a lot of the. troubles and give far more players a chance of acquiring the: I experience of playing in a championship . that is so valuable to young players.

THE OVERLAPPING GRIP.

It was refreshing—and rather unexpected —to find in the current New-York Golf Illustrated an article headed “The Greatest Fallacy of All,” and to learn that the said fallacy was none other than the overlapping grip. For a quarter of a century or more practically all teachers of the game have taught that some form of overlapping or interlocking was essential. J. Dunean Dunn, one of America’s most fariious ‘tegchers, and the author of the article in question, says that so far, as ; he knows practically every golf• instructor except himself iS teaching men, women and children the overlapping grip. • j ■ \ The: same is probably true -in, New Zealand? If one were to look back far enough into the history of the game one •would/probably;find that it was’the success of Harry ’Vardon that led tb the imitation of his .methods, and particularly of his grip. ; Verdon, -Taylor and Braid all overlapped, which should be a sufficient advertisement for that grip, but it is fair to add that very few others did. John Ball and H. 11. Hilton always used the natural grip—that is, all fingers on the shaft —and Britain has produced no such amateurs since. Of more modern players, Mitchell uses the natural grip, and he is supposed to be one of the world’s longest drivers; C. J. H. . Tolley and H. R. Johnstone, to mention two other champions, do so also.

Some authorities doubt the value of the overlapping grip. A professional with strong fingers and wrists can get adequate power from any grip, but the rank and file have no such margin. Probably the majority of men, and certainly the great majority of women, would do better with the natural grip. The talk of co-ordinating the two hands is moonshine. The beginner would be well advised to start with the natural grip—the so-called two v grip—and, if he likes .io change later, he can easily do io.