GOLF AND GOLFERS

Taranaki Daily News, 9 August 1930, Page 5

GOLF AND GOLFERS

INTER-CLUB MATCHES PLAYED NEW PLYMOUTH AND INGLEWOOD. IMPROVEMENTS. TO THE. COURSE.

(By

“Stance.”)

Dm ing last week a small but select band- of•• ten players, -representative of the -'cracks,” the “ordinary golfers” and' “(hose .who sometimes hit them” of the New' Plymouth club made, the journey to Inglewood” to try conclusions with.-the Inglewood, club. The fortunes see-sawed during the day but eventually the visitors' emerged victorious by a margin of two game's. When it is remembered that no less than'five out of the ten games played went to the last hole it will be seen that there was very little in it. . The visitors were very agreeably, surprised to find that the Inglewood course has', been improved out of ail knowledge this season, and is now. one that the club might well be'proud of. It has ail excellent stretch of country- and the nine holes produce a. delightful variety and never become monotonous. With improvements to-some of the greens which. at present .possess too many slopes this little course will hold its own with most nine hole links in the country. . The top pairs, Lovell and Darlow for Inglewood and Stephenson and Hasel} for the visitors, had two stern struggles'. Over the first nine holes in the morning Stephenson would do nothing right round (he greens and the New Plymouth pair were four, down at-the eighth, but they then started to come to light and won six out of the remaining ten holes and won.two up. In the afternoon the position was reversed'. The visiting/pair were two up at . the 12th but the Inglewood men squared matters with a couple-of birdies at the next two holes and,, winning the next two in bogey-fig-ures, were two up,-a lead they held to the ; finish. - ./. . 7 ■: i Both F; S., JplinS; and. W. ,C. Weston were playing remarkably steady golf against J.' R. ■ Sutherland and H. Thomson and though the-: Inglewood' men put up a brave, showing 1 they, had'to admit defeat both'times, though in the afternoon the game went to the eighteenth

green. ■ The real blood match' of the day was the encounter between C. O’Carroll and J. Winter and R. TI. Quilliam and T. P. Anderson, but. the .New. Plymouth pair had a little' too much in reserve each time. However, from the sound of things one of the Inglewood men got into too much trouble and is confident that in the return match he will bo able to repeat his trick of hitting the pin’ and laying dead with a long mashle at least two or three times. He js- sure ; that the - moral effect on - the New Plymouth captain would be tremendous.

Lomas , and Carlson had two hard tussles with Mulholland aiid Grant but managed to win each, time, The New Plymouth pair Martin and Russell, however. had a day ofl.’ and despite a desperate attempt at midday to get some more weight to put behind their drives they found Partridge and his partner much too good on ,thc day. The fixture was a most successful one. The visitors were most hospitably entertained at lunch and at afternoon tea and all will look back on the day with very pleasurable feelings.

To-day’s match at Waiwakaiho is a medal handicap, but it is not likely that a great many good cards will be returned as the thought of many of the players will bo far away from the links and centred on the great stniggle on Athletic Park, Wellington, and as a consequence the golf is sure to suffer. Still there are a few real' golfers to whom the game is everything and tesi matches and revolutions at a distance matter not 0110 iota to them.

It was a happy inspiration on the part of the committee of the Hutt club to stage a tournament when so many visitors will be attracted to Wellington for the fourth Rugby test match between New Zealand and the British team.

Some first-class golf should be witnessed, as the. entrants include such noted players as A. D. S. Duncan, D. Whyte, and M. Duncan (Wellington), D. C. Collins, J. Jamieson and J. Broad (Wairarapa), R. Wagg, R. O. Chesney, H. K. Adamson and P. Wagg (Hutt). In addition to the amateur championship event, there will be group matches, and competitions to keep everyone busy over the three days. It is possible that several members of the British Rugby team will take part in the tournament. George Beamish is the bright particular star on the British side. ‘ s The following are the sixteen players who qualified to play for the Winter Cup: —

ST. ANDREW’S CRITICISED. Wonders will never cease; they are actually adversely criticising the Royal and ancient course of St. Andrew’s. “The course, unhappily,” states the Golf Monthly, “was in poor shape for the championship. Owing to the dry and cold weather many of the fairways were like cement and the greens were bare of arass. The mowers had cut all the glass there was closely, and turned the puttin" into a nerve-racking chance. The hard, barren state of the course was incidental to the weather, but there is another and a permanent criticism of St. Andrew’s as a championship test, and it is that under modern conceptions it is altogether wrong, on a championship course, that there should be five holes in succession that can bo reached by one shot; they are the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth. To have five holes together of this class introduces an element at St. Andrew’s which does provide material for criticism. “VVe could never contemplate a championship rota wherein the name of St. ' Andre w’s did not appbar. And ; Sb, : amidst

all the criticism, the-old remains our first'love and still has all our reverence. The course is the most natural golf course of all the- great links, and one almost feels it a sacrilege to say changes must be made somewhere on the classic round. The Royal and Ancient is the most -representative and the most powetful golf club in the world and can cojnmand all financial resources that would be necessary to make St. Andrew’s what it should be, the world’s greatest. The changes may come.

D 0 Wlivte 81—79—IGO .... '81—81—16'2 u. n <x oo ........ * Xf JXw-pn.n • 79—85—164 1). 0. Collins TT K A/Innison 88—81—169 91—80—171 T. R. McGregor ... ...... 86—87—173 ...... 88—86—174 W. G. Fisher .... R. 0. Chesney . . . T? 6J- TTnvwnr/I . . • . 86—91—177 ...... 99—89—179 91—89—180 W. G. Martin ... J .. 93—88—181 93—91—184 . 91—93—184 .. 91—94—185 Captain Harland .. R. L. Ingham 93—92—185 ...... 93—96—189