GOLF.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13983, 14 August 1909, Page 5

GOLF.

(By "All Square.")

COMING FIXTURES

August 18 to 24. — Ladies N.Z. Championship Meeting at Palmertton N. August 31 and September 1.-^Ngamotu Ladies' Tournament. September 13 to 18.— Amateur and Open Championship Meeting at Auckland.

Next week's tixtureb at Ngamutu : — Tuesday, ladies' match for Miss Stephenson's prize; Thursday and Saturday, men's senior and junior championships. Th©, professional match which is included in the programme for the coming New Zealand championship meeting will not eventuate unless six professionals enter. Clements does not think that six players will enter, for lie pointed out that there are only seven professionals in the dominion, and that it is not likely any will come from Australia, for the Australian championships are being held about the same time as the New Zealand championships. Arthur Duncan will not be a competitor" at this year's Australian champiou- . ship meeting. The Auckland Club is offering a prize for the best scheme for laying out the new links at Otahuhu. | It is the opinion of Clements, who has- seen most of the leading ladies in I the dominion play, that the Nsa.moru j representatives will do well at the coming championship meeting. He 1 describes the Hokow itu links (on which the championships will be decided) a* cot being so difficult as the Ngamotu course. The Hokowitu links are flat and the bunkers aro mostly artificial, while the greens are fast. The course v.liich covera sandy country is a short one. This- year's New Zealand championship meeting at Auckland promises, like its sister meeting, to be very successful. Clements considers it will be one of the best yet held, and he thinks there will be over a hundred competitors. Competitors at the New Zealand open and amateur championship meeting will, during their stay in Auckland, be the guests of the Auckland Golf Club. They will be conveyed to the links by tr.im free of charge. Tickets will be supplied by the secretary on application. The visitors will be entertained at the Northern Club to dinner on the Saturday evening by the Auckland (Jolf Club. Arrangements will be made by which luncheon «nd ufternoon tea may be obtained at the club house during the town nment. The standard of golf in tho North Island has gone up this season, according to Clements. He says also that the cumber of players has increased. Players have apparently not refrained from taking lessons, for' Clements has up to the present given over eight hundred hour lessons. Clements will be a competitor at this year's New Zealand championship meeting. On leaving New Plymouth lie proceeds to Feilding, and after giving a week's tuition there will commence

practice for the championship. If sufficient inducement offers he will return to New Plymouth for a week after the ohampionship meeting. Ifa all sports throughout the dominion there are champions, athletes who have reached such positions in most cases after years of training. However, in golf the dominion has a champion who reached the position in his teens. I refer to Clements, the professional, who won the open championship of New Zealand last year. This month be will be twenty years of age. It was at the age of eleven that Clements first came into prominence at Auckland, bnt before this he won boys' matches. Ho had not long been coached ' before ho was coaching, for soon after tuition under the two Hoods, Clements was coach for the Devonport Club, Auckland. In 1907 he was a competitor at the New Zealand championship meeting, and in the open championship be came fifth, being five strokes behind the winning man. This was a good performance, but last year he eclipsed it by winning tlie event, defeating F. Hoed and Herd, two wejl-known professionals. Recently ho added another victory to his record by defeating A. Duncan, ex-ama-teur champion of the dominion. With such a career in his teens it would be invidious to predict what his future will produce. Clements is at present in New Plymouth, and will be coaching at the Ngamotu links until the end of next week. Entries for tho various events at the New Zealand ladies' championship meeting closed on Wednesday. One hundYed and ono competitors have entered, while the entries for the different competitions number 638, and are distributed' as follows: — Open cham- j pionship 48, medal competition handicap 94, teams match 19 teams (52 competitors), handicap bogey 88, foursomes 78, Donnelly Cup 77, Coronation medal 50, driving 63, approaching and putting 81. Next Thursday a team of ladies and men from the Ngamotu Club will visit Inglewood and play the match with the local club which was abandoned a couple of weeks ago.<v The Ngamotu Club will be represented at the ladies' championship meeting by the following team: — Miss Stephenson, Miss Standish, Mrs. Oswin, and Miss Brewster. Miss Stephenson and Miss Standish hit for Palmerston this morning, and the other two members of the team will follow later. A men's match was played between the Wellington and Hutt Clubs last Saturday, the former winning by 10J games to 6,. A. J. Abbott beat A. Duncan in this match.