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Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXI, Issue 12636, 24 March 1905, Page 2

THE NEW GOLF LINKS. The fraternity of golfers, which is now assuming quite respectable dimensions in Timaru, owes a debt of gratitude to the executive of the Club f r placing them in possession of the links which were formally opened yesterday. This addition to the sporting facilities of the town shows what can be done when necessity presses and when there are energetic officers to take the lead. When the' encroachments of building operations gradually dispossessed the Golf Club of its old location in North Street, there were gloomy forebodings that it would be impossible to secure suitable accommodation within reasonable access. Not only, however, has an excellent stretch of country been obtained, but the Club has been put in the way of becoming its own landlord, so that it can develop into a solid institution instead of being threatened with a peripatetic .existence. . It could not be expected that in the short time at .their disposal, the» committee would have transformed the rough acr-es they took over a few months ago into first-class links, but anyone who saw the ground when it was leased by the Club will readily admit that, the improvement already effected is really much greater than could have been reasonably anticipated. Players might have thought themselves lucky that they were able to indulge in their pastime at all this season, but as matters stand, they will be able to get a good deal of enjoyment out of the. game, while the prospects for the future point to the existence' in Timaru of links -which will establish quite a colonial reputation. Experts who are versed in all the lore of golf are prepared to admit that the Club's new property will always tax the skill of the player* but they regard this as a valuable characteristic, because it wi 1 give Timaru golfers an advantage when they measure their strength over the less difficult courses of the colony. Already there are predictions of the kudos which local players will earn in the big tournaments, so that from the point of view of advertising the town, which seems to be a great objsct nowadays, with most localities, the Club's progress 'is not to be despised. The new links, too, will- undoubtedly be a powerful attraction to a desirable class of visitors, and for the members -of the Club themselves, they can well afford to .overlook such minor : worries as the loss of a few balls, and a' too luxuriant growth "of grass (and! weeds} in places, when they reflect how much been done for them by the few enthusiasts on whom most of the wort of providing the links has fallen.