GOLF "NOTIONS."

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12906, 19 February 1906, Page 3

GOLF "NOTIONS."

Ihe mind of the golf invent-cr. says a Home writer, is rem.irkHbVy fruitful, and it w.uld surely be viifdcuw to recall a t y pc-iiOd in the history of any other game when so many inventions, some useful, some novel, and, some neither but merely eccen.rn, constantly, made their appearance and solicited tie support- of the patrons of the pastime. Than the golfer there -is "no player of games who is ever more ready to giye t-he closest and njost "consideration to all these newideas, for he indeed trill never get it- out of his head that what he wants in order to minimise the number of bad shots that he mates, to drive longer balls, and to hole more putts, axe clubs specially de'signed to do all these things. In' this matter the golfer is the- most unreasoning person imaginable, and -the inventor, knowing his weakness, will go on inventing and making money until his ingenuity is exhausted, which wiH not be for a long time. Just now the inventor has broken out in a new place, and he has come by a new arrangement for the equipment of teeing grounds which makes one feel rather nervous for the future appearance of our links. It consists of a boxseat. arrangement with a large pole sticking up to show the players who have just holed out- on the preceding green where the tee really is. Nearly at the top of this pole is. a finger post pointing in the direction, of the green that is to' be played for, and giving the distance to it- ia yards.

Surmounting the pole is a wind arrow which will enable the player to discover the direction of the wind without fluttering his handkerchief and making abstruse calculations as to the exact amount of pull and slice he shall place on his tee shot in order to get a long straight balL In the lower part of the arrangement, besides seats for the opponent and others who are waiting, there is a fancy sand box for teeing purposes and a water trough, which latter may be used for water to moisten sponges and clean dirty balls, or else, possibh-, for making tea or diluting other liquid refreshments, though it Bhould be said that the inventor is apparently discreetly silent on this water question. The strange thing is that while the Scottish golfers are so dreadfully conservative. autl like their golf in its most primitive form. (one even comes across Scottish golfers sfill who have strong prejudices against ircn clubs), all these extraordinary ideas seem to emanate frcm Edinburgh or Glasgow. The new teeing arrangement goes to the credit of Edinburgh, and I wish the inventor luck.