GOLFING.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 11 June 1924, Page 18 (Supplement)

GOLFING.

PROGRESS OF THE GAME IN TIMARU.

It is nearly thirty years since the “Royal and Antient” game of golf was first played by an organised club in South Canterbury. Those were the days of gutta-percha balls and longheaded clubs, when every amateur had different ideas and altered his clubs to suit them. Much progress has been made in the game since those comparatively far-o.ff days/and now most amateurs alter their ideas to suit their clubs. It is less expensive. The Timaru Golf Club was founded in 1894 and commenced pperations on what was known as Cain’s Paddock, extending from North

Street to College Road. The course, which consisted of nine holes, was fairly satisfactory, although there was a big ditch, which caused beginners many a bad, and probably fluent, five minutes. The original officers weie. piesident, Mr W. S. Lindsay; vice-president, Major Bamfield; club captain, Mr D. Davies; hon. secretary, Mr F. W. Wake; hon. treasurer, Mr Gunn; committee, Messrs A. F. Hamilton, D. West, F. W. Wake, R. 11. Ferguson and J. G. Gow. The links were formally opened on July 2S ; 1894, under conditions which, if not entirely auspicious, were at least good golfing weather.

From that time the membership of the club steadily increased, and the encroachments of building operations gradually dispossessed the club of its old location, and in 1905 the Executive, which at that time consisted of Messrs W. R. McLaren (president), S. F. Smithson (vicepresident), C. T. H. Perry (club captain), R. L. Orbell (hon. secretary), R. S. Tennent (hon. treasurer), A. M. Jameson, C. A. Jefferson, and M. J. Knubley, finally secured a property of 64 acres at Highfield.

The new course was opened by the president (Ivir W. R. McLaren), on March 23, 1905. About 100 members and friends were assembled. Nine holes had been laid out, the first green being on a knob or spur (“The Knob”) and 400 yards from the tee. The second was “The Dive,” and the remaining seven were on flat ground, much intersected by a meandering water-course. It was stated at the time that the links were the most difficult in New Zealand. Later in that year the number of holes was increased to 15, and.in 1906 a further 21 acres of land were acquired, making a total of 85 acres, which was sufficient for 18 holes. In 1911, 6-h acres of land fronting on Quarry Road were purchased, and in 1912 the purchase of LeCren’s 19 acres was completed. The total area of the links was thus increased to just over 95 acres. In the same year the golf house was erected on a section given by the Misses McLean.

From that time the club has never looked back. The membersnip consists of 199 men and 160 ladies, and is still increasing. The course is being improved, and the club has every reason to be proud of its progress and the excellence of some of the players it has produced. TIMARU LADIES’ CLUB. The Timaru Golf Club had not been long in existence before the members’ wives and lady friends began to take a practical interest in golf. A proposal to found a ladies’ golf club, in which Mrs W. H. Foden was one of the moving spirits, rapidly gained in favour, and in 1896 the Timaru Ladies’ Golf Club was formed with 26 members.

The first officers were as follows President, Mrs G. H. Rhodes; vice-president, Mrs Smithson; club captain, Mrs W. S. Lindsay; hon. secretary Mrs. IV. H. Foden; committee, Mesdames Barber, Broderick, LeCren, Howley, Turner, and Miss McLaren. The other members consisted of Mesdames Birch. Grant and Thomas and Misses Elworthy, E. Elworthy, Hart, Holt, Leech, Mendelson, G. O’Brien, Revel!, L. Revell and Wary. The club’s first match was played against a team from the Otago Ladies’ Golf Club, who gave the local ladies a bad beating. In recent years the club has produced some outstanding

players. The most notable amongst these, of course, is Miss N. E. Wright (Mrs J. C. Templer), one of the foremost lady golfers of the Dominion. She has held the championship of the Timaru Club in the years 1911, 191315 and 1919-21. In 1919 and 1920 Miss Wright won the New Zealand Championship, and the Championship of the Canterbury Province in the years 1920, 1921, 1922 and 1923. Other notable lady players in the club were Miss L. Revell (Mrs Huddlestone), who was runner-up in the .New Zealand Gnampionship some years ago, Miss R: Sbaley and Miss N. E. Hay. THE NORTH END CLUB. Six or seven years ago, Mr Bradley induced half-a-dozen fellow-members of the Timaru Bowling Club to try their hands at golf, and they selected some flat land near Saltwater Creek for their initiation into the game. There were no greens or definite holes laid out, but for a year these indefatigable gentlemen swatted the pill Amongst the -gor'se-bushes with much zest. The following season was so wet that the land became flooded, and a new “course” had to be sought. The little band of enthusiasts picked upon the Showgrounds as their new location, and this marked the commencement of the club, which then consisted of about a dozen members. In 1921 it was decided to form the North End Golf, with Mr I. J. Bradley as the first president, and Messrs F. Carlton, J. Moves and W. K. Macdonald as a committee. These gentlemen laid out a nine-hole course, and by the end of the year the membership of the club had increased to about 50. It was decided to limit the number to 65, but before the 1922 season was well begun this limit was reached and the membership was further extended to 85—25 ladies and 60 men. Last season the North End Club proved their mettle by winning four out of the six foreign matches in which they took part—no mean achievement for so young a club. It is only during this season that the lady •members of the North End Club have been permitted the management of their own affairs, and as yet they have had little time in which to find their feet. Mrs J. Moyes is president and Miss White secretary.