GOLF NOTES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 19 June 1924, Page 8

GOLF NOTES.

(By “Jigger.'’)

SIDELIGHTS ON THE GAME.

HOLING THE TEE-SHOT. Every club . lias . its aspirants for •Tiole-iii-one” honours, and m some ot the larger clubs, where it is, it not a rare, at least an infrequent occurrence for a tee-shot to find the cup, . the pi a vers who have so distinguished themselves become collectively , as the “Hole-in-one Club. The outstanding event of the weeuend’s play at North Eml was the achievement of Mr I. J. Bradley, who greatly to his own surprise and that ot his tel low-players, holed out. at No. J with his tee-shot. The stroke whien thrust greatness upon the unsuspecting Mr Bradley was made with l.is mashie, as the hole is only 100 vauls in length, tho green being on a slope somewhat higher than the tee. the ball fell short, but ran pp the'slope and trickled into tlio cup. Mr Mores, won the race to the green, and secui eel the ball as a memento. Needless to say, Mr Bradley at once offered to fulfil the time-honoured custom, but -ho gentlemen with him were teetotaller a. As far as is known, no local player lias ever holed out in one on the links at Highfield, though sometimes the bat! comes to rest very near the cup. All Oamaru player, Mr Saunders, holed his tee-shot at “Bumpy” (144 yards), some time ago, but a more startling performance was that of Mr J. A. Gow (Christchurch), who holed his second shot at “The Terrace” (318 yards), in one of the Orbell Cup -matches.

TIMARU CLUB. Several competition ties .were played off at the Highfield links on Saturday. Five couples tied in tho 12-hole foursome played on opening day, and tout couples played off. Tho winners were Miss Ziesler and Simpson (56), Mrs Webber and Mcßae ■ gaining second prize. Miss Hay and Sawell scratchsd. The tie for the second prize m Die Dryden Cup ■ was also - played ‘. off on Saturday, and resulted in anqther ie, the scores being.—Miss Buchanan . nd Gresson (13), 5 down; Miss Anstey and Beswick (20), 5 down. i

WHEN IT’S WET. Dealing with play in wet weather Harry Vardon says: To be sure, golf on the sodden course is often very unsatisfactory, but I am all for adhering to the rule of the game, no mated under what circumstances, it is played When the turf is muddy, there are several points well worthy of consideration'. One concerns the equipment. It is little use trying to use a brassie in the mire. Many golfers do so for the simple reason that they are in the habit of employing a brassie through the green, but I am certain that they make a mistake. Apart from +he driver and the putter, the most valuable club on a muddy ground is a fairly powerful mid-iron. More often than not, that and a mashie are all that you need through the green in I order to achieve the best results in the I existing conditions. On soft turf, the ball invariably lies heavily, and the error committed i y the great- majority of golfers is that they try to take it cleanly, just as they would on a dry course. The mud nearly' ahvay r s exercises a sufficiently tenacious hold of the ball to prevent it from rising sharply when the club comes into contact with it. and the best thing to do is to aim an inch behind the object and take a little turf with it. That is why the midiron and the mashie are the most profitable clubs to employ through ilie green; their loft facilities' thus taking of the top of the turf add -the 1 avoidance of a bungled shot-. Beware of attempting to do anything very clever on a. muddy course You simply cannot play a cut stroke with • the xnashie. The all-important instant in that shot is when the ball “bites’’ on the club as you draw the face of the latter quickly across the ball. Try to do it in mud, and the club ..ivill simply stick in the soft ground; Much the best plan is to Elay straightforward .shots. At a long ole where, in the absence of run on the ball, you have no chance of reaching the green in two strokes, do not take a brassie or even a cleelc in the hope of getting near to the green with the second, and so rendering the third shot a short one. The chances are that you will foozle the effort. It is safoi to play r two mid-iron shots after idle drive. If you have a fancy for a spoon, by all means use it on soft ground. ]! gets under the ball, and that is the great It is the more cr less straight-faced clubs that bring disaster to the player through the green on muddy courses. /