ON THE LINKS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18542, 12 April 1930, Page 16 (Supplement)

ON THE LINKS

By “DRIVER.” (“Driver” will be pleased to receive notes of interest, local or otherwise, from the golfers of South Canterbury). A card match will be played at Gleniti to-day. At Highfield to-day, the first Bogey Handicap of the season will be played. The first Ringer Competition also opens in conjunction with this match. Brown: “They say Jones is crazy on the subject of Golf, and his wife is equally crazy over auction sales. Smith: “Yes, and the funny part of it is they both talk in their sleep. The : other night a man in the next flat heard Jones shout ‘Fore!’ and immediately Mrs Jones yelled ‘Four-ten!’” In the Card Match at Highfield last Saturday three players broke 80. “Pip” Wright produced a sterling 70, E. A. Scott 76 and A. L. Marshall 79. “Pip,” who will attend the Shirley tournament at Easter, will go a long way if he can produce last Saturday’s form in Christchurch. “Pip” was 33 out and 37 home. Some 200 sheep have been placed on the Gleniti links and these should keep the fairways in good trim throughout Whilst playing the third hole, “Majuba,” on the Rotorua course, Mr W. Hamilton Irvine, who hails from Gisborne, had a somewhat unusual experience. A good average baffy shot from the tee struck a thrush, which was rising from the ground, before landing. When the player reached his ball he found the dead bird lying alongside it. Cyril Tolley states, discussing the new standard ball to be used in U.S.A., that if you hit it accurately it has an advantage over the present ball, but If you make a fault it is greatly exaggerated and you lose distance against the wind. The Temuka Club will hold its opening to-day. The links are reported to be in good order and several local players are accepting the Slub’s invitation to be present. j The following Highfield players have 'reduced, their handicaps:—W. H. I Walton to 16-12 and D. J. Mcßeath to 11-8. Geraldine golfers held their opening last Saturday and Pleasant Point opened on Thursday. On both courses : i playing conditions were pleasant and i the enthusiasm of members point to a very successful season.

An organised tour of Australian golfers to England is being conducted from May Ist to August 2nd. The tour starts at Brisbane, and members of the party will arrive in London on May 31st. It is not a team of golf stars, but merely a tourist party. The amazing part of the whole scheme is that the cost per unit is fixed at £250. It seems incredible, but if it can be done there would be hundreds willing to go from this country.

A new 18-hole golf cource is to be constructed some few miles outside Wellington. We understand a syndicate has commissioned Mr Redhead to lay out the course. The growing popularity of the game is keeping this gentleman busy. The more the mer-

Playing Blind Alley at Gleniti last weekend, L. Busbridge registered an “eagle.” The hole, which is a 375 yarder, carries a bogey of 5, but Busbridge found the green w T ith his second and was down for 3 —a good score.

Hagen is by nature one of the most deliberate of men, and to this attribute must be traced at least a portion of the blame for his habit of “being late.” Some good stories are told by his manager in this connection, who writes that the phrase he uses most is “Come on, Haig, hurry up.” Money tournaments do not inspire him, says his manager, and relates how Hagen stayed at a party until 5 a.m. when at 9 a.m. he was due on the first tee to play the final 36 holes in a 10,000-dollar tournament. He was having too good a time to leave.

A novel idea in the form of a golf match which might become an anuual fixture was suggested by a Highfield player the other day. The suggestion is that two teams should be formed, comprising eight or ten players on either side, of say thirty or thirty-five, to represent Youth and Age. The match would prove an interesting one as the sides would be of fairly even strength, the only difficulty being, of course, that several members might disclaim any right to a place in the “buffers” team. The game could be played some Saturday when a Card Match is in progress.

The arrival of the Victorian and New South Wales Kirk-Windeyer cup teams this week has aroused the interest of New Zealand golfers to a high pitch. Victoria plays New Zealand next Tuesday and the winners will play N.S.W. The issue will be decided by the number of matches won, or, if the matches are even, by the number of holes won. The players will be chosen from the following:— Victoria—Alex. Russell, Ryan, Hancock, Bulte and K. S. Ross (four to be selected). New South Wales —Dr Lee-Brown, Hattersley, Keane, Dobson and Dr Sydney Jones (four to be selected). New Zealand —Dr K. Ross, Horton, Black, Duncan, A. D. S., and Macfarlane, E. M. (four to be selected). . There will be an official dinner to the visiting teams and the New Zealand team at the United Service Hotel, Christchurch, on Thursday evening, April 17, at 8 o’clock, when the KirkWindeyer Cup and miniatures will be presented to the winners.

Last summer the Otatara Gold Club (Invercargill) ran a line of sheep on their links. These sheep did particularly well and were sold by the Club soon after their opening day and easily brought top price at the sale. The farmers of the district adduce this to the fact that through the fairways being cut the sheep were afforded plenty of young nutritious grass.

Should sufficient support be received it is proposed to run a series of weekly lectures for golfers in Timaru this season. The Highfield professional, G. B. Forrest, has offered his services and, if the scheme eventuates, Mr Forrest will demonstrate different aspects of the game, the uses of various clubs and others matters of interest. These lectures should prove a golden opportunity to all players to improve their games, as golf is a sport at which something can always be learnt. Players intending to attend the lectures may have further information from the club secretaries.

George Gadd, a sterling putter, always stands with his heels together, and his left toe pointing almost directly at the hole. He is a great believer in the pendulum-like stroke for accurate putting.