GOLF

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19783, 26 April 1934, Page 5

GOLF

NOTES AND COMMENTS Conditions over the week-end were ideal from the golfer’s point of view and the three local clubs were all engaged in matches with neighbouring clubs. At Highfield the Timaru Club entertained a team from Ashburton and a very close and interesting game resulted in a win for the home team by the narrow margin of one game. Gleniti sent a team to try conclusions with the Geraldine Club and found the homesters in their best form, the visitors collecting only three as against 11 matches by their hosts. North End entertained a team from Pleasant Point and the visitors found the intricacies of the course too much for them, only managing to collect two games, both by members of the clan Roberts. The Point team must be unique in golfing circles as included in its ranks were seven representatives of the clan Roberts. Sport and Roberts are almost synonomous terms where Pleasant Point is concerned.

A card match at Highfield for non participants in the club match resulted in a tie between P. Sinclair with 89-14-75 nett and C. W. Wood junr., with 99-24-75 nett.

The first qualifying round of the women’s championships at Gleniti found Miss J. Robertson with 109-35-74 nett well in the lead for the medal round. Miss I. Methven and Mrs W. Mantell with 104 each returned the last gross.

Miss V. Fleming, the Canterbury women’s champion, who has been playing very sound golf for some time past made a great effort in the Otago women’s championship and was only beaten by Mrs Dodgshun, who is exceedingly hard to beat on her own course, by 2 and 1. Mrs Macarthy still is a force to be reckoned with, only going out in the semi-final stage. Miss B. Rutherford of Canterbury was the other semi-finalist.

H. V. Sharpe, late of Timaru, has been playing well recently in Christchurch and figuring well in the front of a number of competitors.

The new scratch score allotted to the Highfield links of 72, in view of the scores being returned would appear to be on the lenient side.

Sound advice from a recent publication on “Golf Technique Simplified” runs as follows: —“Golfers are so intent upon hitting the ball that they unconsciously tighten their grips, which leads to tensed muscles and a subsequent quick back-swing. The latter in turn is quite apt to cause the head to lift and the eyes to swerve from the ball. A lighter grip and a slower start on the upstroke will do much towards achieving a smooth swing. When hazards abound on the fairway, closely bordering one side of it, discretion should be used in teeing the ball. If the rough lies close to the right-hand side, it is to the advantage of the player to tee his ball near the right side and play obliquely to the left in order to avoid it. A similar campaign should be carried out when thfe hazards are on the left. The golfer is then playing away from the rough instead of parallel to it.” And this “Many a shot is actually missed because it is missed in the mind of the player before the shot is made.” How true that is!

Poor putters should hearken to this. “Much of the poor putting prevalent to-day is due to grasping the putter shaft too tightly. Practically all the golfers who ha*e received any acclaim for their putting accuracy grip the club lightly.”

Stephen Leacock in his “Golfer’s Pocket Guide” includes the following problem as a simple one to enable players to enjoy the spirit of their pastime in working out such problems when not actually engaged in play. “A player,

X, is playing in a secluded corner of the fairway, and has already had five strokes and has an excellent prospect of doing the hole in either ten or fourteen. Making a powerful stroke with a brassie, he misses the ball entirely. Looking all round after his stroke, he realises that he is quite alone. The grass, the trees and the sky are exactly where they were. There are no sounds; all is quiet, and he sees no immediate evidence of the existence of an arranging Deity. How many strokes has he had?”

With the introduction of the new rules a good many of the old problems have been eliminated but it will be some time before a great many players adjust their knowledge to conform to the new conditions . One new ruling is that steps or planks placed by the green committee for access to or egress from such hazard, or any obstruction mentioned in Rule 11. may be removed. If any fixed steps or plank interferes with a players’ stroke the ball may be lifted and placed as near as possible to the spot where it lay in a similar lie and position without penalty. The obstructions mentioned in Rule 11. are flagstick, guidepost, implements, vehicle, bridge, planking, seat, hut, shelter or similar obstructions.

What can be done in the way of long driving was recently demonstrated by the British Ryder Cup player, A. j. Lacey. Playing in a foursome competition, he made an amazing drive at the eighth, a dog-leg hole of 315 yards, but with a short cut—which no one evidently had even dreamed before of taking—over bushes, trees, bunkers and severe rough. By this route the distance was about 270 yards, all of which is carry. Lacey nominated his shot and then drove. The ball disappeared over the trees in the direction of the green. It was found a dozen yards from the pin, having carried all the hazards, natural and artificial. Lacey’s partner holed the putt for an eagle two.

If there is much more of this sort of thing one wonders what sort of bunkers and hazards will be necessary to control the game—visions of skyscraper obstacles loom before one.

Henry Cotton says “With the introduction of a ball that is more or less impervious to wind provided it is hit accurately, and clubs graded to almost every required length of shot, the necessity for the half and threequarter swing has more or less vanished, except for rare occasions. But the necessity for playing within oneself* if one wishes to obtain control remains. Thus, to think that because a player carries 15 clubs, he just selects one for the required length and plays it to its full capacity, is arroneaus. The first class player spares practically every shot he plays. Instead of sparing his shots as the old players did by means of his swing he spares by means of his club. He selects a club that would be too powerful if played to its full capacity, and spares it by playing within himself. Even from the teeing ground the first class player is seldom full out. Thus the people who believe that the art of sparing a shot has gone are wrong. And, believe me, if the open championship was limited to entrants carrying six clubs the same ance with those of many other well players would come out on top.”

These views of Cotton’s are at variknown exponents and would appear to be based purely on mechanical lines as opposed to the real artistry of the control exercised by the old masters such as Vardon, Braid, Low, Ball, Taylor and Hilton to mention just a few who were outstanding. Ali Mitchell on John Ball says “Playing against him was like playing against someone who had his ball tied to a bit of string.” Ball’s skill in playing all kinds of 4hots with the same club was nothing short of uncanny.

A gentleman and a lady, the latter making her first appearance on a golfcourse, were playing, and had reached a hole that was situated on the top of a little hill (not the Knob at Highfield) . Running ahead to see how the balls lay, the man shouted back, “By Jove, it’s a dead stymie.” “Ah!” said the girl with a sniff as she approached, “I thought I smelt something as I came up the hill ”