GOLF

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19807, 24 May 1934, Page 14

GOLF

NOTES AND COMMENTS Golfers were favoured with good conditions overhead for the week-end. but at Highfield the links were still on the soft and heavy side and the water courses acting up to their official designation. In spite of the slow course some low scoring was produced in the medal handicap. The winner of the senior section was G. Fairbroth,er with 82-16-66 nett, and W. J. Sullivan lead the juniors with 86-18-68 nett. Both these players are steadily reducing their handicaps. G. A. Ussher had e. good round of 74 gross and N. C. Martin produced a 76. At Glen-iti a fourball bogey match was staged and the winners were W. E. Jones and R. Johnson who finished 1 up, E. Lawrence and J. Milliken being all square. On the North End links a match against bogey saw three players tie for first place with the score of 5 down, these being R. P. Reid, C. McKitterick and G. Malcolm. A mixed team from North End visited Temuka but found the local team too good for them to the extent of 15i to 18J games. The Temuka ladies proved the deciding factor in the result, as the North End men had a small majority in their favour. Last week’s medal match of the Timaru Ladies’ Club found the course very wet and the scores on the heavyside in consequence. The senior division was won by Miss G. Campbell with 99-17-82 nett and the junior section saw Miss Fraser well in front of the rest with 107-28-79 nett. It is hoped that a strong side of ladies will represent Australia in a match with representatives of New Zealand for the Tasman Cup, which will be played for at the New Zealand ladies’ championship meeting this year, the venue being' Titirangi. The 1934 men’s New Zealand championships will be held on the Belmont links, Wanganui. The course, which is more hilly than Shirley provides a good test of golf. The ladies’ championship was played there last year and in the 1929 men’s championship over the Belmont course A. J. Shaw won the open and Sloan Morpeth the amateur title.

Some time ago E. J. Moss, present open champion, and F. Rutter, ex-pro-fessional champion, issued a challenge to meet any other two players for a match of 72 holes, 36 holes to be played in Auckland and the other 36 in a centre to be nominated by the acceptors of the challenge. A. J. Shaw has now expressed his preparedness to accept the challenge and believes he can nominate a partner who would make the match something worth watching.

The British amateur championships commenced at Prestwick on Monday. The holder, the Hon. Michael Scott has had to withdraw on account of illness. The majority of the American Walker Cup team have entered. In the first round few surprises occurred but the victory of Dunlap (U.S.A.) on the 22nd green after being dormy 5 down was a remarkable recovery. His opponent Walsh, seems to have suffered from puttitis in the final stages of the game missing a number of short ones which were all he required to victory. Those short ones play the very deuce with one's game once you start to miss them.

Further contests for the Kirk Windeyer Cup would appear tc- be in the melting pot; interest in this event jn the other side of the Tasman has always been rather lukewarm.

It has sometimes been asked if a player is allowed to use bis club as a billiard cue for putting. He is not. Here is the rule: "The ball must be fairly struck at with the head of the club, and must not be pushed, scraoed or spooned.” Penalty in match play, loss of hole, penalty in stroke play, 2 strokes. There is no rule preventing a player using the back of the club head when in an awkward position, provided that he strikes at the ball fairly.

One of the least observed rules of golf: “If a match fail to keep its place on the course, and lose in distance more than one clear hole on the players in front, it should allow the match following to pass, on request being made.” The etiquette of golf goes further and says the players in front must let the other through. It should not be necessary to be requested. This rule overrides any preference on the course. If a single match, whether consisting of both men, > man and a lady or juniors, is slower than the match behind, whatever that match consists of, the players in front should at least offer to let them through if they are not keeping their place on the course. If players would only treat others as they would be treated, the game would be far more pleasant for all and complaints of congestion far less frequent. Although a good many appear to look upon golf as a more or less modern innovation, in reality the history >;f the Royal and Ancient game goes back a very long way into the dim and distant past. Golf was played in Edinburgh as early as 1457. It was, in fact, played too frequently, because an Act of the Scottish Parliament was passed in that year to suppress "the golf” in the interest of “schuting” at the butts.

In Smollett’s “Humphrey Clinker” which was written in 1770, the following interesting item is to be found: “Hard by in the fields called the links, the citizens of Edinburgh divert themselves at a game called golf, in which they use a curious kind of bats, tipped with horn, and small elastic balls of leather, stuffed with feathers, rather less than tennis balls, but of a much harder consistency; this they strike with such force and dexterity from one hole to another that they will fly to an incredible distance. Of this diversion the Scots are so fond, that, when the weather will permit, you may see a multitude of all ranks, from the senator of justice to the lowest tradesman, mingled in their shirts, and following the balls with the utmost eagerness. Among others, I was shown one particular set of golfers, the youngest of whom was turned of fourscore; they were all gentlemen of independent fortunes, who had amused themselves with ti.'.3 pastime for the last part cl' a century, without ever having felt the least alarm from sickness or disgust, and they never went to bed without having each the best part of a gallon of claret in his belly.” Incidently the nineteenth was very popular even in Smollett’s time.

The English ladies championship saw all the favourites eliminated before the final and the last two left in were Mrs A. Holm, Scottish champion in 1930 and 1932 and Miss Pam Barton, a prodigy of 17 summers. Miss Barton sprang into the limelight last season and her effort in this year’s championship is a remarkable one. At the end of the first 18 holes she was leading one up, but Mrs Holm’s experience evidently stood her in good stead as she finally won by the convincing margin of 6 and 5. Miss Kay was evidently un-

fortunate in having to meet the ultimate winner in the first round. Miss Gaisford reached the third round when she was put out at the 19th by Miss Pentory, Irish lady champion. Miss Gaisford actually led dormy two, but failed to hold her grip on the match. Mrs Jacobsen’s defeat of Miss Gourlay, the favourite, in the first round, did not help her very much, as she was ousted in the second round by 5 and 3. From time to time many writers have tried, with but indifferent success, to define and to describe the game, and one cynic has gone as far as to call it “the pursuit of pale pills by purple people.” None, however, has come so near the truth as Thomas Jay in his “believe me.” "Golf,” he writes,” is nothing more than three acres and a ball, spleen on the green, a tee fight with clubs, a three mile walk punctuated with perplexing problems of proper procedure, billiards gone to grass, marbles played with clubs, the sublime stooping to the ridiculous, a game in which the ball lies well and the player badly, and faith, hope and charity gone to the dogs. With these exceptions it is a fine game.” The South Canterbury championships due to be played on the Highfield course on June 4 are fast approaching. This year an innovation is introduced in the form of an intermediate championship. The limits of the three sections are senior, handicap of 8 and under, intermediate 9-16, junior 17-24. Miss B. Rutherford of Canterbury was successful in winning the Nelson women’s provincial Championship, beating Mrs Jenkins in the final by 5 and 3. There was a field of 70 players. Most of the results in the first round of the Glen-iti Club’s knock-out competitions were as expected. An exception, however, was the defeat of D. Menzies by J. Milliken, the former evidently having had to give away too many strokes to a hard hitter off the limit. In the doubles Kay and Lawrence found Slade and Carmichael too strong, the latter pair after being 1 down at the sixth made a devasting run to secure seven wins at the next nine holes, the game finishing at the fifteenth green. Glen-iti at present is in excellent order, and better scoring on this course should be noticed from now on. The holes in the fairways, which were the bugbear of previous seasons have now disappeared and with the fairways mown and the approaches to the greens improved the element of luck has been reduced, and skilful play should meet with a tetter reward than in the past. On Saturday the Para trophy will be competed for at Glen-iti. This mixed foursome was postponed previously owing to inclement weather.

TIMARU CLUB

The following is the draw for the knock-out fourball, the first round of which must be completed on or before Monday, June 11. Ist round.—Coxhead and Lynch v. Skinner and J. A. Scott, Barker and D. Moyes v. E. G. Kerr and J. Kerr, Berry and Mcßae v. Robertson and Hedges, Cave and Nicholas v. Ussher and Ussher, Gamble and Cunningham v. Niccol and Sullivan. 2nd round.—Jones and Sinclair v. winner of Berry and Mcßae v. Robertson and Hedges; Marshall and Marshall v. Walton and Fair; D. Sutherland; Beswick and Lunan and Gee; Crawshaw and Fairbrother v. Mackay and Hunter; Ward and R. Allan v. E. A. Scott and Boyle; W. A. Scott and Tonkin v. Harold and Greenfield; Purdom and Mcßeath v. Johnston and J. Moyes; Abernethy and A. J. Allport v. Horwell and Davies. C. W. Wood jr. and H. R. Scott v. Bruce and Dobie; Cameron and M. A. Raymond v. Hastwell and Ireland; F. G. Raymond and Lawson v. Houlihan and Holmes; E. G. Kerr jnr. and Kingston v. N. C. Martin and A. C. Martin; Millar and W. Allport v. Harris and Baird; Wilson and Torlesse v. Ledingham and Smith. The top pair in each match will be responsible for arranging date of playing. The third round of the singles knock out must be competed on or before Monday, June 18.

NORTH END CLUB.

The following will represent North End against Geraldine at Geraldine on Saturday:—Mason, Ayres, Washer, Edyvean, Clark, Moyes, A. Provan, Ross, Arnold, O’Meeghan, Malcolm, W. Reid, Vesty, Kellett, Mrs Arnold, Mrs F. Cox, Miss Sullivan, Miss Todd, Mrs Washer, Miss Grant, Mrs Kellett, Miss Lynn, Mrs Edyvean, Miss Pryor. Aotea-Aoa Cup The following were the best cards returned in the Aotea-Road Cup competition played at North End on Tuesday. s Gross. Hep. Nt. Mrs Cox 99 25 74 Mrs Arnold 98 22 76 Miss Todd 104 28 76