A GREAT GOLFER

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20762, 24 June 1937, Page 10

A GREAT GOLFER

DEADLY STEADINESS AND FINE SHORT GAME Since my return from South Africa I am often asked for my opinion of the quality of amateur golf there. I quite understand the reason for the inquiry, because the brilliant performances of Bobby Locke have set golfers in this country wondering what sort of opposition he has encountered, writes J. H. Taylor, former Open champion.

My reply has not been satisfactory because before Locke reached his full powers I do not believe amateur golf in South Africa was of very great excellence. There must, of course, have been a few good amateur players there before Bobby was born, but I had never heard of them. I attribute the rise of amateur golf in South Africa to the fact that so many Scotsmen have made their homes there. To me it was most significant that at every course we visited, and at every club that lavished its hospitality upon us, the “burr" from a particular district of Scotland rattled upon our ears—and the sound was good to hear. A gentleman at the Royal Durban Club told me he had been in the country over 40 years and was from Leven in Fife, where he learned his golf. Mr Tom Millar, of the Pretoria Club, is another instance of the Scotsman’s love of adventure in strange lands. He carried a set of clubs among his baggage and spread the love for the game among his neighbours. His Playful Boast Undoubtedly Bobby Locke's success received its first impulse from these early Scottish missionaries, and great must be their satisfaction at seeing his arrival as one of the world's most-talked-of players. It will interest those who have never seen Bobby Locke play, to know that his greatness lies in his uncanny steadiness, which Is illuminated by brilliant shots up to the greens and around the home. He is long off the tee—Padgham could rarely outdistance him—and very straight. He playfully boasts that he has never been off any fairway in two years. His consistent scoring power is in his putting. Like all good putters he makes no fuss about it. He picks out the line from the ball side at first glance and taps the ball towards the hole without hesitation. His colleagues in the coming tour, Messrs Agg, Hayes, and Orlando, will undoubtedly yield him pride of place, and, I have no doubt that all will give might good account of themselves.