THE ROYAL AND ANTIEST GAME OF GOLF

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17524, 29 April 1925, Page 3

THE ROYAL AND ANTIEST GAME OF GOLF

IVY TIIE "

"CADDIE.”

COMING EVENTS. April -JV— Senior ami Junior Foursomes, Christcliureh. .Ladies’ Gull CJ u b. April 30—Bogey Handicap, Richmond Hill Ladies’ Golf Club. May -J—First round of play-off for Borthwick Vase. Christelmrcli Golf Club. May -J—scales Cup, lirst round of play-off, Avondale Coll Club. JkJ ;i \ 2 —Bogcv handicap. .Richmond ‘ Hill Golf Club. May '2 -Opening dav. .Meiliveii Golf ' Club. April 29 —Open tournament at IJalm ace wan. Otago Ladies’ C» ol I Club. Mrs Sydney Lawrence, captain of the Ohristcb urc-li Ladies’ C*o 1 i Club, will be a competitor at the Otago golf tournament. No official golf mulches were, played last Saturday at the surrounding golf clubs on account ol Ansae Day lading on that date. Last Saturday week .Mr Arthur Duncan played a round at H eretanngui with F. .M. Dean, the professional, and did the IS holes (bogey for which is 77) in GO, 3 under 4/s. It was a pace which for' once Dean Mas unable to accommodate himself to. This is the second occasion on which Duncan has registered a GO. At the 11 uit Coif Cluh lad iveek 'two competitors in the bogey competition were disqualified for starting with partners other than those they were

drawn to play with, without first securing the consent of tlie Match Committee Some years ago a golf club in England promoted a stroke competition amongst its members. In order to qualify each player had to pass an examination in the rules of rulf and local regulations. Fifty-fire players entered the competition but only six qualified to play. The dates lor ihe Aen Zealand championship meetings for 1923 are *s follow : - September 'JO to October 3: New Zealand open ehampionshiu at • Shirley, ( f, ristchuvch : September 10. I II and 12: Amateur open champion- j ship Belmont. Wanganui ; October 13 to 2*2: New Zealand ladies’ championship at Miramar, Wellington. HAG LEV LADIES’ CLU B. Mrs O. H. Burns was the winner

in the senior division ul the monthly ■ L.G.U. medal last week, when she returned the good score ol 74 net. Her gross score was I>l. which will give a reduction in her .Miss l>. Denshire was second with 7 1 net. The division wns Won by -Mr- Watts , CUIUSTCHURCH LADIES’ CLUB, fbe bogey match, which was played la st week resulted in some very indifferent scoring. l our players' tied for first place with six down to bogey, namely Alls J uckcr, Mr.- I’umphrcy . Mus .M. Newton uud Miss Cottcri'll. H *he play-off -Mrs Tucker and Mi-s Cotter ill were unable to compete, leaving .Mrs J’umphrey and Miss Newton to play off. The result was a win '••r -Miss. Newton with a score of ti clown. In the junior division Alisa Trolove won with 1 down to bogey. At the Charteris Bay links an'interrlub match was played between the Lyttelton ami Avondale Golf Clubs during the week-end, which resulted in a decided victory lor the visiting players. In the foursomes Lyttelton won only one match. and in the singles one match. Notwithstanding A senior and junior foursome match will be played to-day at Shirlev. when in each case a senior player will he partnered with a junior, players to choose their own partners .and opponents. This form of competition is chosen by the Mutch Committee with the idea of helping the younger placers in the many characteristics of Ihe panic. IIARKWOOf) LADIES’ CLUB. Mrs K. Binns was the winner of the medal match, played last week-end *| Harewood. She returned a. net 72. The Anderson handicap competition, of the men’s club, was won by Mr J. Burns, whose two rounds of medal

plav were 79 and 7 1, giving him a total of 153. The bogey match was won by A. '■ Blank with 1 down to bogey. .BRITISH HAND.ICAPS. The new list of national handicaps, just issued by the Championship Committee ot the Loyal and Ancient Club, contains the names ol 85U players, an addition ul 265 compared with the 1923 li>t. No addition lias been made to the scratch men, who number lour Sir Ernest Holderu-e»s Lthe amateui champion), Cyril Tolley, Roger Wethered, and NV. i- Hunter. Actually there are unlv three, because Tluuter recently 1 or foiled his amateur status by bc. omiiig prolcssiunal to tlie Brentwood Country Cluli. Lot, Angeles. The three •• liners” left are, curiously enough, VJxrord golfers, each . of w hom has. e;imod the title ot “ scratch ” by virtue of winning the championship Only present and immediate past champions arc given, or are entitled 10. the zero handicap under the national scheme. Such great men as Mr John Ball, who has been amateur champion eight times, and open champion once, and Mr Harold Hilton, open champion twice and amateur champion lour times, are excluded from the select circle. Each has a national handicap of 2. with a handicap of plus 2 at the same club —Hoy lake. there was a time when Mr Ball carried with a jaunty air the seemingly impossible burden of plus 8. bestowed upon him with the avowed object of checking too victorious a career. li cliel nothing of flic sort; what it really did was to show up the opposition in its true colours. The two goll professionals, selected by Mr Abbott while in England (for the New Zealand Golf Council) have arrived, and have immediately taken up uheir respective coaching duties. Lindsay Ross has gone to Napier, and 'from there will proceed lo Blenheim. He will then coach iu various centres in the South Island. The New Zealand Golf Council has informed the Mei liven Golf Club that he w ill arrive on May IS. The club is now arranging bookings with llie members, and the professional’s visit is being anticipated with keen interest. F. M. Dean, the other English golf coach, lias departed for Auckland, and will coach the clubs from NVaibi to Rotorua. He will then make bis way flown the Main Trunk line, coaching as he goes. The New Zealand Golf Council is to be commended on its progressive policy o! importing capable coaches from abroad. Twenty years ago professional coaches were few and far between, and those unfortunate people who took up 1 lie game in those days had to puzzle out grip and stance for themselves. Many of them only confirmed themselves in very bad habits, which wore as difficult to get rid of as swearing. With these two mobile English coaches moving about both. islands, beginners at golf in Raelilii and Tern uka will be able to start right from 111 e beginning with a correct style. It is to be hoped that the experiment will meet with the success it deserves. A nv monev spent on a good golf coach is well worth while. Great interest has been aroused ir England by a challenge thrown out b’ < harles and Ernest Whitcombe to George Duncan and Abe Mitchell. The main object of the challenge is to determine what pair of British golfers shall be selected lo meet Hagen and the partner of his choice possibly Sarazen in the second international professional match between America and Britain, to be played after the open championship at Prestwick. Last year Duncan and Mitchell were chosen sent Britain because no other couple appeared capable of clipping ilu- wings of the aii-poverful Ilagen and his. partner, Macdonald Smith. That his choice was a wise one was proved by the fact that the British combination was victorious by a margin of 1 and 3 in a contest extending over seventy-two holes. Still, in some quarters it was thought that the brothers Whitcombe could have clone equally well, and that they should, at any rate, have been given an opportunity to show their worth by means of a preliminary bout with Duncan a->d Mitchell. The Whitcombes will be given the chance this year, and if they overcome the opposition there will, no doubt, be a change in the two British representatives to meet the Americans. The Whitcombe brothers, who have a splendid record in the British open championship (Ernest was beaten i>v one stroke last year by Hagen) and other competitions, suggest a series of matches against Mitchell and Duncan to test their claim to play for Britain. Hagen is said to have expressed a wish to have as his partner a true homebred American. On this the golf writer of the London “ Observer ” comments:— Without wishing to appear cynical at America's expense, it is rather a significant fact that the fulfilment of Tlagen's request would rule

out quite a number of America's famous golfers—Barnes (a Cornishcnan), Jock Hutchison (a. Scot). Bob Cruicksliank <a Scot), Cyril Walker (an Englishman). the present United States open champion, Macdonald Smith (a Scot), Willie Hunter (a Scot). Kirkwood (an Australian), Laurence Ay ton (a. Scot) and T. D. Armour (a Scot). Of course, there arc Sarazen. Farrell, Diegei and a few others, but the choice seems strangely limited. Mr Bobbie Jones, who will probably be in England at the date of the match, would make an ideal partner for Hagen, but whether the celebrated American would this type, where a large sum is at slake, is rather doubtful. Such a partnership would suit Hagen's purpose excellently, for if his side should win he would pocket all the money. Tlagen's regular placing partner in America is J. 11. Kirkwood, and the two have a prodigious record of successes.