GOLF

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19546, 7 April 1926, Page 5

GOLF

NELSON TOURNAMENT WON BY G. RICHMOND. [Per Press Association] NELSON, April 6. The Interprovincial Goolf Championship. extending over the holidays under • line weather conditions, was concluded ' to-day, when the final was won by G. Richmond (Nelson), who defeated ■ Evans (Hutt) 7 and 5. The winner i played tine golf. j WINTER-TIME FLAY SOME HINTS IN SEASON. (By Harry Vardon, Six Times Open - Champion). This is the season of the yeor when one of the problems of golf is to find a means of pursuing the game in reasonable physical comfort. A frigid ! temperature, a piercing wind, damp pong grass, and slippery footholds even ion the teeing grounds and fairways arc lanwng the conditions which the player . may expect. j Fortunately, much has been done in recent years to case the lot of the golfjer in winter time. It almost makes jonc shiver to recall the circumstances (in which we used to play at this period, i with few, if any, of the aids to enj.joyment which are now available. | Unquestionably the first essential 'and the. most valuable innovation is I the leather jacket which has become so popular in recent times. It is wonderfully effective, for it keeps out the cold and the wind as no other garment seems capable of doing, and does not incommode the swing. It must have encouraged many thousands of people to play golf in the winter who otherwise would not have done so. One difficulty which, has not yet been met satisfactorily is that of keeping the hands tolerably warm. Gripping the club with frozen fingers is a trial which robs the game of a great deal of its pleasure. Driving is often a tragedy of misdirected effort, and putting is apt to be something of a farce, for when there is no real sense of touch the process of trying to hole out is about as uncertain as that of trying to | climb a greasy pole. | The woolly finishes which are now to be obtained to the sleeves of leather • Jackets help to solve the problem by I keeping the wrists cosy. At the same I rime, a good many golfers do not like ( this padding round the wrists, and they | turn back the ends of the sleeves so as I to obtain a sense of freedom. Hand Warmers. Perhaps the best expedient —best because there is nothing distracting (about it—is to wear a pair of mittens. [Not being attached to the jacket, they 'do not give any consciousness of tugIging at the hands during the swing. It is an old way of trying to avert the misery of frozen fingers, but very hard ;to beat. It is worthy of remark that when Abe. Mitchell beat Archie Compston, in their recent match, which was contested in bitterly cold weather, Mitie.hell wore mittens and Compston did

1 Ono remedy which came before my notice recently had its interesting On the course I met a man ■looking supremely comfortable and playing remarkably well on a day calIculated to freeze the very marrow in

one’s bones. After each shot, he dived his hands into his Knickerbocker poc-k-ds and kept them there until he was due to tackle the next stroke. We are all prone to put our hands into our pockets when the thermometer regis-

ters something well below freezing point, but, as a rule, it is rather cold iconsolation.

Enquiry revealed the fact that this was carrying round with him a (supply of heat. In each pocket he had a hand-warmer—a metal case filled with glowing charcoal which kept warm for two or three hours. He had only !to clasp these treasures during the walks between the shots in order to be able to grip the club in comfort. I believe it is a simple and inexpensive matter to refill the cases and rekindle the heat.

Personally, however, I could not suffer the presence of two metal caskets ( —even though they are no bigger than the hands will grip—in my knickcrbocker pockets while playing golf. I usually carry a small purse for Treasury notes in one of the pockets, but have to remove it before going out for (a round because it seems to be a nuisance when I stoop to play a putt. That, however, may be only a personal fancy.

To the average golfer, gloves are an (abomination on the links, although, to ibe sure, those worn by the few players | who have accustomed themselves to (such accessories are usually so thin Jas hardly to count as warmth-producers. J I believe that Mr E. F. Storey, the runner-up in last year’s amateur ehamipionship, wears a pair of thin gloves at >all seasons when engaged at golf. Mr iCarl Brotherton, the English internaitional, has one on the left hand. Presumably the theory is that gloves help (to prevent the club from slipping in ihe grasp. It puzzles the ordinary mortal, however, to know how a player can obtain a proper u feel” of the club with his fingers thus encased. Footgear. Boots and shoes made entirely of rubber have been introduced latterly for (golfing purposes, the claim on behalf of (them being that they keep the feet (dry and warm and that their grooved (solves afford a secure foothold. Some (people say that they justify these (claims; others that they make the feet (too warm; and others that they cause the feet to become cold, so presumably ; they are not suited to everyone. Goloshes are a sound safeguard on wet 'ground. Nor arc they despised by distinguished players. I have seen Janies Braid in them. For myself I like nails ■in my shoes in winter-time, especially on a heavy course. They give the surest foothold. I have 15 nails round each sole, and 6 round each heel. For wet weather, there are now pullovers, consisted of thin waterproofs, to protect the legs, and a recent innovation from America is a very thin, light, oilskin coat which reaches to about the middle of the thighs. So far as I know, no firm in Britain has produced anything of this kind, which seems rather remarkable. It is made in every variety of colour, and the material is so light that it does not impede the swing in the least degree. Indeed one does not feel that one is wearing it at all. I have Just bought such an article in America at a cost of £1 14s.