GOLF.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIII, Issue 13, 29 September 1909, Page 8

GOLF.

Final of the Bloomfield Trophy. At the Cornwall links on Saturday, the members of the Auckland Golf Club played the final match of the competition for the trophy presented by Mr Ernest Bloomfield, the winner proving to be H. C. Tonks, with a net score of 82. The trophy falls to the lot of R. Lambert, who has the most points to his credit. The players who returned oards were:— H. C. Tonks, 93 (handicap 13), net 82; Dr. Chatfield, 107 (24), 83; Bruce, 100 (16), 84; Lambert, 107 (18), 89; Dr. Dudley, 104 (14), 90; Kelly, 102 (11), 91; Mair, 99 (8), 91; Milnes, 107 (16), 91; P. Upton, 94 (2), 92; Stringer, 106 (14), 92; Webster, 104 (12), 92; MacCormick, 97 (4), 93; Dargaville, 97 (4), 93; Mclntosh, 109 (15), 94; Ball, 104 (10), 94.

Cambridge. The Cambridge Golf Club’s monthly medal competition was played last week, with the following results:—Ladies: Miss P. Ferguson, 91 (winner); Miss K. Willis, 108; Miss H. Wells, 108. Men: P. A. E. Forbes, 93 (winner); -E. J. Wilkinson, 96; F. Reynolds and W. F. Buckland, 97; M. Wells, 98.

Napier Tournament. The Napier Golf Club’s annual tournament was opened on Wednesday, on the Wafohiki links. There were a few light showers in the morning, but for most of the day ideal golfing weather prevailed. A handicap match was played in the morning,, and was won by W. G. Wood (Napier), one up. Captain Ga thorn e Hardy (Manawatu), P. 8. McLean, C. D. Kennedy, A. Duncan (Wellington), G. F. Th orburn, and Kapi Tareha were second, all two down. In the afternoon the qualifying round of 18 holes for the Hawke's Bay championship was played, and the following 16 players were left In: —B. B. Wood (Christchurch), P. IL Tomoana, Major Gordon, H. J. Smith, Kapi Tareha, 11. Kawhi, W. I. Peacocke, Kurupo Tareha, A. Duncan (Wellington, E. D. O’Rorke (Auckland), Colonel Tunon, A. Strang (Palmerston North), S. W. Palmer (Gisborne), Wi Karanema, G. N. Pharazyn, and G. F. Tliorbu: n. The Napier Golf Chib’s annual tournament concluded on Saturday, when thp weather was again fine. A. Duncan (Wellington) and Kapi Tareha (Napier) played the final of the Hawke’s Bay championship over 36 holes. At the end of the first round Duncan was three up, and he increased his lead in the second round, winning easily by seven up and six to play. Kapi got away well, and held Duncan for the first part of the first round, but towards the end showed signs of going off, and In the perond round he was Considerably off, while Duncan played very steadily all

through. In the final bogey competition there was a tie between three local players, Kurupo Tareha, H. Kawhi, and W. I. Peacock, who will play off. The mixed foursomes was won by A. O. Wellwood (Hastings) and Miss Dews (Napier). The putting competition was won by N. Kettle (Napier).

The Fault of “Sclaffing.” The fault of touching the ground with the sole of the club before it meets the ball is one which is apt to receive too little attention as long as it is committed on the tee. Through the green, the results of “sclaffing” are too fatal to escape notice; but on the hard tee “taking ground,” unless the error be great, usually produces no worse result than a loss of distance, for which, says a writer in “Golf Illustrated,” by some strange reasoning, the sinner often seems to consider himself hardly responsible. At the same time, it is an indication of something seriously wrong. It is only a sort of accident that the hard teeing ground guides the club head on to the ball, so that the shot is not, after all, completely spoiled. And, at the best, the loss in power of such a stroke is bound to be considerable. The player who finds himself slipping into the fault of “sclaffing” should take instant pains to correct it. The first thing which a player who feels that his club is scraping the turf in making his tee shots ought to do is to examine the head of his driver. This ought to be done by the golfer as soon as he finds himself guilty of any form of mis-hitting; but, in the case of taking ground, it is specially valuable, because the club can scarcely fail to show which part of it has come in contact with the earth. Now, it is to be observed that the causes of this error fall naturally into two main divisions. The line of the club’s swing may not be at the proper level; or the swing may be right enough, but, owing to the club head being turned up or down, instead of being held flat, part of the sole scrapes against Mother Earth. If a golfer finds on examination that it is the back of the sole, immediately under the lead, which is touching ground, he may know that there is only one explanation: the face of the driver is turned up. It is a confirmation of this if the resulting shot displays a tendency either to soar heavenwards or to slice.

This may mean either that the player is gripping the shaft too far round to the left, or more probably that he is turning up the face of the club slightly in the course of his swing—a favourite trick of the man who will persist in thinking that it is necessary for him to get under the ball in order to loft it properly. Though what on earth he supposes the loft on the face of his club is for becomes rather difficult to see.

On the other hand, the turning of the face upwards may be due to forcing. The two hands fail to work in unison, and the club-head is turned round slightly. Hitting too much with the right hand is particularly likely to produce this result.

Learning to Putt. Tn the matter of putting (writes Mr. Bernard Darwin, the golfing expert), we make numerous resolutions: it should he so easy in odd quarters of an hour on the home green to perfect our method, and we may even cherish dreams of discovering among all the different makes of putter the infallible club. To the latter end we rout about in our lumber cupboard, and pack up a formidable and varied array, putters made of iron and aluminium and anything but gun-metal, putters with eoneave faces and convex faces; even a putter with a head shaped like a croquet mallet, though this we insert in the bag upside down, from a lamentable feeling of shame. Of this part of our plan we shall soon discover the futility, but as to method, if we devote ourselves to standing resolutely still on the stroke, and discover some attitude which seems to assist this immobility, we really may accomplish something. Though there have been one or two historic exceptions, the late Mr. F. G. Tait for one, immobility is more than any one other thing

the hall mark of good patter* Of course, there is the eternal resolution to be up with our putts, which we ought solemnly to make before every, round of play; if we ean make it and ■tick to it, we have it on Mr. Hutchinson’s authority that our score will be little worse than our previous best. Learn to give the hole a chance.

Ethics of Golf. A ticklish question in the ethics of prize-giving in golf competitions is dealt with by Mr. Horace Hutchinson in an English exchange. A correspondent asks that authority whether the practice prevailing at his club of giving the winners of prizes the money value, in form of a cheque, does not bring those amateurs within the ranks of professionals. Perhaps it may be said at once (says Mr. Hutchinson) that this is a thing which were better done otherwise. It is not very “nice” to receive the money down, whatever the expectation or understanding may be as to how you shall spend it. At the same time, it is no trans* gression of the limits set by the definition of an amateur to receive money prizes thus in a close competition. That is the line of distinction—the amateur must not take a money prize in any open competition, open here meaning open to professionals. For it has been a kind of maxim, written or unwritten, of sport that an amateur must not compete for money against a professional —that is, for added money, in addition to any stake personally wagered. As for the question how the amateur, receiving these money prizes, differs from a professional—there are perhaps several points of difference. A famous professional onee Baid that he saw no difference between Mr. L. and Mr. H. and! the professionals, except that they got “mair to eat and mair to drink.” Another line of demarcation suggested by some humorist was that an amateur wears gloves, but a professional—how shall we say?—“moistens” his hands. Also, it used to be said, but can be no longer, that a professional wears trousers; an amateur knickerbockers. There are thus several possible lines of discrimination, but perhaps the one whicH best applies to this particular case is that the protess’onal receives payment for playing the game—he gets his fee for going round, whether he hits the ball few times or often; the amateur, even when thus taking a money prize in his club competition, only does so as a reward of his skill (either in golf vi in imposing on the handicap committee), in addition to his trouble in beating the ball round the course.